Bread And Roses

December 1 & 2 Creative Works Studio Annual Exhibition

2011-11-18T14:24:00.005-05:00

If you care deeply about access to the arts as I do and also support diversity of voices in the arts you'll want to come out and support a community of artists that are finding healing through art--even as they share their vision of our city with anyone who is able to make time and come out to view the art and meet the artists.

It will make you feel great!

TORONTO TREASURES

Creative Works Studio features new works at our Toronto Treasures Art Exhibit. We will also launch our 2012 art calendar, The Blues, which will be available for sale at the gallery. www.creativeworks-studio.ca

The Creative Works Studio, is an occupational therapy arts based community program that helps individuals living with mental health challenges heal and cope through the power of artistic expression. It is part of St. Michael Hospital's Inner City Health Program and operates in partnership with the Good Shepherd.The studio believes in public education to reduce stigmatization.

THANKS TO OUR PATRONS:The Al Green Gallery, Boome Canadian Graphics, CIHR-Canadian Istitute of Health Research, TD Canada Trust, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, Lundbeck, Ontario Arts Council, ShaRna Foundation, Toronto Arts Council, Long and McQuade, Dimensions Custom Framing & Gallery.

Silverberg Art Showing at Sage Cafe on McCaul

2011-11-13T13:40:00.002-05:00

Jerry Silverberg
SAGE CAFE - 166 McCaul (north of Dundas - just around the corner from the AGO)

So after seeing Chagall as the main course come and have some desert of art and cakes at Sage.

The show runs until the end of December.

Sage hours - 9am - 5pm , 7 days a week.- Best viewing times 9 - 12 and 1:30 - 5.

Happy Birthday, Dorothy Day

2011-11-09T10:53:00.002-05:00

"Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul."

Clay and Paper Theatre's "Night of Dread"

2011-11-06T10:45:00.008-05:00

"Oh look, we can PARTICIPATE", exclaimed a young mom to her partner and children as they arrived at the launch point of Clay and Paper's annual "Night of Dread" event that began and ended at Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto. Volunteers helped the family outfit themselves with masks from the theatre's assembled accessories available for sign out. Participation proved to be but one of the extraordinary components of this community arts event.

Halloween has always seemed to me a bit of a difficult holiday in modern times. Most of us no longer believe in ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night. We feel guilty as parents about scaring our kids with superstition. Besides, aren't there enough horrors in the world? When we think "okay, let's dress up in more fanciful, happy clothes" we run into another set of dilemmas.

"A fairy princess?"

"No, no, too sexist! Gender stereo-typing, that will never do!"

"A belly-dancer? An Indian brave?"

"No, no! Cultural appropriation! What will the neighbours think!"

And what about the whole thing of "trick or treating"? In a time when so many children are overweight, we know the dangers of high carbohydrate loads on the whole system, not to mention tooth decay, do we want our kids super sugar-loaded. We fear for their safety on dark streets at night. It's just hard to celebrate the tradition anymore.

How do we update this late autumn holiday in a way that is meaningful to modern times without causing the wincing feeling that we are going against our core values or exposing our children to harms of various sorts? Clay and Paper Theatre has crafted an annual event that keeps the core components of Halloween, while avoiding all of the baggage. Their creativity has resulted in a new celebration in harmony with the season and our actual lives.

Halloween is a festival for a time when the days are becoming darker and primitive people might have worried that the sun was dying. It is a time of fears and shadows. Some of the oldest civilizations had traditions of building fires on hillsides to feed the sun and wearing disguises to fool malevolent spirits.

In our modern world there are shadows of fears that haunt all of us in our dark moments. Near the gardens in Dufferin Grove Park, Clay and Paper Theatre had set up a garden of fears. Economically (and humorously) using pizza boxes on sticks, they had emblazoned the boxes with modern fears: nuclear annihilation, global warming, bio-hazards, isolation, losing a home, bankruptcy, financial ruin, war... and so on. What a fantastic opportunity for family dialogue as people moved about the garden of fears and chose which fear to pluck from the garden and carry in the parade as representative of that individuals worst fear this year.

Masks were black and white papier mache creations that, to me, symbolized the dark and light in all of us, in the changing seasons and our world. Walking about among us as we selected our fears to carry and our black & white masks to wear (if we chose to wear a mask) were a collection of giant puppets representing some of our fears. I was struck in the gut by the representation of pollution. She was a giant blue puppet with a serenely beautiful appearing face and flowing blue silken fabric, horrendously littered with bits of plastic garbage bags and excretions of fast food containers, drink cups, plastic water bottles and straws. Some of the huge puppets were a bit more mysterious and we didn't quite know what they were representing until the end of the event.

A bugle call and drum roll signaled the assembly of the march and about 1,000 people or more set out following as we paraded our fears through the streets of Toronto. It was interesting to watch the faces of the people who came out of houses and stores to watch the passing march. Some were delighted and seemed to know what to expect. Others were extremely puzzled, even a little worried. It was a long enough route that children were wanting to be carried by the end of the journey so families with young kids are advised that a stroller or wagon will likely be required at some point in the trek.

Back at the Dufferin Grove Park we walked along a path of shrines. This lacked any explanation but it seemed to me that they were shrines erected to things lost in the past, a loved pet, a farm. Made from the simplest of materials they were reminiscent of Day of the Dead shrines built on grave sites.

We walked towards a bonfire in the middle of a circle of people. Here the fears we had carried through the dark night streets were burnt in a warming sacrificial fire. The crowd cheered the burning of the fears. The giant puppets representing major fears like "Corruption & Greed" "Nuclear Annihilation" were introduced as they did their final macabre dance around the fire. With a fanfare of humorously discordant circus music, the "Fear of the Year" was introduced. In this year's case that was "The fear of selfish leadership" represented here in Toronto appropriately by a giant gravy boat. The artistic reference was to our hapless Mayor Ford who promised to save billions from the city budget by cutting the "gravy" and then his hired consultants couldn't find any such gravy. His attempts to instead define libraries and culture as gravy have met strong citizen opposition. The gravy boat was taken on a last lurching voyage. The responsive creativity of the team at Clay and Paper Theatre added a last minute touch drawn from the latest headlines as a Margaret Delahunty lookalike pursued the gravy boat on it's final voyage to the fire. A great cheer rose up from the crowd as the final great fear went up in a tower of flame.

Death dancers waltzed around the bonfire as our fears burned. Only the fear of death which can never totally leave us remained alive. The figures of death beckoned to the crowd to come and dance with death. The message to my understanding was that only when we learn to dance with death are we truly alive. The circle of dark and light, yin and yang came into focus in this conclusion, sombre, meditative and graceful. Then exploded into light with fire twirlers and jugglers harking back to a primitive time where warmth and light drove away the terrors of winter and darkness.

What a wonderful achievement and gift to the people of Toronto. My one and only suggestion to the creative team is that they lost people at the conclusion due to the length of the march. It was a very cold night, so that was also a factor. Some great entertainment was available at the end and I would have liked to stay and dance but like many others I was freezing and very tired so we packed up at the conclusion of the fire twirlers.

Clay & Paper's Night of Dread Oct. 29

2011-10-26T10:10:00.004-04:00

Night of Dread

Dufferin Grove Park
Saturday, October 29, 2011

4-6PM: Gathering

6PM: Parade

7:15PM - Fire Circle

Learn the fire circle chant:

"We laugh at fear, And we laugh at death, And we'll laugh at you, 'Til our very last breath, Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

8:30PM: Celebration with Lemon Bucket Orkestra

Dress Code: Black & White & Dreadful

Pay-What-You-Can/ $10 Suggested Donation

www.clayandpapertheatre.org

Speaking up on behalf of aboriginal children

2011-10-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

Today the Winnepeg Free Press reported that "Child rights' advocates are hoping to shame the federal government into improving the treatment of aboriginal children.The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and the ecumenical group KAIROS are asking the United Nations to ensure that Ottawa gives the same services to aboriginal children as it does to other Canadians.

In a report prepared for the United Nations committee on the rights of the child, the groups say government funding for health, education and child welfare is much lower on reserves than off.

As a result, they say native kids often lack the basic necessities of life.

They point out that Canada signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its performance is under review right now."

When I served on the Lieutenant Governor's Steering Committee on Aboriginal literacy, I saw first hand the problems faced by Canada's First Nations children. One of the first things I learned was that money was only a part of the problem. The fact that funding lags behind educational and social welfare funding for children in the rest of the province is a crime that must be addressed but in order for those dollars to be targeted and used accountably, there has to be an untangling of bureaucratic snarls and more transparency.

One of the truths that I came to understand while meeting with representatives of band councils while developing the first summer literacy day camps, and spending last season working with Equay-wuk (Women's Circle) is that liberal white guilt about children's welfare in First Nations colludes with right-wing priorities to result in a "do-nothing" outcome. Well-meaning child welfare advocates too often allow themselves to be silenced because they feel that as white people, they cannot address First Nations issues, even when they know that education or child welfare dollars are not being used effectively in a community. There is not one set of problems with children's welfare in First Nations communities. Because these communities are self-governing, the picture differs from community from community and it is important for decision-makers and social justice advocates to understand that it is not a "one-size fits all" solution. It is messy and complex and if we care about justice for these children we have to be prepared to listen and also be prepared to speak out.

Sometimes it takes more than a village to raise a child when that village is failing the child. Sometimes it takes a nation to care and not to be silenced because of some ancient mistakes made by some of our ancestors.

Virtual Beading Circle

2011-10-21T13:26:00.002-04:00

Fantastic use of the internet to share craft knowledge across distances.

Ottawa Days of Action to End Canadian Involvement in Torture, October 24-26

2011-10-20T14:06:00.000-04:00

Join the CSI: Ottawa Days of Action to End Canadian Involvement in
Torture, October 24-26
We Cannot Let Canadian Individuals and Institutions Get Away With
Torture

In addition to many reasons already listed (see http://
homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2011/09/csi-ottawa-ending-canadian-
involvement.html ), here's three more good reasons to join us:

1. CSIS and the RCMP, which were found to be complicit in the torture
of Canadians Abdullah Almalki, Maher Arar, Ahmad El Maati, and
Muayyed Nureddin while all were detained in Syria, have been silent
on their ongoing relationship with Syrian Military Intelligence,
which regularly engages in torture and is complicit in the mass
detentions and horrific acts of torture and murder that have been
taking place for years and which have intensified during 2011 in
response to demands for democracy.

Leading up to CSI Ottawa and during those three days, we will seek a
public statement from both agencies that they have (or will
immediately) break all ties with Syrian Military Intelligence and
that they will apologize for their past relationship with such a
blood-stained agency (as well as to those tortured with Canadian
complicity).

2. A Libyan-Canadian citizen who was imprisoned and tortured for
eight years by the Gaddafi regime says that agents from the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) were among foreign agents who
interrogated him. Documents confirming this were found by members of
Human Rights Watch. See http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/28/canada-
intelligence-service-accused-libya-interrogations

This is of course a common practice that CSIS will partner with
brutal, torturing regimes such as Syria, Egypt, and Libya and then
claim that they "did not know" or "did not have available to them"
publicly available reports of systematic torture.

3. On 18 October 2008, Ivan Apaolaza Sancho was deported from Canada
by special charter flight, manacled hand and foot, and handed over to
authorities in Spain. The deportation was a bitter ending to a
fifteen month campaign in which the Basque man was imprisoned in
Montreal, denied the right to apply for refugee status, and
eventually deported - all on the basis of information that a Canadian
tribunal recognized was obtained under torture.

Members of the Caravan to End Canadian Involvement in Torture raised
Ivan's case across the province in 2008. Now, he faces a trial after
three years of detention in Spain, and could be jailed for 30 years.
More at http://www.peoplescommission.org/en/sancho/

A CULTURE OF IMPUNITY
The culture of impunity around Canadian involvement in torture is
widespread. Officials in numerous government agencies complicit in
the torture of Canadian citizens, refugees and permanent residents
continue to proceed with the dangerous assumption that when it comes
to torture, whether "direct or indirect," they can get away with it.
While Canadians were rightly upset that the government did not arrest
visiting individuals who are proudly complicit in torture (such as
Dick Cheney and George W. Bush), we also need to focus on the fact
that officials here in Canada continue to engage in policies and
decisions which result in the most unimaginable of human rights abuses.

CSI Ottawa is an attempt to remind the public, and the government,
that they cannot get away with their involvement in torture, and that
our exercise of direct democracy and seeking accountability will not
end until permanent changes are made.

Join CSI Ottawa: Ending Canadian Involvement in Torture
Organized by Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, a wholly realized
subsidiary of the Homes not Bombs network, tasc@web.ca

_______________________________________________
TASC mailing list
TASC@list.web.net
http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/tasc

Commonsense Social Media for Small Arts Orgs

2011-10-18T14:34:00.007-04:00

A few Do's and Don't's about Social Media for artists and small arts orgs

Do remember to include in your plan all your skills that are relevant to a successful social media campaign
You've been talking to your supporters, colleagues and audience for a long time and you know them and their interests better than anyone. You also are skilled at reaching out to them creatively and inexpensively. For pete's sake, you are artists! Those skills will be key in making your social media campaign a success!

Don't be phony in your social media voice
Social media is ... well... social. It's got a tone like talking to your neighbours about your work today. Your neighbours and friends will be delighted to hear your voice saying "here's what we've been working at in the studio today" in your own voice. Having that voice delegated to someone outside your company will feel phony and insulting to them. If it feels like a trick in social media, people turn off.

Do have the confidence to run your own social media campaign
The best social media campaign is grass-roots, just like you started your arts organization.

Don't feel you have to spend big bucks on a social marketing professional
No social media "guru" knows your art and your audience like you and your staff do. So what if they have 2,000 Twitter followers, are they relevant to you, or just other social media gurus all jabbering to each other with re-cycled tweets and links?

Do take the time to blog yourself
I know you don't have the time, but you know the best blog-posts are short ones. Here's some good tricks. A photo is worth 1,000 words. Snap photos with your cellphone or digital camera and post to your blog with a small comment. Tumblr is a great platform for quickie bloggers. If you are more of a talker than a writer, make brief voice recordings and ask someone to transpose them as blog posts. Or, make a time to sit down once a week with someone in your organization who does like to write and give him or her a list of things to interview you on. Or just have a chat and record it. A 30-60 minute meeting about what's going on with the company right now should yield a week's worth of blog posts that can be timed for daily release.

Don't let a staff member turn the Artistic Director into a sock puppet
If a post is listed as being from the Music Director or AD, it really should be that person's words. To charge a staff person to write on your behalf without input or approval isn't fair to them or you.

Do make meaningful connections with colleagues and organizations with common-cause.
Guest write for your colleague's blog and share your posts with organizations that will be interested for example your post on set-construction with an umbrella theatre organization or your post on financial planning with an arts administration website. Ask your colleagues to post to your sites. Include the news from other organizations in your tweets and Facebook updates.

