Greenbelt Community Orchestra
Board Meeting Minutes
April 22, 2024, at 7:00 PM
Attending (in person):
Board: Anne Gardner, Susan Stewart, Sarah Wissel, Sarah Rusk, Katie McCarthy
Members: None
Sarah W reported that the GCO savings has more than doubled from the initial bank balance of $478. Since the account opened, we have received $595 in donations. Taking into account the payment for The City music score which is still outstanding, we have sufficient funds to cover our next concert, should we need to purchase music.
Sarah W has looked into other banks that are better suited for our organization. Chase, Truist, Citizens & US Banks are all good options, with Truist being the front runner. It has no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirement and a branch in Greenbelt.
Anne shared that she recently learned that community groups do not get use of the gym for free by default. This will be requested when we present to the City Council for recognition group status renewal and grant proposal. The cost of renting the gym is $50/hour which would end up costing about $150 per concert.
Katie suggested that if we need to cover the cost, we could seek out local businesses to sponsor the GCO and thereby get advertisement in the program.
Sarah suggested that we could also look into more grants. Anne mentioned the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area (ATHA) Rocket Grants that are available for up to 2K (matching). They are looking for groups that would promote tourism.
Anne proposed having the annual meeting with election of the board as part of a regular rehearsal, one that is not split between Seth and Derek. It could cut the rehearsal 15 minutes short, running from 8:45 to 9:15. The board agreed and picked May 9th as the meeting date.
A small group from the orchestra will play before the showing of The City on May 21st to demonstrate themes. When the film reaches the part on Greenbelt, the audio will be cut and the musicians will play the score for about 5 min. Derek will be figuring out who is needed. Someone from the Greenbelt Museum will be speaking about the film, either before or after.
It will be a ticketed event, but orchestra members do not have to pay.
GCO will be following the Greenbelt Concert Band, so there will be no on stage warm up time. Anne will ask the band if they can put their instruments in the downstairs room, so that we can have a standing (except cellos and bassoon will need chairs) warm up in room 201.
Susan asked if we would be able to film playing The City. Since the music is being rented, we are not sure. Katie will ask Derek if he knows more or can find out through Boosey and Hawkes.
For the audio recording, Susan would like to get a sound check. One sound check from the band should be fine. Anne will ask if the band would like to be recorded.
Susan suggested that we could put the audio recording on YouTube. It could be matched with a video recording, either from a phone or the GATe video.
The band can print our program on the back side of their program.
At 1PM, prior to the concert, there will be a naturalization ceremony. Anne will ask that they leave the PA system for our use.
Someone from the Greenbelt Museum will be speaking about The City.
We will not do cookies for this concert, as it will be too complicated with the schedule. We will consider it again at a future concert.
The board discussed ideas for continuing to meet throughout the summer, until rehearsal for the November concert begins in August. Derek will be unavailable until mid July. We have to let the community center know if we will not be using it over the summer.
Anne may reach out to Ananth who had originally volunteered to conduct. He may be interested in being a guest conductor for a couple of rehearsals.
Katie suggested we could do some chamber music that does not require a conductor. She also suggested we could reach out to UMD to see if there are any student conductors that would be interested in guest conducting.
For the Farmer’s market event on June 16th, we have 10-2 reserved. Anne will ask the orchestra if there are any additional groups that would like to play. We may need to cut back to 2 hours, if it is only the string quartet and flutes.
The board discussed playing at another venue, specifically at the ERHS auditorium, for one of our concerts next season. Anne had previously tried to look into it, but was not able to get a response. She has heard the rental is expensive, but she did not find out how much. She did not think that they had events scheduled on Sundays, but that could be because they don’t open it up on Sundays. Katie volunteered to reach out to the band conductor who she is connected with to find out how we can get more information.
Sarah W. reported that Oscar volunteered to be the coordinator for the winds. He will work with the conductors to determine who is playing which part and where there will be doubling up.
Sarah R. suggested that a question be added to the post concert survey that is specifically for the winds to gather feedback on divvying up the parts.
Meeting adjourned at 8:11 PM