Board Meeting May 6, 2020

Type: 
Board
Date: 
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Status: 
Approved

In attendance: Hanan Bell, Teresa Metzger-Howe, Koko Morgan, Linda O’Gara, Kathleen O'Keeffe, Doug Potter, Bruce Sherman, Kim Waggie and Gennie Winkler.

Minutes
The minutes for the February and May 2020 will be reviewed for the meeting on June 17, 2020.

Decisions via Email
March 18, 2020
The symphony was no longer able to meet, because of the Covid -19 virus outbreak. Board voted on and approved the following:
1. The remainder of the 2020 season is canceled – as of now, we plan on starting in the Fall
2. We will continue paying Teresa and Music Center of the NW as though we had continued. We won’t pay the sectional coaches for Spring.

An email message was sent to the symphony members to inform them of this decision.

Alternative Funding
The board considered alternative sources of funding to meet the Symphony's financial obligations. The need is due to the Covid-19 restrictions which makes playing and gathering membership fees impossible. The Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program is a possible choice. Other musical organizations have received this loan. Bruce will look into the details.

Donations from Current Symphony Members
Discussion was opened on whether or not to ask current Symphony members to donate their regular Spring tuition to the Symphony. The Symphony usually would receive about $4,500. The board decided to ask the membership to donate. Doug will write the request letter and Bruce and Gennie will review.

Options for Next Season
With the Covid-19 restrictions the Symphony needs to look at options for next season. For the full Symphony to be able to gather, King County would have to be in phase 4. Phase 3 allows for 50 people to gather in one setting with the requirement of wearing masks. No wind players would be able to participate.

Potential options for the Symphony:
1. Have a string orchestra
2. Divide into small groups
3. Wind players might gather virtually
4. On-line concerts
5. Remote events - video
6. Live streaming of our concerts to reach out to the retirement centers to expand the audience
7. Coaches may be able to create videos to expand the member's knowledge. Gennie will ask the coaches if they are interested and what would they like to do.

Other thoughts
The concert could be impacted by the Covid-19 phase restrictions such as a 50 people gathering limit. Putting together remote events requires technical expertise which might limit our ability to do this.

Next Meeting
Wednesday, June 17, 2020 7:00 pm via Zoom.