Don't be territorial in social media
If all you tout in your blog, facebook page or twitter stream is your own news, you will be preaching to the choir instead of reaching new audiences.

Do listen to your followers and engage with them
Social media is social, so a part of every social media campaign should be to spend a little time reading what your followers are saying: about you, about other arts organizations, and about things in general. Comment, re-tweet, and thank them for their favorable mentions of your organization.

Don't be a broken record
You wouldn't invite your neighbour to a party and then invite them again, and again, and again, using the same message, would you? So invite and follow-up in social media much as you would in other media.

Do use more than one social media that is relevant to your company
As a suggestion, pick one blog platform to share your news in greater length than a twitter post or Facebook update allows. Create a Facebook group for your followers to publicize events. Use a photo site like Flickr or Picasa to host photos & slideshows and a video site like YouTube for video snippets. You may or may not find the social aspect of the photo & video sites useful. But embedding photos in blogs and Facebook posts enlivens them. Finally use Twitter to connect followers in short news bursts to your content in blogs and Facebook. As you develop your social media campaign you will find other tools to use, but no one tool will make effective use of your social media time or effectively distribute your news.

Don't get too enthusiastic about linking and automating your social media messages
As we've seen different social media platforms have different uses and formats. A 140 character twitter post sounds brief and possibly rude when repeated on Facebook, so be thoughtful about linking media. Auto welcoming followers used to be recommended but has become so prevalent that many people regard this as spam and will unfollow anyone who uses the tools. Services that spam followers with auto quotes are fairly universally despised and will lose you followers.

Do use buffer apps to time distribute your posts.
You may want to do all your social media posts at one time of day and all your blog posts one day a week, but many posts at one time will bore your audience and also not reach some potential followers. Twitter streams are one place where people only are likely to see the posts made in the last hour, so use a buffer to send your tweets over the day (twitter is probably the only social media where you can repeat a key message like an event reminder). Facebook posts can also be spaced through the day. (I use http://bufferapp.com ) and you can choose whether blog posts will be published now or at a future date.

Do remember that the message of your company is important
Probably only the artistic director and/or senior management can really articulate key messages about projects, mission and artistic direction of the company. Identify the person or people within your company who will craft the social media messages. Make sure everyone is comfortable with the plan and will follow-through.

Don't give the social media job to the intern
The intern may be able to Facebook up a storm about their keg stand at the party last night but that doesn't mean they know how to tell your story to your key audience. Interns can help but don't leave them in charge of the process or be prepared to accept the results.

Do use your grassroots skills in building up your number of followers
Hey you built your mailing list & email list from 0 to thousands, right? How? By asking people who visited your website to join the mailing list right? By capturing Box Office data, by asking people to enter contests and by asking people to save money, save the trees by signing onto your email list instead. When you have events, that's the time to ask people to join your Facebook group or follow you on twitter. Make it easy with slips of paper they can take away, inserted in programs or available in the lobby on info tables.

Don't get greedy
Don't try to build followers by following hundreds of random individuals. They won't stay and aren't relevant to your success. In the worst case scenario you could lose your account through being listed as a spammer. Having 100 followers who actually come to your events is better than having 3000 followers with only 25 actually coming to your events.

Do give incentives
You know how to do this! Give potential social media contacts incentives by running contests for free tickets or other goodies available only to Twitter followers or Facebook Friends (but don't make these goodies valuable enough to annoy other contacts).

Do evaluate your social media plan
How are you doing? Did you sell out a show using just Facebook? Are you getting more re-tweets of your news? How many lists is your twitter stream on? How many mentions did you get on Twitter last month? How many blog visitors have you logged (Google analytics or site-tracker have good tools).

Don't get discouraged if you don't see results right away
A good social media campaign is not going to happen over-night for most of us. It is slogging work like building a mailing list. If you are not seeing results after a few months you may need to fine-tune your plan, discover why your blog posts and updates are not engaging & growing your audience.

Do remember the goal
You want to deepen the engagement of your existing audience with your company so that they will be more likely to support you by increased attendance and financial contribution. Plus, you want to reach new audiences-- while spending less money on advertising and postage. You also want to be able to brag about how efficient and green your company is in achieving these goals.

That's pretty hot stuff so it's worth some work, right?

Metropolitan Opera Company breaks fundraising record

2011-10-12T10:39:00.005-04:00

The New York Times reports: "In the warren of Met administrative offices, the people who run one of the world’s busiest opera houses had something else to applaud: a record amount of contributions for the fiscal year that ended in July. According to preliminary figures released for the first time, the Met hauled in $182 million, an astonishing amount in a tough economic climate and 50 percent more than it raised just the year before."

In arts offices around the world, questions are being asked about this outcome. Is this an endorsement for the Metropolitan Opera's revolutionary electronic distribution in theatres; a vote of confidence for their current artistic direction; or simply the effect of donor behaviour--backing core arts groups in hard times?One major donor David Knott agrees with the electronic distribution policy saying it was a decision that "if we can't bring people to the opera, let's bring opera to the people". He put his money where his mouth was in making a $500,000 one-time gift and pledging a bequest to the company through it's planned giving program. Electronic distribution certainly seems to be a way to follow the market. In its 2003 study "The Magic of Music", the Knight Foundation found that while 60% of Americans listened to classical music, only 5% had ever entered a concert hall. Listening to classical music is not declining, going to concert halls is declining. Smart, business-minded donors like David Knott will be more inclined to invest in arts organizations that make decisions soundly based on audience trends, it would seem.

In a time when 2 out of 3 arts organizations have sustained a decline in income, the phenomenal success of the Metropolitan Opera in increasing its donations has to be seen as tied to the most significant new part of its program, the electronic distribution of opera in theatres. This fact should be an encouragement to those trying to pioneer new methods of distribution and electronic outreach initiatives. From my own work in virtual music, I know that resistance to new forms of distribution seems like a brick wall at times, but smart donors are rewarding those arts organizations bold enough to break through to reach their audiences outside the concert hall.

Difference Engine Initiative presents results!

2011-09-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

Monday October 3rd, 7pm
Ballroom of the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street W.)
Free

The first round of the Difference Engine Initiative, a six week gamemaking incubator for women, is nearly over and we will be presenting the games that they made at this Hand Eye Society Social for the community to play!

Most of the creators will be in attendance and Mare Sheppard, co-coordinator of the DEI, will be hosting the evening. In addition to the usual drinking and chatting, this Social also features a special guest from Chicago, Erin Robinson, who will be doing a presentation touching on her experiences as a game developer (including Puzzle Bots and the freeware Nanobots) as well as her role helping highschool girls make games.

The first and second rounds of the Difference Engine Initiative are part of the OMDC-funded TIFF Nexus.

Contact Contemporary Music Sept. 18

2011-09-14T11:28:00.002-04:00

Mary-Katherine Finch, violoncello

Wallace Halladay, saxophone

Sunday, 18 September 2011

8pm

Gallery 345

345 Sorauren Avenue

www.gallery345.com

www.contactcontemporarymusic.ca

With

Ryan Scott, vibraphone

Allison Wiebe, piano

Chang, Dorothy Walk on Water (2004)

Canada/USA, b. 1970

Lemay, Robert Tie-break (2011) * world premiere

Canada, b. 1960

Denisov, Edison Sonata for alto saxophone and violoncello (1995)

USSR/Russia, 1929-1996

Vustin, Alexander Musique pour l’ange (1995)

Russia, b. 1943

Oehring, Helmut Leuchter (aus: kurz in Müll gestochert) (1994/2011)

Germany, b. 1961

Karassikov, Vadim Casus in terminus (1994)

Russia, b. 1972

Contact Contemporary Music members Mary-Katherine Finch and Wallace Halladay curate a concert of music for saxophone and violoncello. From beauty to vulgarity, and from the sacred to the profane, these two virtuoso musicians present an intimate programme at Gallery 345.

One of the Soviet composer Edison Denisov’s last works highlights the lyrical qualities of the two instruments. As Denisov said, "Beauty is the principal factor in my work. This means not only beautiful sound…but beautiful ideas as understood by mathematicians.” The programme includes the works of Russian followers of Denisov: the religious transcendence of Vustin (with guest percussionist Ryan Scott), and the stoic expressionism of Karassikov (with CONTACT pianist Allison Wiebe).

The music of German Helmut Oehring is some of the most interesting to emerge from East Berlin – with late training in classical music, this electric guitarist explores sound and vulgarity in his musical description of Fred Leuchter - Holocaust denier and designer of instruments of capital punishment. Allison Wiebe will spend the intermission preparing the piano to join the duo again.

Vancouver-based composer Dorothy Chang’s Walk on Water provides the title for the concert, and fellow Canadian Robert Lemay was inspired to write this dynamic duo a work for this occasion.

Saxophonist Wallace Halladay captures the qualities of the modern virtuoso, being at home in numerous styles, from the traditional to jazz and beyond. A specialist in the performance of contemporary music, he has commissioned and premiered numerous works. A soloist with the Vancouver Symphony and Esprit Orchestras, he also inaugurated the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony's "Intersections" Series. He recently worked with Philippe Leroux on the North American premiere of his saxophone concerto in Montréal. He recorded the two saxophone Sequenzas of Berio and the Colgrass concerto for NAXOS and is in demand as a performer with new music groups across Canada and the US. Wallace holds a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, and studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Arno Bornkamp. Wallace was the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, the first woodwind player to be awarded in its 25-year history. Wallace is a Conn-Selmer Artist and plays Selmer (Paris) saxophones.

Cellist Mary-Katherine Finch holds both Bachelor and Master degrees in performance from the University of Toronto. She performs frequently in recital with pianist Ron Greidanus. Playing an authentic baroque cello, she has appeared with Aradia, Baroque Music Beside the Grange, Grand River Baroque Festival and Toronto Masque Theatre. In the area of new music, she regularly collaborates with the ensembles Toca Loca and Ergo, and has premiered several chamber works of Canadian composers. Mary-Katherine frequently plays with the larger ensembles of the Mendelssohn, Isler, Amadeus and Elora Festival Choirs.

Sept 11 Burlesque fundraiser for Fringe Show "Infinitum"

2011-09-08T13:17:00.004-04:00

ELEFANT II

On Saturday September 10th, The Cheshire Unicorn will be hosting a Burlesque and Fashion Show Fundraiser to help raise money for their upcoming production, Infinitum.

Along with inspirational BURLESQUE and AERIALS SILKS performances by their talented and sexy cast, attendees can witness and participate in an exciting INFINITY AUCTION and cutting-edge THAI TEXTILE FASHION SHOW, all bought directly from the seamstresses themselves. In addition, there is promises of CHEAP DRINKS, MUSIC and DANCING!

Special guest burlesque performers include: RED HERRING as well as BILLIE BLACK from Les Coquettes!

So come out and support local theatre—it will be a night you won’t want to miss.

$10 for admission.
Show starts 8PM sharp.
Happy hour from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm!
19+ only.

Annex Theatre - 730 Bathurst Street

Of interest to northern ON theatre artists and students

2011-09-06T14:33:00.002-04:00

IMPACT THEATRE (Sioux Lookout)
is pleased to announce another great workshop in

Acting, Writing, and Directing for Film happening in Sioux Lookout, September 30-October 2, 2011.

We welcome all established and emerging artists between the ages of 13 to Adult within Northwestern Ontario to participate!

The goal of this workshop is to build the skills and regional connections needed to make a film adaptation of A ROUGH TRANSLATION- an original theatre production IMPACT Theatre created that addresses boundaries within dating relationships, identity and hope . To accomplish our goals we have invited the Actors Training Centre of Manitoba to provide intensive training related to acting, writing and directing for film. Our thanks to the Ontario Arts Council for the funding that has made this professional level workshop possible!

Mark these dates on your calendar!

Advanced Acting, Writing, & Directing for Film

Date: Sept 30 (6:30-9pm), Oct 1 (9-4), Oct 2 (9-4)

Instructors: Jeff Skinner & Nicholas Burns, Actors Training Centre of Manitoba

Location: Sioux Lookout, Queen Elizabeth High School (To be confirmed)

Who: Ages 13- Adult

Fee: Early Bird (by Sept 16): $50 Regular: $60

We we would be happy to provide billeting for out of town guests!

Just contact us to let us know what you need!

Workshop Description:

In this advanced level workshop participants will work with a professional film writer/editor to learn techniques to effectively tell a story through film. Using the story of A ROUGH TRANSLATION as a spring board for discussion participants will be introduced to different ways to address challenging subject matter and then given the opportunity to practice those techniques. With the coaching of a professional director and acting instructor participants will learn advanced acting techniques that bring a story to life ! Participants will have the chance to further their skills in the areas that interest them most including writing, storyboarding, acting, and directing. Through this workshop IMPACT Theatre hopes to connect with regional artists who might take part in the film adaptation of A ROUGH TRANSLATION, however all artists are welcome to attend.

* It is assumed that participants have some prior experience or training in acting, writing and/or film.

Artist Biographies:Jeff Skinner’s artistic career is very diverse and includes acting, writing, directing and producing in theatre, film and television. He has performed in over close to a hundred theatrical productions, films and television shows including The Big White with Robin Williams, Falcon Beach for Global and Scared Silent with Penelope Ann Miller. He is currently a partner in Two Lagoons Entertainment and enjoys sharing his skills and experience as an acting Instructor/Coach with the Actors Training Centre of Manitoba.

Nicholas Burns works as a freelance writer and artist creating storyboards using conventional and computer media. He has written many scripts for educational and mainstream comics, radio plays, short films, TV movies and feature films. He has storyboarded dozens of feature films, TV movies and music videos and has become well know in the industry as a “script doctor” with the ability to help writers and tell their stories. He has also written, produced and directed a mocumentary, Snoring, which was a winner at MocDocs and was broadcast nationally.

Register Early as Spaces are limited! See Attached Registration Form.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, contact:

Erin (EJ) Horvath, Director IMPACT Theatre
807-737-0019

impacttheatre@hotmail.ca

Beside Myself @ Artscape Wychwood Barns Sept 6-11

2011-09-02T15:09:00.000-04:00

Artscape Wychwood Barns

601 Christie Street, Toronto, ON (Christie just below St. Clair) Meet in Barn 2 Covered Street

Toronto, ON

New collective, Tones of Voice in association with the Goethe Foundation Toronto, is pleased to announce the debut of besidemyselfworld, a multi-disciplinary solo piece based on the autobiographical writings of the German autistic mute teenager, Birger Sellin. besidemyselfworld uses an emotionally powerful radiophonic soundtrack along with evocative light and imagery to convey the story of a young autistic man reaching out to the world through the once-impermeable walls of his autism.

besidemyselfworld is adapted by Mark Cassidy of Threshold Theatre and Darren Copeland of New Adventures in Sound Art, from Sellin’s groundbreaking book Ich will kein Inmich mehr sein (i dont want to be inside me anymore). German actor Sebastian Schäfer plays the narrator/technician who seeks to understand autism and the autistic element that exists in the creative personality. Media artists Katie Kehoe and Peter O’Neill equip Schäfer with a repertoire of portable multi-media devices to transform both theatrical and everyday environments into highly immersive worlds of sound, light, and abstract imagery.

