Attendance
The General Meeting was attended by 32 people via Zoom.
Contributions to Rain City Symphony
All members were thanked for their contributions to Symphony. Anyone was encouraged to donate to help keep us afloat this year.
Changes to the Board and the Election of Board Members to Two Year Terms
Doug acknowledged Linda O'Gara for her service as our treasurer for eight years. Bruce is taking over that position. Kim Waggie is coming off the Board as well, she served as Venue Coordinator for the past four years. The Board members continuing in the second year of two year terms are: Hanan Bell, Gennie Winkler, Madeline Beery, and Bruce Sherman.
The nominees to the Board are Doug Potter, Koko Morgan, Kathleen O'Keeffe, and Anne Warner - all of whom are current Board members. The members were unanimously elected by a voice vote.
There is a need for others to help with the content and technical aspects of the website and grants.
Summary of the Quarter's Activities
There were three types of groups formed for this quarter's activities: working with Teresa online, playing in a small in-person group, and playing online using Jamulus/JamKazam. Here are the summaries of these groups.
1. A online study/play group that Teresa hosted:
Teresa had a total of 10 people in a small ensemble (2 flutes, 3 violins, 3 celli and one horn) that rehearsed Haydn’s London Trio No. 1. They had weekly Zoom meetings with the following activities: Group score study, brief reports on the composer and/or musical style period, and playing together, where an individual played while others played along muted. Other activities included playing along to a YouTube performances of the composition, and working in breakout rooms of groups of 2-4 musicians. They also had one sectional per instrumental group.
2. Two in-person string groups:
A. Bruce's quartet: First, we organized a string quartet which was going to meet in person in my studio. We have been meeting weekly on Tuesday nights, and have had one coached session with another scheduled. We are playing Lars Eric Larsson’s Intimate Miniatures for string quartet. Our goal is to record the piece and also to play as the preview group to an upcoming Rain City Symphony Concert. The found playing on Zoom together is not satisfying.
B. Gennie's quartet: This group met at the Music Center of the Northwest once a week. At first they had five people, then one person dropped out. They continued to sight read music with the remaining players and enjoyed getting together.
C. Jamulus/JamKazam group: Bruce helped organize orchestra members to learn how to play together online. They worked with each other to purchase equipment, install software, and join together playing. Most weeks, 8-12 of us joined using Zoom on Wednesdays evenings, then moved to music software JamKazam or Jamulus. It took weeks of practice to get good sound from their instruments to the cloud where it finally joined with the stream of notes coming from our friends. They have had more than 20 different people learning how to stream their music and playing together at different times. Most agreed that it was a very worthwhile experience.
Activities for Next Quarter
1. Teresa
In person string orchestra meeting will depend on the State's health mandates. We'll have to be flexible about meeting. The online group will continue Winter quarter. The repertoire will depend on who shows up.
2. Small Groups
The small groups will continue. Gennie was disappointed that not all people could be put in a group. It would be more successful if people would place themselves in a group and finding a safe location.
3. Jamulus/JamKazam Group
The groups need to be smaller say 3-6 people. Steve Marx is willing to help with the music and the need proper equipment. Those who want to play and need help deciding what equipment to purchase.
Next Board Meeting
The next Board Meeting will be Wednesday, December 2, 2020 7:00 pm via Zoom.