The production marks the launching of Tones of Voice, a new company created by Copeland and Cassidy to present and develop stage and media works which merge sound and spoken word in innovative ways. Tones of Voice aims to reach an international audience by producing touring performances, digital media and online presentations.

Dates: September 6 to September 11, 2011
Tue-Sat @ 8 PM and Sun @ 2 PM
NOTE: September 9th performance in German
Tickets: Regular $10, Students $5, available only at the door.
To reserve, email: tonesofvoice@gmail.com

Pam McConnell on Toronto's Libraries

2011-08-17T08:52:00.004-04:00

Councillor McConnell's message (in response to an email I sent her earlier) is clear and takes a stand against library cuts AND the whole direction of Mayor Ford. She does not believe that we should be "participating in a race to the bottom."!

Way to go, Pam! You have my vote!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thank you for your message on the library system and your concerns about its future because of the recent reports by KPMG.

The consultants' reports have clearly demonstrated that the vast majority of City services are either essential or mandatory, and that there is very little waste that can be trimmed to balance the budget. As a result, KPMG only had a few non-legislated services and functions to be considered as frills. It is entirely unacceptable that our library system be considered as non-essential and an option for service cuts.

I am extremely critical of the options presented by the consultants, and I do not believe that we should be participating in a race to the bottom. Our library system is of vital importance to our community, whether it is the student doing school work, the new Canadian accessing learning tools and a social circle, or the family enjoying reading and learning. The success of our library system is testament to its importance in our community.

I consistently hear from residents that they want our city to maintain and improve our services. I heard this throughout the recent municipal election, at the meetings I have hosted and attended in the community, and in the calls and e-mails my office has received. I remain committed to defending the services and programs that make our city and our neighbourhoods desirable places to live, work, and play - from our libraries to the Riverdale Farm, our child care system to our long-term care homes, from our affordable housing program to our parks and recreation facilities.

Thank you, once again, for your message and your support for the libraries and city services. I hope that you will talk to your friends and neighbours about the city you want to live in and encourage them to make their voices heard.

Sincerely,

Pam

Stratford Festival announces Michael Langham Workshop

2011-08-04T11:45:00.004-04:00

Call for submissions from Canadian directors for 2012

The Michael Langham Workshop
for Classical Direction
a director training program with emphasis on classical text

Michael Langham - Artistic Director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, 1956·1967
"Michael Langham was a cherished mentor and leacher, the intellectual architect of the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival and a master of his art. His visionary approach to
Shakespeare laid the foundation for the Festival's creative practice. The Michael
Langham Workshop for Classical Direction works to ensure that future generations of
artists have access to the same tools that Michael himself used to create rich and resonant
theatre; I am honoured that we can pass on his gifts to our country's finest emerging
directors."

Des McAnuff, Artistic Director, Stratford Shakespeare Festival

Des McAnuff, Artistic Director and Antoni Cimolino. General Director announce that the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival will continue to offer The Michael Langham Workshop
for Classical Direction in 20 12. The program is overseen by David Latham, Theatre
Training Consultant and Dean Gabourie, Assistant Artistic Director. The program's
inaugural year was 2010. Participants in 201 1 were:

Eric Benson (Halifax) -1st yr
Sharon Bajer (Winnipeg) - 2nd yr
Dian Marie Bridge (Toronto) - 2nd yr
Heather Davies (London) - 1 st yr
Alan Dilworth (Toronto) - 1 st yr
Varrick Grimes (Stratford) _1 st yr
Thomas Morgan Jones (Toronto) - 2nd yr
Rachel Peake (Vancouver) - lst yr
Andrew Shaver (Montreal) - 1st yr
Ral.:hel Slaven (Brooklyn) - 2nd yr
Lezlie Wade (Niagara-on-thc-Lake) - 2nd yr

This call for submissions is for theatre directors, from emerging to mid-stages of careerbuilding,
who have some experience working with the classics, but not at a theatre of the
complexity and scope of the Festival. Their primary task will be assistant directing.
The Festival 's playbill includes a broad range of work from classics, musicals, contemporary
Canadian, British and American plays. Participants will be matched to one of these works. The
2012 season begins in February and ends in October. Assistant directors are usually required for 8- 16 weeks within that timeframe. See the 2012 press release:http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/education/training.aspx?id=5767

Selected participants will be given the opportunity to choose 12 minutes of classical text
presented over two Directors' Workshop Presentation evenings in the Studio Theatre in
October of 20 12. Resources include actors, rehearsal space, venue, costumes and set pieces from our warehouse, product ion support and formal feedback plus travel and an honorarium.
Participants will join in existing classes in text, voice, movement and other disciplines regularly
held by the Festival 's Theatre Training Department as well as specialized classes taught by the
Theatre Training Consultant, Festival coaches and invited instructors exploring specific text,
vocal and physical skills for use in the rehearsal process of a classical play.

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is an institution rich in resources and hi story and this
program will include, as part of the networking component: tours, complimentary ti ckets to
shows, invitations to special events, access to archives and libraries, chats/dinners both formal
and informal with senior staff and guest directors.

Workshop participants will be paid a fee plus a travel and accommodation subsidy.
Please submit a resume, a letter of recommendation and a personal letter highlighting why
you would like to participate. Final matching of Assistant Directors to plays is entirely at the
discretion of the Festival creative team.

Please send your package by mail or email to:
Bonnie Green
Assistant Producer
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
Box 520, 55 Queen St
Stratford, ON Canada N5A 6V2
519-27 1-4040 ex 2290
bgreen@stratfordshakespearcfcstival .com

Submissions must be postmarked or emailed by August 15,2011 but we appreciate
receiving your submission ASAP.

Final decisions for 2012 will be made no later than December of2011.
This program is partially funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Diab update from TASC

2011-07-20T13:47:00.003-04:00

Despite incredibly "Weak Case," Hassan Diab Forced to Keep Resisting Extradition to France

report from Matthew Behrens of the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada, tasc@web.ca

July 12, 2011 – Dr Hassan Diab is a Canadian university professor fighting for his freedom, and for his life. The French government wants him to face trial for what they allege is Dr. Diab’s involvement in a 1980 bombing that killed four people. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

There’s only one problem. Dr. Diab’s fingerprints don’t match the suspect’s. His palm prints do not match. The physical description does not match. The handwriting does not match. The allegations against him have been found “weak”, “suspect,” and “confusing” by a Canadian judge. That same judge concluded June 6 that “the case presented by the Republic of France against Mr. Diab is a weak case; the prospects of conviction in the context of a fair trial, seem unlikely.” With such a strong defence, one would think Dr. Diab would be breathing easy. Instead, he is strapped to a GPS monitoring bracelet for which he must pay $2,000 a month (a new version of the Dickensian debtors’ prison, in which your freedom is now dependent on your ability to pay the state’s surveillance costs), barred from leaving his home without a court-approved monitor, and faced with a curfew worse than that imposed on most 10-year-olds. He cannot teach, his home is frequently invaded by RCMP agents, and he lives with the unimaginable stress that he might spend the rest of his life in a small French jail cell.

PRESUMPTION OF GUILT

How could such an outrage occur? Under Canada’s extradition law, the duty of a Canadian court and the Minister of Justice is, first and foremost, to the government seeking an individual. That individual no longer enjoys the rights that are supposed to be accorded everyone else in this country facing the deprivation of their liberty. Canadian standards of evidence are thrown out the window. The case against the individual is presumed to be reliable, regardless of how many inaccuracies, errors, omissions, and contradictions are contained within it. One cannot present evidence to show one’s innocence, and the requesting state need not present any evidence of that innocence.

The deck is clearly stacked yet, as the Supreme Court of Canada has found, extradition is, in the end, not a legal issue, but a political decision: is the government of Canada willing to risk its relations with one of its extradition partners, or is it willing to sacrifice one of its citizens (or a refugee or permanent resident who is also sought) in the name of maintaining happy diplomacy?

In all extradition cases, the argument goes, an individual sought by another country can “sort out the mess” upon their arrival in a foreign jail. It is a process fraught with danger: a foreign government can carry out a persecution by proxy using the extradition law, claiming it has a case against a political pain in the neck living in Canada, presenting what amounts to a “prima facie” case without needing to vouch for the case’s accuracy.

In the Diab case, the French government seems intent on “solving” the mystery of the 1980 bombing at any cost, even if that means nabbing someone who appears to be the victim of mistaken identity. Their main piece of evidence is an “expert” handwriting report by someone who has a degree in biology and forensics and who only took 21 hours of training in expert handwriting analysis.

QUESTIONABLE FRENCH METHODS

What was known as the Bisotti report was subject to a great deal of scrutiny during the extradition hearing, including three blistering critiques by internationally renowned handwriting experts. Indeed, the government of Canada declared that the case all came down to the handwriting, though it took numerous kicks at the can in coming to this very weak conclusion. In fact, both France and the Attorney General withdrew previous handwriting reports when it was revealed that they were based on handwriting samples that were not even written by Dr. Diab..

“Although I could not conclude it was manifestly unreliable, it was nonetheless highly susceptible to criticism and impeachment,” Judge Maranger wrote of the handwriting evidence. Indeed, he went on, “evidence presented on behalf of the person sought has largely served to substantially undermine the French report; it has been shown to be evidence that is susceptible to a great deal of criticism and attack.

“The Bisotti report has been shown to be based on some questionable methods and on an analysis that seems very problematic. The use of two completely separate signatures, i.e. Hassan Diab’s and an illegible fictitious signature, as a means of doing handwriting comparison analysis seems illogical…I found the French expert report convoluted, very confusing, with conclusions that are suspect. Despite this view, I cannot say that it is evidence that should be completely rejected as “manifestly unreliable”.

It’s not just the weak handwriting evidence that is problematic. Maranger wrote that he accepted the Canadian government position that “there is no responsibility upon a requesting state to provide full disclosure of all of its evidence.” Hence, 10 witnesses can testify that an individual was not at the scene of the crime, but someone’s life in Canada could be uprooted and ruined because of the fact that the French, or any other government, can cook up a case that suits their needs and exclude exonerating evidence.

Maranger also notes that the Record of the case (ROC) as originally presented by France — in French, a language Dr. Diab does not speak – was “replete with seemingly disconnected information….while providing some conventional evidence, [it] also contained a great deal of argument, hypothesis, conjecture, and references to information received, without describing the source of that information or the circumstances upon which it was received.”

This, in essence, is secret, “unsourced” information. Where did it come from? Was torture involved?

The ROC also includes information that it gleaned from “a series of reports and newspaper articles,” hardly the stuff that would normally be accepted in a court (but which is normally included against individuals stigmatized by the Canadian government, such as refugees and, in the past decade, Muslims facing secret hearing security certificates and Tamils fleeing genocide.)

MAJOR MISREPRESENTATIONS

Diab’s lawyers raised nine specific issues of misrepresentations including omissions, inaccuracies, and contradictions in the French case, all of which they said amounted to an abuse of process. Maranger found there was an “air of reality” to the arguments put forward by Diab’s legal team, but in the end, he again dismissed them.

Indeed, Maranager bends over backwards to honour the French case, despite making statements such as “Although it was a blatant error requiring an explanation, I cannot find that it constitutes a complete failure of due diligence,” and concluding elsewhere that a problem in the record “was an inadvertent error.” How would he know? And more importantly, how can such problems be so easily dismissed in favour of the requesting state? In another instance, Maranger says “this was clearly a mistake on the part of the requesting authority that should have been corrected.” But it wasn’t. Verbal slap on the wrist to the French, an extra set of leg irons for Dr. Diab.

Under extradition law, Maranger says, there is “a presumption that evidence contained in the ROC is reliable.” So much for the presumption of innocence that is supposed to belong to the person sought.

Maranager found Diab’s defence was “compelling, and forcefully argued,” but that in the end, this did not matter, adding “to use standards of admissibility derived from Canadian criminal law…runs afoul of the governing statute.”

And so, like an Alabama judge convicting Rosa Parks for sitting in the front of the bus (the old “the law is the law and we cannot stray from it” approach that has sustained too many injustices to recount here), Judge Maranger offered up Hassan Diab as a sacrificial lamb on the altar of good relations with the French government. While washing his hands of any responsibility for this decision, he attempted to temper the view of him as a rubber stamp by stating that although he believes that the case was weak, “it matters not that I hold this view. The law is clear that in such circumstances a committal order is mandated.”

But Maranager’s bold statement is not backed up by the facts or the law, and contradicts the quotation he borrows from the Chief Justice of Canada’s Supreme Court, who wrote in the leading extradition case: “I take it as axiomatic that a person could not be committed for trial for an offence in Canada if the evidence is so manifestly unreliable that it would be unsafe to rest a verdict upon it. It follows that if a judge on an extradition hearing concludes that the evidence is manifestly unreliable, the judge should not order extradition.”

Hence, Maranger on the one hand says there is a strong likelihood that the French, in a fair trial, would not secure a conviction given a fair trial – and there is clearly no guarantee of a fair French trial for Dr. Diab – but on the other, draws a conclusion that is completely opposite to a higher court judge’s direction in extradition cases. If the case for “manifest unreliability” is that a conviction would likely not be registered, it is difficult to understand how Maranger can say that the case against Dr. Diab – which he admits is too weak for a conviction – is not manifestly unreliable.

UNEVEN CANADIAN STANDARDS

In addition, as Diab’s lawyer, Donald Bayne, pointed out subsequent to the ruling, if the case had been heard in British Columbia, Diab would be a free man today, for their courts rule differently than Ontario courts on extradition cases.

“The British Columbia Court of Appeal decided there ought not to be an extradition if that is the nature of the extradition case, so Dr. Diab today would be walking a free man in Vancouver had this case been conducted there and in Ontario he is behind bars,” Bayne said. “That is a situation that is simply untenable in Canada, that Canadians are subjected to totally different standards depending on where they live. I would suspect that would attract the attention of the Supreme Court of Canada.”

While some have asked why Dr. Diab doesn’t simply throw in the towel and go to France and “sort out the mess,” the answer is simple: France has been criticized by the international community and is currently before the European Court of Human Rights for violating Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the fair trial right –for running terrorist trials based on secret, anonymous intelligence.” In addition, why should someone give up their life in Canada and risk spending years fighting in another country, especially given the slipshod "case" against them?

The Diab case is a wake-up call for everyone in Canada, for the ease with which an everyday regular life can be disrupted by such a case is frightening. While Dr. Diab is launching an appeal that could very well go to the Supreme Court, he and his partner, Rania Tfaily, have a long struggle ahead of them.

Individuals concerned about the ease with which basic human rights can so suddenly disappear in these cases can get involved on many levels:

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Write to the Minister of Justice, Robert Nicholson, and urge him to stop Dr. Diab's extradition. Email: rob.nicholson@parl.gc.ca

2. Help ease the huge financial burden carried by Hassan and Rania. We are seeking 100 individuals who can pledge $20 or more a month for the rest of the year to help pay the cost of the GPS monitoring. If you are willing to be a proud supporter of Hassan's right not to be subject to detention if he cannot afford the cost of state surveillance, please email us at diabsupport@gmail.com OR visit http://www.justiceforhassandiab.org/donate

3. Sign the statement "A Shock to Our Conscience and an Affront to Liberty" (located at http://stopextradition.diabpetition.org/

To sign, simply send an email to diabsupport@gmail.com letting us know that you wish to sign

4. Help organize an event in your community about Hassan's case and the extradition law.

5. Post details about the injustices in Hassan's case on your facebook or myspace

6. Write to newspapers and to journalists about Hassan's case and the unfairness of Canada's extradition law

More info: Justice for Hassan Diab committee

(report from Matthew Behrens of the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada, tasc@web.ca

Pollinators Festival, Saturday June 25th

2011-05-11T13:57:00.000-04:00

Calling all artists who love the birds and bees!

The Pollinators Festival is coming to Evergreen Brick Works on Saturday June 25^th, 2011. The Festival is in honor of International Pollinator Week and seeks to raise awareness and appreciation for the birds, bees, flies and butterflies that pollinate our fruits, veggies and flowers.

We want to integrate the arts into the festival and will do so by hosting a community art exhibit. We are looking for any pollinator-inspired artwork (poetry, paintings, photographs, etc) to share with the public. If you have any existing work of anything pollinator related, send it to us. If you don’t have anything yet, go outside and make something! Please email a jpeg of your work to Madeleine.lavin@gmail.com by June 15^th, 2011. We will print a copy of your masterpiece and hang it up at Evergreen Brick Works during the Festival. With your permission, we will sell the work and donate all of the proceeds to Pollination Canada.

Help us spread the word and pass this on to your artist friends. The exhibit is open to all!

Here are the details about the festival (see attached flier for more):

Saturday June 25, 2011

9 am-2 pm

Evergreen Brick Works (map)

Join us on Facebook here.

Sabrina

Toronto Fringe Festival launches Creation Lab

2011-05-06T16:04:00.001-04:00

It’s More Than Just a Theatre Festival:

Toronto Fringe Launches Creation Lab!

TORONTO – On May 5 Toronto Fringe Executive Director Gideon Arthurs announced an exciting new development to Toronto’s theatre scene – The Fringe Creation Lab at the Centre for Social Innovation Annex. The Fringe Creation Lab features over 3,000 square feet of creation space and a quickly growing list of resources that will accommodate rehearsals, workshops, readings, seminars and intimate special events for Toronto’s theatre & dance community. The Fringe Creation Lab stems from the Fringe Festival’s founding values of access to creative opportunity.

Arthurs explains, “The Toronto Fringe has been a launching pad for Canada’s most successful theatrical ventures, but too often independent ‘Fringe’ artists aren’t given access to resources they need to have their creative endeavours succeed”. The Fringe Creation Lab was born out of roundtable conversations that identified problems facing the independent theatre community. While much of the community’s immediate response was a lack of funding, the Fringe identified common needs and is offering the Fringe Creation Lab as a pooled resource for stage artists in the GTA.

Arthurs continues, “The Fringe Creation Lab will be a home base for independent artists, thinkers and arts enthusiasts to foster their creative spirit and entrepreneurship. By creating a hub for this diverse community, we can elevate our craft, share resources, and reach new heights together”. The Fringe Creation Lab is an extension of the Fringe Festival’s founding values of access to opportunity and is available to artists at pro-bono and subsidized rates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration to book space will be announced in the fall.

CSI Executive Director Tonya Surman says, “We are absolutely thrilled having the Toronto Fringe as an anchor tenant at CSI Annex. The Toronto Fringe – and the Creation Lab – are precisely what the Centre for Social Innovation is all about: creativity, opportunity, and community driven solutions that strengthen our future”. The Centre for Social Innovation is a social enterprise with a mission to catalyze social innovation in Toronto and around the world. Operating two sites in downtown Toronto CSI provides a home to over 300 social change organizations. The Fringe Creation Lab will be CSI’s largest space dedicated to one tenant, however it will be shared by hundreds of theatre artists each year. CSI creates community workspaces, incubates emerging enterprises, and develops new models and methods with world-changing potential.

The Fringe Creation Lab marks Toronto Fringe’s last step in its year-round transformation (at least until the next surprise from the home of the unexpected). In 2008 Toronto Fringe began this transformation when it launched The Next Stage Theatre Festival, a second festival in the wintertime. An impressive roster of outreach programs benefiting artists and youth have launched as well, including distributing up to $10,000 to Fringe artists remounting their shows through the Fringe Evolution Fund and handing out 1,000 passes each summer for priority youth to attend the Fringe Festival free of charge.

But wait, there’s more!

‘Da Kink In My Hair is one of the biggest success stories to start at the Toronto Fringe. The show was picked up by David Mirvish and went on to tour the world and later be developed into a show for Global Television. Trey Anthony, the show’s creator, joined today’s celebration announcing the launch of a new award to recognize and promote culturally diverse Fringe artists. To whom much is given.... 'da Kink award will give $500 to two shows at this year’s festival that are written by a person of colour or a cast featuring people of colour.

Today’s announcement also marked the launch of a new partnership for the Toronto Fringe with Toronto’s NOW Magazine - Canada’s leading alternative news and entertainment weekly since its inaugural issue in 1981. Alice Klein, NOW’s Editor and CEO, says "We are so delighted to be working with the Toronto Fringe as it settles into a new home and takes its last step in a transformation from annual event to a truly year-round arts organization. Looking forward to this summer’s Toronto Fringe Festival, NOW's passionate theatre-adoring readers and the Fringe's surprise-filled excitement are as natural a combo as "love" and "first sight". This year’s Fringe Festival will run July 6 – 17.

Individuals looking to donate to the Fringe Creation Lab can visit

www.fringetoronto.com or call 416-966-1062

Creation Lab Media Contact:

Adam Kirkham, Development & Communications Manager, development@fringetoronto.com, 416.966.1062

Toronto Fringe Festival Media Contact:

Heather Ervin, Festival Publicist, media@fringetoronto.com, 416.966.1062

Young Artists: Leadership Training in Mural-making

2011-04-19T06:40:00.001-04:00

Youth Artists are invited to apply for

Off the Wall: Leadership Training in Mural Making – 2011

CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

A free training program for leadership development in mural art production and project management.

For youth mural artists

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Class schedule: May & June – Tuesdays, 4pm – 6pm. Start date May 10

June/July - Saturdays, 11am – 4pm

Total = 60+ hours of classroom and hands-on instruction

LOCATION: The Hub, 2660 Eglinton Avenue East (at Brimley) for in class instruction.

Onsite and hands-on class locations will be confirmed later.

This course is free for qualifying youth artists who show a serious interest in furthering their knowledge and skills in mural art.

To qualify, you must:

· Be 16 years or older;

· Have completed a minimum of Grade 11 art class or equivalent

· Demonstrate interest in large scale outdoor painting and community public art

· Be prepared to commit to completing the full Leadership Training in Mural Making Course

· Have previous experience working in mural art or similar visual art

· Attend an interview on May 3, between 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

How to submit an application:

1. Fill in the application form

2. Send completed form with resume & some images of your work; or link to images of your artwork

by email to: program@muralroutes.com or

deliver to: Mural Routes, 1859 Kingston Road, Scarborough, ON M1N 1T3

or to : Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities, The Hub, 2660 Eglinton Avenue East, Scarborough, ON M1K 2S3

3. Write “LEADERSHIP TRAINING APPLICATION” in the subject line of an email, or on the outside of your submission.

4. Applications must be received by: 5:00 pm, Tuesday, April 26, 2011

What you can expect from the Course:

A specialized curriculum designed to cover all of the basics of mural art production
Training to improve your knowledge and skills to obtain work in the field
Instruction by qualified artists and instructors
Opportunities for summer mural artist apprenticeships
Assistance with future work placement
Mural Production: Resource Handbook
Course material / Leadership in Mural Art training manual
A Mural Routes Certificate of Achievement
Class size: 15 – 20

Curriculum includes:

· Budget and Project Management

· Client and community relations

· Mentoring, Health & Safety and Equity Training

· Drawing & Painting

· Hands-on instruction; working with different materials;

· Independent Study assignment

For complete course outline please see www.muralroutes.com

Course Supervisor: Karin Eaton, Executive & Artistic Director, Mural Routes

Course Leader- Program Manager: Rob Matejka, Artist/Educator

Questions? Contact Karin Eaton at 416-698-7995 karin@muralroutes.com

Or Rob Matejka at robmatejka@hotmail.com

This program is produced by Mural Routes in partnership with Arts for Children & Youth, Big Brother Big Sisters of Toronto, Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities, Action for Neighbourhood Change and Urban Arts.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Government of Ontario through the Programs and Services Branch of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the City of Toronto through the Innovation, Opportunity & Prosperity Program

---------------------------------------------------

APPLICATION FORM

Off the Wall: Leadership Training in Mural Making – 2011

NAME:

ADDRESS:

POSTAL CODE:

PHONE:

EMAIL:

AGE:

LIST PREVIOUS ART CLASSES, WORKSHOPS OR OTHER RELEVANT TRAINING:

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN MURAL OR VISUAL ART WORK:

BRIEF STATEMENT - WHY I WANT TO ENROLL IN “LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN MURAL MAKING” COURSE:

Don’t forget to include a resume and samples of your work or a link to images of your art work.

Karin Eaton
Executive Director
Mural Routes
416-698-7995
karin@muralroutes.com
www.muralroutes.com
http://muralroutes.wordpress.com/
http://thebridgingproject.blogspot.com/

Celebrating the Life of Cayle Chernin Apr. 25

2011-04-11T15:57:00.003-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday April 11, 2011

Celebrating the Life of Cayle Chernin Toronto, ON…

Join us for an evening of memories and entertainment honouring the life and work of celebrated Canadian actress, Cayle Cherin. In support of the newly founded Cayle Chernin Memorial Fund and hosted by David Gale and Deb Filler, this celebration will play for one night only, Monday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m. at the Bloor Street Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W. The evening will include musical performances, spoken word and dance, with performances by Tabby Johnson, Rosie Shuster, Steve Shuster, Spirit Synott, Jillian Rees Brown & Women of the Rock, Susan Gross, Kirsten Bishopric, Theresa Tova, Vladimir Jon Cubrt & Aidan Devine, Jayne Eastwood, Stanley Endersby, Keith McKie, Michael Fonfara, Johnny Wright, Robbie Rox and others (performers are subject to change).

Personal and professional anecdotes, photos and film clips will shared by Cayle’s closest friends and family and her loving husband, actor Dwight McFee.An online auction has been launched in support of the Cayle Chernin Memorial Fund and includes great gifts, exciting nights out, one-of-a-kind art and more. There will be plenty to bid on including autographed film and television memorabilia, singing lessons and photographic services; theatre tickets to Soulpepper, Tarragon, Factory Theatre and passes to Hot Docs, the Female Eye Film Festival and the Bloor Cinema. Don’t miss out on great items including clothing, jewellery, art and home decor from Dreamboat Lucy, 72 Jem Street, Theodore 1922, Tulips and Sunflower, McKenna Photography and Gift Certificates for Pineapple Kensington, Bungalow, Crema, Crush Wine Bar, The Lakeview Lunch and much, much more. The auction will run from April 12th to April 26th only. To sign up and bid on great items, visit http://vonality.com/caylecherninmemorial/.

A special thanks to Vonality for hosting the auction.

The Cayle Chernin Memorial Fund was created to commemorate the nurturing spirit of actress Cayle Chernin. The fund will award an annual cash prize to an emerging female artist in the performing arts, alternating yearly between theatre and film/digital media performers. The fund will and is administered by the Creative Arts Savings and Credit Union.

Cayle Chernin, actor, documentary filmmaker, teacher, mentor, and star of Don Shebib’s classic Canadian film Goin’ Down the Road and its recently completed sequel Down the Road Again, passed away on February 18th. Cayle was known for her talent, generosity, imagination, intellect and incredible smile. She was also valued for her commitment to women's issues. Her career spanned more than four decades in film, on stage and developing new works and encouraging up and coming artists.

This is a Free Event, with donations being accepted for The Cayle Chernin Memorial Fund. Special thanks to Equity Showcase Theatre, The Creative Arts, Bloor Cinema and Paupers Pub, for their support of this event.

Find us on Twitter @caylesmemorial, and visit our Facebook page at Friends of Cayle.

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Media Contact: Zoe Carter, Producer Cleopatra’s Needle Productions 416-346-0467 / cleopatrasneedle@bell.net

Making Paper Movies Event April 15

2011-04-11T11:04:00.000-04:00

Making Paper Movie - A workshop with Ron G. Davis, founder of the San Francisco Mime Troupe www.sfmt.org Friday, April 15, 2011 11:00 – 1:00 Palmerston Ave & Bloor St. Picture storytelling is a practice and tradition that finds roots in China and other Asian nations going back over hundreds and hundreds of years. Our contemporary cinema finds surprising picture storytelling precursors in medieval German bankelsang (literally singing banners), Italian cantastoria (sung stories), and even 12th Century Japanese Buddhist kamishibai (literally "paper scrolls"). Ron G. Davis, found of the San Francisco Mime Troupe has practiced numerous forms of popular theatre including the production of "paper movies" - moving scrolls of paper in which stories are illustrated and brought to life with witty and pointed scripts. In this workshop Ron will share some of his experience and he will lead some thinking, research, writing and production of a paper movie (likely to focus on the global production, marketing, distribution and consumption of the tomato; bring with you everything you know about tomatos). Registration is Pay What You Can & you can get some guidance about Catalyst Centre’s fee policy here: http://www.catalystcentre.ca/a-school-of-activism/fees-policy and to register, please RSVP by e-mail to chris@catalystcentre.ca and to get the workshop location address We invite you to participate in a potluck lunch after the workshop

Magnetic North seeks new Artistic Director/Curator

2011-02-11T07:40:00.005-05:00

Capitalism and Culture in the Junction, opening this Thursday, Feb. 3

2011-01-31T07:53:00.003-05:00

Kim Jackson, Community Arts Practice associate and Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate student at York University, is coordinating a community exhibition, Capitalism and Culture, in the Junction, opening this Thursday, Feb. 3, 7 - 10 PM, at 3109 Dundas Street West at Clandenan.

See poster below for details.

Explaining an Arts Non-Profit

2010-12-05T19:19:00.002-05:00

This video would be funny if it weren't so sadly true. I have had this conversation so many times, not only with audience members but regrettably with too many arts board members.

Odyssey — a Wind Ensemble Concert

2010-11-26T08:57:00.005-05:00

Silverthorn Symphonic Winds Presents Odyssey — a Wind Ensemble Concert
Featuring Artist in Residence Peter Stoll

Silverthorn Symphonic Winds (SSW), under the direction of Andrew Chung, presents "Odyssey — a Wind Ensemble Concert" featuring 2010/2011 Artist in Residence Peter Stoll, who will perform as soloist on clarinet and saxophone. Join us for a musical journey from the banks of Newfoundland to the streets of Harlem, from the rhythms of the Middle East to the melodies of Russia, from Celtic simplicity to Parisian sophistication. Featured soloist Peter Stoll will perform Rossini’s “Introduction, Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Band,” Hagen’s “Harlem Nocturne” for saxophone and band, and Morrissey’s “Interlude for Clarinet and Band.” Compositions by Copland, Hazo, Cable, Reed, and Ellerby will complete the programme.

The concert takes place on Sunday, December 5 at 2:00 p.m. at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, ON. Ticket prices are $25 for adults and $20 for students/seniors, and can be purchased online at www.rhcentre.ca or by phone at 905.787.8811.

The SSW Artist in Residence Program, established this year, offers an opportunity for ensemble members and the general public to benefit from the expertise of an established, professional musician. The 2010/2011 Artist in Residence, Peter Stoll, will be the featured soloist and host at the two Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts concerts, and will offer a free public masterclass (date to be announced) for adult and high school aged clarinetists. Throughout the season, he will attend six SSW rehearsals to provide coaching for woodwinds and to offer general feedback to the ensemble as a whole. In addition to enhancing the skills and musicality of ensemble members, Peter’s solo performances and engaging manner will be a delight for audiences.

Known for his virtuoso energy on stage, Peter Stoll was a prizewinner in the International Clarinet Society Competition, Solo Clarinetist with the World Orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales in Berlin and Vienna, and has been a guest clarinet soloist with orchestras in Canada, the U.S., and Russia. He has performed as a saxophone soloist with the Toronto Philharmonia, the Orillia Wind Ensemble, and with choirs in the Toronto and Ottawa area. A frequent performer of new music, Peter has traveled to Germany, New York City, Finland, and Lithuania with the ERGO ensemble. He is a core member of the Talisker Players, Principal Clarinetist of the Toronto Philharmonia, and a member of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. More information can be found on his website at: www.peterstoll.ca.

Founded in September 2006, Silverthorn Symphonic Winds brings classical and contemporary repertoire for wind ensemble to audiences in Toronto and York Region. The all-volunteer ensemble is characterized by exceptional dedication and a commitment to the highest possible level of performance. The musicians, who are all chosen by audition, range from highly accomplished amateurs to semi-professional musicians. Silverthorn Symphonic Winds is supported by a generous grant from The Ontario Trillium Foundation. For more information, visit: www.silverthornsymphonicwinds.ca.

Necessary Angel 2010-11 Season

2010-10-29T19:37:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media refer: Dianne Weinrib / DW Communications 416.703.5479 dw@dwcommunications.net

NECESSARY ANGEL ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS 2010-2011 SEASON

Toronto, October 28, 2010 – The 2010-2011 Necessary Angel season is the company’s most ambitious to date. The season offers two shows premiering in June 2011 at Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity; a new multi-disciplinary collaboration between two seminal Canadian artists; a tour to Ottawa; and the debut of Michael Ondaatje’s first play in over two decades.

Artistic Director Daniel Brooks, along with Associate Artists Brigitte Haentjens and Graham McLaren, collaborate with some of Canada’s finest writers and creators — Peggy Baker, Evie Christie, Louise Dupré, Michael Healey, Daniel MacIvor, and Michael Ondaatje — to continue to create astonishing and thought-provoking theatre.

Divisadero: a performance, a new collaboration between Daniel Brooks and Michael Ondaatje, debuts this winter. Brooks then teams up with recent Walter Carsen Prize winner Peggy Baker and Governor General’s Award winner Michael Healey for Are You Okay, produced by Peggy Baker Dance Projects in association with Necessary Angel. In June, the company’s two Associate Artists, Graham McLaren (director of last season’s multiple-Dora-nominated Hamlet) and Brigitte Haentjens (incoming artistic director of the National Arts Centre’s French Theatre) premiere two new works commissioned by Luminato: McLaren directs a daring new adaptation of Racine’s Andromache, written by Canadian poet and novelist Evie Christie, while Haentjens brings to Toronto the English-language premiere of her acclaimed creation Tout Comme Elle, featuring a diverse cast of 50 women. Finally, completing the season is a tour of Daniel MacIvor and Daniel Brooks’ This Is What Happens Next to Ottawa’s Great Canadian Theatre Company in May/June where it will be part of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival.

THE 2010-2011 NECESSARY ANGEL SEASON

Divisadero: a performance

Text: Michael Ondaatje

Direction: Daniel Brooks, Necessary Angel Artistic Director

Performers: Liane Balaban, Maggie Huculak, Tom McCamus, Amy Rutherford and Justin Rutledge

Songs: Justin Rutledge

Produced in association with The Film Farm

February 8-20, 2011, opening date to be determined

Theatre Passe Muraille’s Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto.

For tickets, call 416-504-7529

Michael Ondaatje’s adaptation of his novel Divisadero marks the author’s return to Necessary Angel after a lengthy absence. Following sold-out workshop presentations last fall (with the working title When My Name Was Anna), Ondaatje teams with director

Daniel Brooks for Divisadero: a performance. Ondaatje’s story explores themes of memory, identity, love and the grip of the past on the present; and tells of how a single event powerfully shapes the lives of two sisters. The production features original music written for the piece and performed by singer/songwriter Justin Rutledge. The ensemble cast also features Liane Balaban, Maggie Huculak, Tom McCamus and Amy Rutherford. Divisadero: a performance is designed by Andrea Lundy, Alexander MacSween, and John Thompson, and is stage managed by Crystal Salverda.

Are You Okay

Written by Michael Healey

Choreographed by Peggy Baker

Directed by Daniel Brooks

Featuring Peggy Baker and Michael Healey

Produced by Peggy Baker Dance Projects in association with Necessary Angel

Previews March 1-3, 2011, opens March 4, 2011, and runs until March 13, 2011

Factory Studio Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto.

For tickets, call 416-504-9971

A new creative partnership for Necessary Angel: the company teams up with Peggy Baker Dance Projects for Are You Okay, created and performed by Peggy Baker and Michael Healey, and directed by Daniel Brooks. Born out of Baker and Healey’s attraction to – and curiosity about – each other’s work, Are You Okay is a “mutual autobiography” that asks, “Is there enough room on a small stage for a solo dance concert and an actor’s monologue to be performed simultaneously?” It explores themes of physical mastery, physical innocence, creation, destruction, re-creation, recreation, and the brutal humour of time. Are You Okay features lighting design by Rebecca Picherack and composition and percussion by Debashis Sinha.

Andromache

By Jean Racine, Adapted by Evie Christie

Directed by Graham McLaren, Necessary Angel Associate Artist

Featuring Christine Horne, Arsinée Khanjian, Steven McCarthy and Christopher Morris

Commissioned and presented by Luminato

Previews June 10, 2011, opens June 11, 2011, and runs until June 19, 2011

The Theatre Centre, 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto.

For tickets, TBA

Graham McLaren brings his visceral, action-based approach to Andromache, a new version of the rarely produced Racine play, written by poet and author Evie Christie. McLaren describes Christie’s bold, provocative poetry as having the ability to “thrill us in the way the 17^th Century French might have felt about Racine’s ‘diamond-edged’ language.” Christie’s Andromache is a modern adaptation set in a war-torn land where obsessive love and lust lead people to do unspeakable acts. Andrea Lundy, whose lighting design for last year’s Hamlet won the Dora Mavor Moore Award, teams with McLaren again for this production. Andromache features Christine Horne, Steven McCarthy, Christopher Morris, and Arsinée Khanjian in the title role. Crystal Salverda is the stage manager.

Tout Comme Elle

Written by Louise Dupré, Translated by Erín Moure

Directed by Brigitte Haentjens, Necessary Angel Associate Artist

Featuring a diverse cast of 50 women

Produced in association with Sibyllines

Commissioned and presented by Luminato

Previews June 13, 2011, opens June 14, 2011, and runs until June 18, 2011

Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto.

For tickets, TBA

The English-language premiere of Siminovitch Prize-winning director Brigitte Haentjens’ Tout Comme Elle is the largest production of Necessary Angel’s season as well as in its thirty-two year history. Tout Comme Elle is an exploration of the painful separation, and yet inextricable connection, between mother and daughter. Mirroring the cultural diversity of the city of Toronto, a cast of 50 actresses – representing all backgrounds, ages, and types – perform the piece that combines song and movement with a rich poetic text in a powerful expression of the female voice. A daring piece of theatre about the inevitability of loss and the eternal nature of love, Tout Comme Elle is written by acclaimed Québecoise poet Louise Dupré and translated by Governor General’s Award-winning poet and translator, and Griffin Prize nominee, Erín Moure. Kate Porter is the stage manager.

This Is What Happens Next

Created by Daniel MacIvor and Daniel Brooks

Written and Performed by Daniel MacIvor

Directed and Dramaturged by Daniel Brooks

Previews May 24, 2011, opens May 26, 2011, runs until June 12, 2011

Great Canadian Theatre Company, 1233 Wellington Street West, Ottawa.

To purchase tickets, call 1-613-236-5196

After a successful run at the prestigious Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina this past summer, Daniel MacIvor and Daniel Brooks’ This Is What Happens Next tours to Ottawa’s Great Canadian Theatre Company where it will be part of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. The show is the most recent collaboration between one of the most potent and influential partnerships in Canadian theatre. It has been called “a genius... high-octane blend of autobiography, anecdote, philosophical musing and fairy-tale fantasy,” by the Montreal Gazette, while the Toronto Star calls it “a very rich piece of theatre that will keep you guessing till the last second…MacIvor is going into new and uncharted territory.” Rob Harding is the stage manager.

About Necessary Angel:

Founded in 1978 and based in Toronto, Canada, Necessary Angel has been an influential and original presence on the national and international theatre scene for over 30 years. Having produced over 50 productions, including 27 world premieres and 10 North American premieres, the company is considered to be one of English Canada's most important original creation and touring organizations. Necessary Angel tours its work to prominent theatres and festivals across Canada and internationally. The company’s plays have been nominated for and have won numerous Governor General’s Awards for Drama, Chalmers Awards for Outstanding New Play, and countless Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Over the years, Necessary Angel has welcomed the participation of outstanding literary icons, including Michael Ondaatje and Timothy Findley, while also developing new work with some of Canada’s leading playwrights, including Daniel MacIvor, John Mighton, Colleen Murphy, Jason Sherman, Colleen Wagner and David Young, whose works have become acclaimed on stages around the globe.

Daniel Brooks, Artistic Director of Necessary Angel since 2003, is a prolific and versatile artist whose innovation and risk-taking have made him a leader within the Canadian cultural landscape. He has been recognized with accolades and awards throughout Canada and around the world including the inaugural Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre.

For more information, visit the Necessary Angel website at www.necessaryangel.com.

About Luminato: For 10 extraordinary days in June, Toronto’s stages, streets, and public spaces are illuminated with arts and creativity. Luminato is an annual multi-disciplinary celebration of theatre, dance, music, literature, food, visual arts, fashion, film, and more. The fifth anniversary edition of Luminato will take place from June 10-19, 2011. Programming announcements will be made in early 2011. For details, please visit www.luminato.com.

About Peggy Baker Dance Projects: Led by one of Canada's foremost modern dancers, Peggy Baker Dance Projects is dedicated to the partnership of movement and live music to enrich the art of dance, and has performed with many outstanding musicians. Peggy Baker Dance Projects’ objective in creating, producing and touring its repertoire is to reach a broad public, offering audiences a deeper appreciation of the unique beauty and power of modern dance. For details, please visit www.peggybakerdance.com.

-30-

Media refer: Dianne Weinrib / DW Communications 416.703.5479 dw@dwcommunications.net

Luminato Media refer: Laura Barron McDowell 416-368-3100 x242 lbarron@luminato.com

Necessary Angel

401 Richmond St W

Suite 392

Toronto, Ontario

M5V 2A8

p: 416.703.0406

f: 416.703.4006

info@necessaryangel.com

Canadian Classical Music Coalition inaugural meeting

2010-10-29T14:45:00.005-04:00

(Rec'd from George Zukerman)

The newly formed Canadian Classical Music Coalition [Coalition Canadienne de musique classique] [CCMC] is hosting a round-table discussion on the problems of programming classical music, at 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov 8, in the Alberta Room at the Westin Hotel.

The Coalition hopes to speak with one voice on issues of urgent need and interest to all areas of classical music interest, and we expect to submit recommendations to the conference for future consideration.

Please join us to express common concerns for the future of classical music in Canada.

Here is the proposed agenda for the meeting:

Canadian Classical Music Coalition/ Coalition Canadienne de musique classique

CAPACOA Round-Table - a part of the 2010 CAPACOA conference

SUBJECT: Proposed advocacy for classical music within CAPACOA

Date: Monday, Nov. 08 Time: 2 p.m..

Place: Alberta room Westin Hotel, Ottawa

AGENDA
(1) Opening remarks: - a chance to lead in the revitalization of classical programming and touring . Background and reasons
(2) Creating a community of classical music from Coast to Coast to Coast.
(a) can the Coalition become a "membership" organization?
(i) staffing and funding
(ii) dues?
(iii) increasing membership
(b) what is the Coalition’s role in relation to other existing organizations?
(3) Starting with CAPACOA
(a) how can CAPACOA be encouraged to stimulate the inclusion of more classical music programmes in volunteer and facility-managed series across the nation?
(b) how can CAPACOA join in the national efforts to return CBC Radio to its mandated role as public broadcaster of classical music and otherwise encourage national broadcasting of classical content through CBC or other broadcast outlets?
(c) how can CAPACOA best support moves to maintain and strengthen the operating and touring funding needs of Canadian classical music arts organizations and artists, both at home and abroad?
(d) which organizations [national or Provincial] do we approach next?
(4) Resolutions re the above for submission to CAPACOA
(5) New business from the floor
(9) Next meeting plans and adjournment

gzuk@telus.net George Zukerman
rgambrel@hotmail.com Rick Gambrel
scalesb@aol.com Barbara Scales
rmissen@sympatico.ca Robert Missen

Mail:
George Zukerman
2306 Harbourgreene Drive
Surrey, BC V4A 5J2
(604)538-5057
Fax (604)536-5037

Your movie’s finally here, Tyler - Arts & Culture - Macleans.ca

2010-10-16T10:27:00.001-04:00

Your movie’s finally here, Tyler - Arts & Culture - Macleans.ca

"I used to believe that being respectful of Aboriginal issues meant remaining silent—I’m not native, what right do I have? But politically correct silence permits a kind of blindness to what’s happening . . ." Andree Cazabon

Art sensitizes us to social and political issues, but sometimes the artists themselves are politicized, activated, motivated by the situations that the encounter as they create, chronicle and interpret.

Andree Cazabon has chronicled this process in a wonderful small piece in the current Macleans magazine.

I am finding the north to be a place of stark contrasts. The vastness of the sky, the quality of the light creates a shimmering landscape of beauty. The trees seem to go on forever. There are lakes that no one has named. But the social problems in these small communities are evident everywhere. I will be very interested to see the film "Third World Canada".

2010-09-30T08:44:00.003-04:00

PLEASE POST: September 29, 2010

Unsolicited Scripts and Project Submission Guidelines

Canadian Stage accepts unsolicited scripts and previously produced projects for consideration for production.

Founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre, Canadian Stage is one of Canada’s leading not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies. Led by Artistic & General Director Matthew Jocelyn, Canadian Stage produces and showcases innovative theatre work from Canada and around the world, allowing its audience to encounter daring work guided by a strong directorial vision and a 21st-century aesthetic. The company prides itself on presenting trans-disciplinary work and work in translation that pushes the boundaries of form and style. The company reinforces the presence of Canadian art and artists within an international context through work that mirrors the cultural diversity of Toronto. Canadian Stage has a long-standing commitment to education and enhancement programs for the public and investing in the art form by nurturing and developing theatre professionals while producing thought-provoking theatre and quality entertainment in Toronto, one of North America’s largest theatre centres. For more information, refer to canadianstage.com.

Submissions of both scripts and trans-disciplinary projects will be accepted in hard copy format only (no electronic submissions). DVDs and support materials are welcome. Submissions are reviewed by a reading committee made up of staff, artists and community members, and each project will receive a response within six months. Please note we do not provide a critique of your script or dramaturgical feedback.

Guidelines:
- Please provide two (2) copies of all materials including script or production project details including an outline of the play’s developmental history, artists involved and any other support materials.
- When possible, our committee members read each script blindly before looking at supplementary materials; please do not include your name on each page of your script.
- Please include a large self-addressed stamped envelope if you wish to have your materials returned.
- Our committee will review a script or project once.
- We will only review one script or project per writer per season.

Please send submissions to:
Unsolicited Script and Project Submissions
Attn: Natasha Mytnowych
Associate Director of Programming
Canadian Stage
26 Berkeley Street
Toronto, ON M5A 2W3

Toronto New Music MARATHON

2010-09-20T08:59:00.005-04:00

Toronto New Music MARATHON: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

An open letter to Kevin Krueger from Headlines Theatre

2010-08-19T21:28:00.001-04:00

Received from Headlines Theatre

An open letter to Kevin Krueger,
BC Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts

August 19, 2010

Art is the psyche of a society

Dear Minister Krueger:

I am a co-founder of Headlines Theatre (1981) and have been the Artistic Director since 1984, having worked in the professional theatre since 1975.

As I know you are aware, it has been a very difficult year: specifically for arts and culture in British Columbia, and for all social services. The devastation of current funding cuts is creating permanent damage in what used to be a healthy community. Very recently, however, the difficulty over funding cuts has escalated into a deep concern for our eroding democracy.

I am grateful to Jane Danzo, past Chair of the BC Arts Council for the courage, commitment, and integrity it took for her to resign, in order to be able to speak openly about the relationship between government and arts funding. The alarm bell she is ringing about lack of consultation, erosion of a sacred arms-length policy, and the inexplicable history of the government ignoring the advice of its own bipartisan Standing Committee on Finance to restore arts funding is essential. Her letter is available here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/36032945/Jane-Danzo-s-Letter-of-Resignation

There are, however, other things that need to be said:

Somehow, in the midst of deep cutting, you have found "new money" that equals $30 million dollars in Legacy Funding (over three years) to alleviate the effects of cuts to the arts. These funds must be given to the BC Arts Council with no strings attached so the Council can do its job: nurturing arts and culture in BC.

I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt, Minister Krueger. I hope that when you announced the "Arts Legacy" program "to celebrate and renew the pride and excitement British Columbians experienced during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games", with a timetable in which the programming must happen during the month of February 2011, the anniversary of the Olympics, that you somehow meant well. I am trusting that you do not fully understand the ramifications of these actions.

Government exists at arms length of the content of cultural expression across Canada for very important reasons. Cultural expression is the psyche of a society. When governments in other countries use culture for their own ideological agendas, people around the world have legitimate reasons for concern.

Freedom of thought and expression is crucial to a healthy individual and to a healthy society. Do we condone any level of government telling citizens what they can or should think in BC? I hope the answer to that question is an emphatic "no".

Humans think in metaphor. Art is a metaphoric language. Diversity of artistic expression is the manifestation of a society's psyche. When funding is available to arts and cultural groups with the caveat that the work must focus into a certain arena, as is the case with the Legacy funding, this is an attempt to control the content of artistic expression.

Throughout history, when governments have tried to control the content of cultural expression, whether from a left or a right ideology, societies have suffered terribly. All of us must be vigilant. It does not go unnoticed, for instance, that the logo of the BC Arts Council used to read "supported by the Province of British Columbia" and now reads, "an agency of the Province of British Columbia". Someone decided to change the letterhead and it must have happened as part of an ideological shift regarding the purpose of the BC Arts Council and the artistic expression it has facilitated.

We appear to have entered a frightening time in BC and all of us need to pay attention. This IS how the fragility of democracy erodes. It is a very slippery slope.

Minister Krueger, I urge you, having found $30 Million in the midst of deep and devastating cutting, to give the funds to the BC Arts Council, no strings attached, and let them do their job.

Sincerely,

David Diamond, Artistic and Managing Director
Headlines Theatre

Headlines Theatre
323 - 350 East 2nd Ave
Vancouver British Columbia V5T 4R8
Canada

ONN Releases Brief on Bill 65: Read & Submit your comments to the Government | Ontario Nonprofit Network

2010-08-19T16:42:00.000-04:00

ONN Releases Brief on Bill 65: Read & Submit your comments to the Government
Bill 65, An Act to revise the law in respect of Not-for-Profit Corporations, will apply to all charities and nonprofits that are incorporated under the Province of Ontario and most Ontario organizations are provincially incorporated. This is important legislation that impacts you!

Does your nonprofit organization care about:

• Calling your organization a public benefit corporation so the public can easily know your intent is to provide for the public good?

• Limiting the liability of your volunteer Directors?

• Accessing Community Bonds with credible oversight to raise funds?

• Ensuring that the threshold for annual audits is not reduced to $100,000?

• Maintaining your organization’s choice on the use of proxies?

These issues are all important amendments to Bill 65, Ontario’s proposed Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. This Act has the potential to be precedent-setting legislation that will serve the sector’s future, but this is a critical point in time as the draft Act moves into a legislative Committee for review.

The sector knows what it needs in a new legislative framework – but we must ensure the Standing Committee on Social Policy, who is reviewing the Act, hears us loud and clear.

The Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) has had our Expert Committee hard at work. Attached is the brief they have prepared which ONN has submitted to the Clerk of the Standing Committee on Social Policy. Please read it over and consider how Bill 65 will impact your organization.

PLEASE consider writing a letter identifying the issues you are concerned about or even to just say you support the work of ONN and agree with the contents of our brief. It is very important they know the sector cares.

Deadline: The Standing Committee is accepting written submissions regarding Bill 65 until Thursday, August 26th at 5pm. (see contact information below)

Questions? ONN and the Canadian Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) will co-sponsor a teleconference session on Wednesday, August 18th at 10am to address your questions and concerns on Bill 65 and the written submission process.

Please register for this event (http://bill65.eventbrite.com).

How to Submit a Written Submission:

1. E-mail your submission to:
Katch Koch, Committee Clerk (katch_koch@ontla.ola.org)
*The Clerk advises that while an e-copy is generally acceptable, they have in the past run into computer/network glitches where an e-mail does not reach the Committee by the deadline. Unfortunately this is the sender’s responsibility to ensure. If you send an e-copy, follow-up to ensure it was received.

2. Mail your submission to:
Katch Koch, Committee Clerk
Room 1405, Whitney Block
Queen’s Park, Toronto ON
M7A 1A2

Telephone: (416) 325-3526 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (416) 325-3526 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Facsimile: (416) 325-3505
TTY: (416) 325-3538

Upcoming Public Hearing: The Standing Committee on Social Policy will hold one public hearing for input on the current draft Act on Monday, August 23rd at 10am in Toronto. ONN recruited a number of organizations before the August 9th deadline from around the province to give 10 minute oral presentations (in person or by video conference).

Thank you for your support,

Ontario Nonprofit Network

ONN Releases Brief on Bill 65: Read & Submit your comments to the Government Ontario Nonprofit Network

Feed the Birds, Aug 12

2010-07-28T11:24:00.001-04:00

Fire Parade on Ward's Island July 30/10

2010-07-28T09:24:00.001-04:00

(received from Shadowland Puppet Theatre)

The annual Ward’s Island Fire Parade takes place this Friday July 30.
Assembly and pre-parade at 8.30pm at the Ward’s Island clubhouse (straight ahead from the Ward’s dock).
Parade sets off at 8.45pm

Cross the Water. Breathe the cool Island Air. Walk the earth. Feel the fire. Experience the unbroken circle.

Music, Lanterns, Stiltdancers, Hoola-Hoopers and Fire.

Feel free to bring instruments, candle-lit lanterns, your dancing selves and your friends and families.

Shadowland is running workshops each day 10am to 6pm, making costumes, shadow images and fire sculpture. A’Rythmics band practices are Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm.

Boats leave the city at 6.15, 7, 7.45 and 8.30. The Ward’s Island café (wonderfully resurrected by new owners) is right by the clubhouse and the Rectory café by the Algonquin Bridge, so come over early for dinner and then join us to celebrate the Dark and the Light.

Call 416 898 0946 for any more details. For further ferry information call 416 392 8193.

Muslim & American Extremists censoring Art

2010-07-07T09:09:00.004-04:00

In the Time magazine article Indonesia's Artists vs. Muslim Extremists,by Jason Tedjasukmana, the author decries the "Talibanization" of Art in Indonesia. He recounts a story of religious fundamentalists defacing a statue of nude women with spray paint. Government officials and police did nothing to intervene in this and other incidents within Indonesia. There is a certain sanctimonious tone to the story. "Here in the democratic West we are so much better than that" is the assumption of the article. "Our secular society does not allow the religious nutty fringe to dictate our policies toward art".... but is that true?

Earlier this month, at a virtual worlds event, in the leading edge of 3D art, an installation by Rose Borchovski was summarily ejected by organizers because the art's nude figures were in violation of the zoning restrictions in the virtual world. Last fall, Linden Lab, the creators of the Second Life virtual world caved in to pressures from American social conservatives to push "adult" content into virtual red-light districts. One would expect openness and sophistication in the high tech international community of virtual reality residents and the arts community. Instead Linden Lab seems to have chosen to "Taliban-ize" expression within Second Life more effectively than the Indonesians with spray cans.

Is it the product or the process that makes for good art?

2010-06-29T13:51:00.004-04:00

One time my husband and I took our daughter-in-law, a Chinese electrical engineer to an art show and she was frankly puzzled by the paintings. She asked, "why would you paint a landscape when you can have a much more accurate picture with a camera?" Neither the idea of preserving an artistic practice, nor any theories about the value of an individual's vision rendered in paint on canvas cut any ice with her. To her scientific mind, only the product was important, and the more efficient the process, the better.

That experience came back to me as I read an article by Ryan Blitzstein about software created by David Cope to compose music. David Cope has taken serial music to the next level, in which a computer program generates whole works based on the algorithms supplied. While there is a human factor deciding what to put in and what creations to save or accept, is this different than the decisions of a photographer? While we accept that photography can be an art, it is a very different art form from painting. Has David Cope developed a totally new art form with his "Emmy" software. Do we accept his contention that the impact of the composition on the listener is more important than the creative process of the composer; that it is "just dots on the page" and "there is no soul in the music" itself.

Is it the container or the thing contained that makes, art? Is Cope correct that a composition contains nothing but arithemetical progressions of notes and what is made of them is in the mind of the listener.

Art Spin June 30

2010-06-29T03:40:00.001-04:00

Great Garden Search Contest

2010-04-28T11:50:00.001-04:00

Contest started Monday, March 1st, 2010 and will be ending Friday, May 14 at 5pm.

Show the world that Toronto is a Community Gardening leader by helping us unearth our hidden gems!

The Toronto Community Garden Network (TCGN) is pleased to announce The Great Garden Search of 2010, a contest to find community gardens across the City of Toronto. The contest includes Etobicoke, Toronto, City of York, East York, North York and Scarborough, and it will appeal to scavenger hunters, neighborhood buffs, garden enthusiasts, and anyone who likes a challenge, while at the same time helping TCGN to document all of these hidden gems.

Why this contest?

TCGN wants to put Toronto on the map as one of the world’s leaders in community gardening. In order to do that we need to show how many community gardens we have covering this entire city: Etobicoke, Toronto, City of York, East York, North York and Scarborough.

What are community gardens?

Community gardens are places where people come together to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, families, and friendships. Community gardens are run by communities for communities, and can be organized in any way that the community decides.

Personal gardens are not eligible in this contest. Gardens must involve 3 or more households and cannot be in a residential backyard.

How to Participate:

To participate in the contest look at the Community Gardens Map listed on our TCGN website. Then, walk around, use Google maps, search high and low, to find community gardens that are NOT listed on the website.

When you find new gardens email your entries to Norma Dickinson: norma@foodshare.net or phone (416) 363-6441 ext. 279

In your email or phone call please include:

Your Name:
Your email or phone number:
Name of Garden (if applicable):
Location of Garden (including address if possible):
Nearest Intersection
Garden Contact Information.

How to win:

The grand prize will go to the participant who finds the largest number of gardens that are not on the TCGN website.
Bonus points will be awarded for gardens with garden contact information. i.e. garden coordinator’s name, email address, website or phone number but you must have gardener’s permission to give contact information to TCGN.

Contest Rules:

Anyone and everyone are welcome to participate.
The contest runs from March 1 - May 14, 2010.
Gardens must be between Steeles Avenue and Lake Ontario, and between the Rouge River and Highway 27 to be eligible.
If garden contact information is being provided, it must be either publicly available or the contest participant must have permission to provide it.
Personal gardens are not eligible. Only community gardens are eligible. Gardens must involve 3 or more households and cannot be in residential backyards.

Prizes:

The contest winner, and the runners up, will be announced on Monday May 17, 2010.

The Grand Prize is $150
First Runner up: two Living Food Boxes
And additional Runners up will also win fantastic prizes such as:
Fiskars garden shears-titanium blade coating
Books - Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces by Gayla Trail, autographed by the author - and - Real Food for a Change, by Wayne Roberts
A Garden Essentials Gift basket - and a Book - Real Food For a Change, by Wayne Roberts
Own Leafy Vegetables: Complete mini garden kit with seeds and peat pellets and planters
A bag with Herbed Vinegars - and a Book - The Family Kitchen Garden: How to Plant, Grow and Cook Together - by Karen Liebreich, Jutta Wagner and Annette WendlandAnd
More fabulous prizes to be announced!

Thank you to FoodShare, Live Green Toronto, Gayla Trail, Zora Ignjatovic, and Laura Berman for generously donating these prizes.

US survey shows grantmaking fell 8.4% in 2009

2010-04-28T11:26:00.002-04:00

The Non-profit Times reports that during 2009 the amount of grants awarded by 75,000 foundations across the USA fell 8.4 % from the prior year. This despite foundations cutting costs of their own operations. The article predicts that US foundation giving will remain flat at the current level for the foreseeable future.

New Mind Space's Pillowfight May 8

2010-04-28T11:08:00.001-04:00

Feathers fly and teddies soar as you converge for a giant urban pillow fight! Swing and whack as you evade pillow-wielding assailants. Bring a soft pillow at 3 PM and wait for the signal. Pillow fight!

Come say goodbye to Yonge-Eglinton Square - it is being bulldozed later this year so more stores can be built.

Costumes and funky pillows encouraged :)

Pillow Fight Toronto
Yonge-Eglinton Square @ 3:00 PM
Saturday, May 8th 2010
Rain or shine! Free and all ages!
facebook

Words on the Wall, Apr. 21

2010-04-19T23:37:00.000-04:00

WORDS ON THE WALL: GEOFFREY REAUME IN CONVERSATION WITH RUTH RUTH
To celebrate the re-issue of his groundbreaking study, Remembrance Of Patients Past (University of Toronto Press), scholar and activist Geoffrey Reaume will conduct a walking tour of the wall surrounding the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH ) grounds at 1001 Queen St. West. He will then guide the group to the Gladstone Hotel, where he will have an on-stage conversation Ruth Ruth Stackhouse of Friendly Spike Theatre Band. Three of the installation pieces from The Story Behind The Wall, an exhibition by Workman Arts (WA) inspired by Reaume’s text, will be featured on-stage. There will be a silent auction of bricks painted by local artists. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Psychiatric Survivors Archives of Toronto (PSAT) for the purpose of purchasing commemorative plaques detailing the history of the 19th century patient-built wall and other aspects of unpaid patient labour. Marc Glassman, Executive Director of This Is Not A Reading Series, will host the evening event. – A TINARS event presented by University of Toronto Press, Gladstone Hotel, NOW Magazine, Torontoist.com, Take Five On CIUT, Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto and Workman Arts.
Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St West, Toronto
Wed Apr 21: 8:00pm (Doors 7:30pm) $5 (Free With Book Purchase)

EVENT ITINERARY
Silent Auction Viewing Begins 4pm, Gladstone Hotel Ballroom,
Wall Walking Tour 6pm, Main Entrance, CAMH, 1001 Queen St West
Interview / Auction 8 pm (Doors 7:30pm), Gladstone Ballroom, Gladston Hotel, 1214 Queen St. West

REMEMBRANCE OF PATIENTS PAST Historian Geoffrey Reaume remembers previously forgotten psychiatric patients in his groundbreaking study, Remembrance Of Patients Past, by examining in rich detail their daily life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane (now called the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health - CAMH) from 1870-1940. Psychiatric patients endured abuse and could lead monotonous lives inside the asylum's walls, yet these same women and men worked hard at unpaid institutional jobs for years and decades on end, created their own entertainment, even in some cases made their own clothes, while forming meaningful relationships with other patients and some staff.

Using first person accounts by and about patients - including letters written by inmates which were confiscated by hospital staff - Reaume weaves together a tapestry of stories about the daily lives of people confined behind brick walls that patients themselves built.

GEOFFREY REAUME is an associate professor in the Critical Disability Studies Graduate Program at York University.

RUTH RUTH STACKHOUSE is a proud member of the psychiatric survivor community. She studied theater in New York City and is currently Theatre Director of the Friendly Spike Theatre Band. A long-standing activist, she has protested against institutional confinement and the exploitation of patient labour. www.friendlyspike.ca

THE PSYCHIATRIC SURVIVOR ARCHIVES OF TORONTO (PSAT) is dedicated to ensuring that the rich history of people who have experienced the psychiatric system is preserved for our community and the wider community as a resource from which everyone can share and learn. PSAT is a grass roots organization that is run for and by psychiatric survivors and seeks to reflect the broad diversity of views that are expressed by all people with a psychiatric history however they choose to self-identify. www.psychiatricsurvivorarchives.com

THE STORY BEHIND THE WALL is a mixed-media and cross-disciplinary project created by artists of the Workman Arts Project for Scotiabank Nuitblanche 2009. Six artists chose six former patients from the Toronto Hospital for the Insane as depicted in Geoffrey Reaume’s book Remembrance of Patients Past – Patient life at the Toronto Hospital for the Insane, 1870-1940. Their goal was to create figurative sculptures to creatively and expressively tell the stories of these individual patients from the past who have mostly been confined to a history of silence.

WORKMAN ARTS (WA) facilitates aspiring, emerging and established artists with mental illness and addiction issues to develop and refine their art form through its arts training programs, public performance/exhibit opportunities and partnering with other art organizations. As well, WA promotes a greater public understanding of mental illness and addiction through the creation, presentation and discussion of the artistic media.
www.workmanarts.com

For Media / Info
Geoffrey Reaume: Andrea Wilson, awilson@utpress.utoronto.ca
PSAT Silent Auction: Andrea White, psychsurvivorarchives@gmail.com
TINARS: Chris Reed, coordinator@tinars.ca

Arts Presentation Contracts

2010-02-14T20:45:00.006-05:00

In the arts it sometimes seems that there are endless varieties and shades of collaboration, partnership and co-presentation agreements possible. But when I was first working in the concert department of a major orchestra, I was told that really there were only three types of presentation contracts:

1. Self-present
2. Contract of Services
3. Co-present

Most difficulties that occur, happen when the type of contract is misunderstood or all aspects of the arrangement are not defined and signed off on by both parties.

Self-presentation:
If my arts organization is "self-presenting", we are responsible for the artistic content, all the costs, raising the money for the project, marketing, and all the ticket revenues are ours. We may be presenting in a venue we own or we might be renting a venue. In a rental venue we might be subject to some house rules and we might have access to some inhouse marketing vehicles (a lobby lightbox or an e-newsletter). We need to sign a contract for the rental agreement but at no time should our self-presented concert be represented by the venue as a part of their series. If they wish to change the nature of the relationship to a co-presentation agreement, you should be looking for concessions on rent, etc.

Contract of services:
Your organization, company, church, or event is hiring the services of my arts organization. For example your church wishes my orchestra for an Easter concert. You can request specific repertoire if you are willing to pay the costs of the orchestra learning new repertoire or save money by taking our suggestions. You set the time of the concert, are responsible for all ticket sales, all revenue is yours if the event is ticketed. The orchestra is paid a flat fee that we have determined will cover our costs for the event. We will have to assure in our contract that we don't incur extra costs. The things we will need to assure in the contract are: the repertoire, start and finish times for the concert, where the orchestra can warm up and securely leave their belongings during the performance, when the orchestra can take the stage, meal arrangements for the orchestra (if applicable) and orchestra name/logo recognition on advertising and materials.

Co-presentation:
My orchestra and your choir decides to co-present an Easter concert . We will have to determine:

1. Who determines the repertoire and who pays for the rental sheet music?
2. Who pays for the hall?
3. Who is going to pay for and supervise the marketing campaign and what sign-off will be needed by the other organization?
4. How will ticket sales be divided? What about series subscribers? Are their seats included? Where will they sit?
5. How are we each going to make money? Split the sales 50/50 or some other arrangement that is equitable balanced against the cost sharing arrangement?
6. Who is responsible for rehearsal costs?
7. What spaces will each organization use in the hall and for what periods of time?

Is it really necessary to spell these things out in a contract? In my experience it is, especially in the complex arrangements of Co-presentation agreements. I have seen the following problems occur in co-presentations that were uncontracted or with a very vaguely worded agreement:

1. Misunderstandings about the amount of tickets available for sale by each organization.
2. Unhappy subscribers who thought the concert was included in their subscription but no seats for them had been negotiated.
3. One partner representing the concert as though it was theirs alone. (no agreement on sign off on marketing)
4. One partner holding up marketing with lengthy tweaks and changes, jeopardizing sales. (no time-lines for approval of marketing).
5. Last minute demands for one organization to pay the rehearsal costs of the other organization. (not clear that each was responsible for their own costs).
6. One organization changing the repertoire and/or time of concert without consultation, confusing artists, public, and rendering promotional campaign invalid. (repertoire and time of concert was not spelled out in contract, nor that such would be by mutual agreement only)
7. And frequent disputes about smaller issues: sheet music rental costs, lobby sales, sponsor signage.

While it is hard to think of everything, I hope this gets any new arts manager asking the right questions about presentation contracts. If you spell out all the obvious issues and finish with a clause that suggests how any new issues will be handled, "at the discretion of X" or "by mutual agreement" you should minimize conflict.

The worst situations have occurred when the parties totally fail to understand the nature of the contract. I once inherited a rather vague co-presentation agreement with a choir. Not too far into the process of planning the concert I discovered that the choir thought the contract was a "contract of services"in relation to what money they expected from us (all their rehearsal costs and music costs covered) and was a "self-present" in terms of their marketing and ticket sales. They had put the concert on their subscription season (exhausting most of their share of the tickets with no additional revenue for them) and had gone on to sell more tickets, double-dipping their ticket share and cutting into our potential revenues. Basically they wanted it both ways, and that's not how the world works.

If the fundamental nature of the agreement is clear, and the large issues are settled, it is not hard to negotiate solutions to smaller issues as they arise.

Puppetry Exploratory Laboratory Deadline Extended to Monday Feb. 1, 2010

2010-01-29T13:52:00.004-05:00

Are you an artist, performance artist, animator, filmaker, multimedia artist, dancer, or choreographer who would like to be able to integrate puppetry into their art work but need some hands on skills?

Bring your project ideas to the Puppetry Exploratory Laboratory!

The deadline for this almost free learning opportunity (materials fee required) has been extended until Monday. This is the last chance to apply this season!

The online application is available at: http://www.puppetmongers.com/laboratory.html

New Mindspace Invitation to Make Snow Lanterns

2010-01-29T13:42:00.003-05:00

ReinventWinter presents: Snow Lanterns

At Dufferin Grove park, an assembly of people will converge on the snowpile created by the skating rink for the purposes of sculpting/building lanterns for candle light. It should be a fun and creative time.

The act of snow lantern making takes advantage of the natural opportunities provided by a cold climate. Examples of this winter celebration can be seen in Northern regions of Finland, Japan and elsewhere.

Join us in establishing this fantastic tradition in Toronto by building your very own snow lanterns.

Dufferin Grove Park
Friday January 29th
7:00pm - 12:00am
Bring: gloves, sculpting tools (if desired), positive attitude.
Provided: Candles, Snow

See the beautiful potential on the Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=239327560887

Would your arts "entry" job be a fit for those looking for an arts "exit" job?

2010-01-19T14:38:00.002-05:00

When organizations are thinking about staffing an arts position on a tight budget, they often cast the position as an "entry-level" position because of the parttime nature, low salary, lack of job security and no-benefits nature of the position. Sometimes this judgement is made without consideration of the demands of the job description. In some cases the position IS a great fit for a newly graduated student. In other cases, although few hours are demanded, the skill set needed is varied and requires on-the-job experience for success.

If an organization needs experienced grantwriting, financial management/budgeting, and arts marketing savey, they are unlikely to find that in an entry level staff person. It takes a few years of working in an effective team setting to learn these highly specialized skills. A great fit for such an organization may be an arts worker at the other end of the spectrum, easing into retirement or exiting full time arts administration in order to work on their own artistic or entrepreneurial projects.

The Value of Sharing: Social Engagement

2009-12-18T04:55:00.005-05:00

You know you are SUPPOSED to market your arts organization with Social Media, but the messages are confusing. What will work to reach your audience? Who shares what? Where?

No one is better placed to answer these questions than the people behind the "Share This" applet, that is most used to link social networking applications (for example post a link from a blog post to Twitter). Their articles and charts are invaluable in deciding which applications you should be focusing on in disseminating your message.

The Value of Sharing: Social Engagement

Posted using ShareThis

Arts Vote Toronto says, "I am an Artist and I Vote!"

2009-11-09T10:05:00.004-05:00

If you are a Toronto artist, work for an arts organization or you directly or indirectly have business ties with artists & cultural attractions in Toronto (marketers, web designers, printers, hotels & restaurants etc.) then you'll want to assure that you know which candidates in the upcoming Toronto elections understand the importance of the arts to the quality of life in Toronto and to the tourist economy.

Sign up at Arts Vote today to keep in the picture.

Arts Vote launch rally. 5 pm Tues. Nov. 17 @ the Urbanspace Art Gallery, 401 Richmond

Tafelmusik launches "Sing-a-long Messiah Contest" on YouTube

2009-11-04T07:24:00.005-05:00

The folks at Tafelmusik succeed year after year not only with great music (they are among the best that Toronto has to offer) but also with the novel ways that they come up with to connect the music of the past with what is happening here and now in our world. They have achieved this through collaborations with new composers; placing their work in the context of festivals of art like the Metamorphosis festival that draws from new and old works; and now with a fun contest that is powered by the popularity of YouTube and karaoke. Great marketing ideas like this should be celebrated. What makes this one great is that it isn't just about getting bums in the seats for Tafelmusik's Messiah this season (not that selling tickets isn't important) but we are all tired and burned out by clever marketing that is just about "buy, buy, consume, consume". This campaign is qualitatively different: it is about getting people singing and involved in the arts. That's important at so many different levels.

If you love to sing and aren't shy check out Tafelmusik's website for all the information on the contest.

Peter Stoll, clarinet, Nov. 5 @ noon, free lunchtime concert

2009-11-04T06:51:00.003-05:00

If you are going to be anywhere near the University of Toronto, 's Faculty of Music building (just south of the Royal Ontario Museum, behind the old planetarium) you might like to catch what promises to be a lively concert with one of Toronto's most versatile and active clarinetest.

Peter writes in his email of today, "A quick email just for those in the T.O. area who might be interested, this Thursday November 5, I'm playing a free recital at UofT's Faculty of Music, the Edward Johnson Building, in Walter Hall, noon-1pm. Fun stuff, some classical, some jazz, some klezmer, 3 different sizes of clarinets, hope you can make it!"

By the way, Peter has a new website. If you are a music-lover in Toronto, you'll want to bookmark it.

Protesting Cuts to the Diversity in Music Program--Oct. 26 @ 6 pm

2009-10-26T15:30:00.001-04:00

Cutting The Album
Monday October 26 2009
6PM - 8PM
CBC Front Street to Nathan Phillips Square

Hello Friends,

Heritage Minister, James Moore recently announced that 1.3 million
dollars from the Canada Music Fund’s annual budget would be
redirected away from the Canada Council. This has resulted in the
cancellation of the CCA’s Music Diversity Program, which, for the
past 20 years, has provided integral support for recording and
marketing to artists who are on the forefront of forging new,
innovative, and distinctly Canadian culture.

We've decided that a parade was in order. We will be meeting at CBC,
250 Front Street, on Monday October 26th at 6pm. Below you'll find
our routing. The parade will be interspersed with speeches at various
strategic locations. The parade will culminate at Nathan Phillips
Square, where Christine Duncan's Element Choir will perform and no
doubt create a stir.

The goal of this parade is to create awareness in our wake among the
public. We'll be soliciting the press and hope to get a lot of
coverage. Some of us will have clipboards in hand to offer the
general public a chance to sign our petition, and others will be
handing out pertinent literature.

All the while, our drummers and horn players will be propelling us
along the streets in a free-form New Orleans style funeral
procession. Bring your pots and pans, bells and other noise makers to
join in the fun. Bring your cameras too, we'd like to send the
Heritage Minister some photos of our event. Bring your thermoses to
stay warm, too!

At the end of the parade, before the Elements go on, Andrew Cash will
give a little talk on behalf of Charlie Angus' office, who are
currently leading an inquiry with the Heritage Committee. We then
invite you to present Andrew with your letters that he can deliver to
the committee in Ottawa, as well mix cds that you can make comprised
of music that was made with the assistance of the sound recording grant.

- We still need more clipboard volunteers and people to hand out flyers
- Please contact me if you plan on bringing drums and horns
- Write your letters and make your mix tapes that will be delivered
to the committee!!
- If we have already been in contact with you about speaking, please
write back to confirm your interest.

Here's the route:

6:00 meet at CBC
6:15 process on John to Roy Thompson Hall (speech)
6:40 King to Peter to Queen - Lush on Queen (speech)
7:05 Queen to Yonge to Dundas (speeches)
7:25 Dundas to Bay to Queen to Nathan Phillips Square
7:40 Speech and Element Choir
post-parade hot chocolate at a meeting place TBD

Looking for a great holiday theatre experience for students?

2009-10-08T15:17:00.006-04:00

If you are in travelling distance of Toronto you won't want to miss this great event!

Puppetmongers @ the Tarragon Extra Space
7 School Shows only
December 15 through 18, 2009
10 am and 1:30 pm

History and fun are integrated in this imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale. Puppetmongers reset the story in 1834, just as “Muddy” York is to be renamed Toronto, and Ella is expected to cater to every whim of her just-off-the-boat-from-England stepmother and sisters. With a little magic and some imaginative special effects she does get herself to the Ball, and to the satisfying conclusion of the tale. The play is ingeniously staged with a traditional marionette theatre that transforms, as the story unfolds, into scenes evoking the wilderness, pioneer life and early Canadian society.

This is a Cinderella that Canadian children can call their own!

Single Tickets: $8.00

Book the whole theatre of 100 seats for $700

more info at: http://www.puppetmongers.com

Abousfian Abdelrazik Speaks in Toronto

2009-10-01T11:58:00.006-04:00

Forwarded from TASC

Delist and Desist!
Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture.
Abousfian Abdelrazik Speaks in Toronto
With an Introduction by Dr. Sherene Razack

Thursday, October 8, 2009, 7:15 pm
Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street (just west of St. George, south of
College)
Free.

Abousfian Abdelrazik is a Canadian citizen who was detained, interrogated, and tortured in Sudan with the complicity of our own government (see http://peoplescommission.org/en/abdelrazik/ for further background). Indeed, the Federal Court of Canada found earlier this
year that spy agency CSIS was complicit in his detention.

His six-year saga of trying to come home to his loved ones (including a year-plus stay in a small corner of the Canadian embassy in Khartoum) was blocked at every stage by a variety of levels of the Canadian government, including CSIS and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Never charged, he was beaten, threatened and tortured during two periods of detention. Abdelrazik was interrogated by CSIS officials, and separately by Sudanese and French intelligence agents and the FBI. The Canadian embassy was instructed by the Canadian government that: "Mission staff should not accompany Abdelrazik to his interview with
the FBI."

Released and cleared of all suspicion by Sudan in 2006, and then by the RCMP and CSIS in late 2007, his many attempts to return home to Montreal were repeatedly blocked.

The grass roots efforts of hundreds of people across Canada led to a historic court order that forced the Canadian government to allow Abdelrazik to come home. He was finally reunited with his family in June of this year. Yet his struggle continues.

His name remains on the United Nations 1267 list. This list imposes a travel ban and complete asset freeze on listed individuals. Canadian regulations implementing the 1267 list prohibit anyone from providing Abdelrazik with any material aid - including salary, loans of any
amount, food or clothing. This makes it impossible for him to live a normal life.

Abdelrazik was not told that he was being placed on the list, was not told why he was on the list, and was given no opportunity to defend himself. As Federal Court Judge Russel Zinn said in his ruling forcing the government to let Abdelrazik return, "There is nothing in the (1267) listing or de-listing procedure that recognizes the principles of natural justice or that provides for basic procedural fairness."

No one has been held responsible for the grave injustices and terrible violence he has suffered.

As Abdelrazik undertakes the challenge of recovering a life of dignity for himself and his family, Mr. Abdelrazik is coming to Toronto as part of a national speaking tour so that he can meet his supporters and share his story in person. It is his hope to be "delisted" from the UN list, and to see true accountability at the federal government level.

Mr. Abdelrazik's horrific experience is part of a broader Canadian pattern of involvement in torture, and his talk on October 8 kicks off a speakers series that will focus on other cases of Canadian complicity in the most brutal human rights abuses imaginable. Watch for future
speaking events featuring Abdullah Almalki (http://www.abdullahalmalki.com/), individuals subject to secret trial security certificates, a focus on Canadian involvement in the U.S.-based School of the Assassins, Benamar Benatta (http://benamarbenatta.com/), and more.

(Dr. Sherene Razack is a professor, Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She is also the author of the remarkable Casting Out: The Eviction of Muslims From Western Law and Politics as well as
Dark Threats and White Knights: The Somalia Affair, Peacekeeping and the New Imperialism)

Organized by Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture and Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada, endorsed by the Centre for Integrated Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS) at OISE.

Sponsored nationally by Project Fly Home, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), Council of Canadians, Council on American-Islamic Relations - Canada (CAIRCAN), International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG), and the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA).

If you cannot make it to the Toronto event, Mr. Abdelrazik is speaking in many other parts of Canada. See his schedule at http://peoplescommission.org/en/abdelrazik/events.php

For further information: tasc@web.ca, (416) 651-5800 ext. 1

Rogers Communications television advertisement promotes ageism

2009-09-21T02:50:00.004-04:00

"My name is Mary, and I've just discovered the Internet, but I know it is the future" said the gray haired woman on a recent Rogers Communications television advertisement.

As an age contempory of "Mary"'s I wanted to scream and throw a cellphone at the screen... but luckily my cellphone service is Bell.

But let's think about the premise of this advertisement. Unless "Mary" has been living under a rock for the past couple of decades, she has likely been using computers for most if not all of her working life. If, like me, she is a veteran of the punch card, DOS and early word-processing programs, she likely can run rings around some younger people in understanding her computer and getting it to do what she needs.

I know that there was once a time when I thought of computers as being "the future". That was in the 1960's when I was an elementary school student and we had an opportunity to learn some simple programming using computer punch cards, prior to the silicon chip, or later in university when, as a theatre student I got to play around with some of the earlier Moog synthesizers and made some early experiments in computer-generated video art with a Sony portapak.

I'm an artsey, not a computer whiz kid but computers have come into mainstream aspects of my life since the 1980's. I learned my first wordprocessing program on a Commodore 64 and in 1985 I was hired in an office job that required me to create a simple database for a YWCA branch in a new program called Q & A. I taught myself DOS, in order to write the batch files needed to sort the data, and became the office "computer expert" by being one step ahead of the rest of the staff in computer knowledge.

In the 1990's it was easy for those of us that had used older wordprocessing programs like Easy Script or Wordstar to learn html as the codes for centering, emboldening, tables, etc. were exactly like those we had learn to format text for print output. I took to website design like a duck to water, creating sites for volunteer organizations, family, and work projects for my various arts and non-profit employers. Mail lists and e-newsletter creation have been a part of the arts marketing strategy in all of my organizations for about 12 years.

These days I'm an avid user of social media, a blogger, and coordinate a cutting edge arts series in virtual reality. In my various management positions I have trained many entry staff members to use computer software on the job. I can attest to the fact that being able to text friends or Twitter a photo does not mean that the employee will be able to generate mail merges, use accounting software, has the basics of desktop publishing, can navigate a spreadsheet, or can print a simple mailing label.

Obviously, the Rogers ad struck a very sour note with me but in all seriousness, the advertisement is seriously out-of-step with reality and does a real disservice to the many working men and women with up to date job skills but who struggle with the type of age prejudice evident in the Rogers advertisement. On what basis did Rogers think that a late 50's woman would be credible as someone "just discovering the internet"? Would they make the same supposition about a visible minority member and not expect a backlash?

I hope that all of the women my age let Rogers know what they think about their recent media campaign. For a company that has had some very clever advertising, this one is just dumb.

Bad fences make bad neighbours

2009-08-04T10:58:00.003-04:00

Toronto Public Space Committee
Organizing Meeting for De-fencing project
Tonight, Aug. 4 @ Trinity Bellwoods Park
7 pm (at the painted dog)

chain link fence.

a self-imposed rusty barrier between neighbours.

properties surrounded by chain link look more like jailyards than homes.

fences create feelings of isolation and detachment.

by taking them down, we encourage a process of community building.

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De-Fencing is good exercise, lots of fun and opens up our neighbourhoods! Join us for our first Volunteer Meeting of the year! We need help to get this project off the ground in '09.

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Other good things happening in the park on the same day:

BEFORE: 3pm to 7pm - Trinity Bellwoods Farmers' Market at Crawford & Dundas.

AFTER: Weekly Drum Circle in the pit.

Aradia @ Grano Aug. 7 2009

2009-07-30T16:50:00.001-04:00

Have you heard Toronto's other early music orchestra? I have and they are great. Here's a neat invitation from them.

Enjoy Toronto's Award Winning Italian Cusine at GRANO resturant while listening the ARADIA Ensemble.

ARADIA ensemble at grano
2035 yonge street, toronto
Concerto Italiano
Friday August 7

6.30 aperitivi all'aperto
7.30 concerto
8.30 optional dinner with wine with the
musicians

$ 20.00 (suggested donation) for L'orto del popolo / The People's Garden; a project of The Stop Community Food Centre at Wychwood Barns to celebrate the cultural/social significance of the backyard garden in all communities

$ 50.00 above plus dinner with wine

RSVP 416 440 1986 or rdm@grano.ca

Good deeds with denim

2009-07-28T13:35:00.002-04:00

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported a new twist on casual Fridays. Some corporations are tying the right to wear jeans on Friday to a small contribution to an employee selected charity.

Great idea!

A Barbie Opera for the 21st Century

2009-07-21T17:27:00.006-04:00

I love the zany minds at Toca Loca, not to mention their prodigious talent. Perhaps it is only because I am so active in Second Life that I draw parallels between the Barbie dolls of their upcoming "marionette opera" production and the Barbie doll-like avatars that are so prevalent in the current Metaverse.

Just as the press release for Toca Loca's upcoming production states, there can be a dark side to the beautiful perfection and cheerleader smiles of avatars. The cruel side of human nature seems to feel free to be expressed at a safe remove from the real.

*******************
XXX Live Nude Girls

Phone:	4165047529
Email:	toca@tocaloca.com

August 6th 4:30pm
August 8th 8:30pm
August 10th 6:30pm
August 12th 10:30pm
August 15th 6:30pm
August 16th 12:30pm

A Barbie Opera for the 21st Century!
Though partly inspired by the marionette operas of Mozart and Haydn, Jennifer Walshe’s XXX Live Nude Girls will never be seen at the Four Seasons Centre. Her gritty, lo-fi score drives this exposé into the shiny plastic world of Barbie.

Produced by Toca Loca and directed by Graham Cozzubbo in conjuction with the Summerworks Festival, XXX dispels the stereotype of boys making war while girls host garden parties. Truth is, when playing with Barbies, cruel abuses are often closer to the rule than the exception. Sometimes the sweet girls just ain’t that sweet.

Starring Patricia O'Callaghan, Christine Duncan, Ginette Mohr and Kate Fenton.

The Company
Graham Cozzubbo - Stage Director
Gregory Oh - Music Director
Jennifer Walshe - Composer
Lina Marquez - Costume Design
Yesim Tosuner - Graphic Design
Daryl Banks - Photographer
Ginette Mohr - Puppets
Kate Fenton - Puppets
Christine Duncan - Vocals
Patricia O'Callaghan - Vocals
Max Christie - Clarinets
Mary-Katherine Finch - Cello
John Lettieri - Accordion
Steve Ward - Trombone
Derick Greenly - Video/Tech
Callan Burgess - Video

Blog: xxxlivenudegirls.blogspot.com
Tickets: artsboxoffice.ca
Festival Info: summerworks.ca

Warning: Crude Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Sexual Violence and Doll Nudity. This show is not suitable for children.

Will technology provide the means to a renewal of participatory democracy?

2009-07-17T07:33:00.004-04:00

Forwarding on a press release that I got in my email today about an interesting presentation in virtual reality. I have been thinking a lot lately about the almost religious fervor people have for social media and their belief that it is going to change the world. There are some powerful communication tools out there. One only needs to look at tweets (twitter posts) with the hashtag #iranelection to see how ineffective shutting down news is these days when anyone with a cellphone, a blackberry, or a laptop can get news out. That's the encouraging news.

On the discouraging front, this past week my husband asked his online group of teachers. (These are all practicing teachers already engaged in teaching our kids) to use a wiki to do some collaborative writing for a group projects. He set up the wiki in the very user-friendly Wikispaces platform. All four of the project groups rebelled. They found using a wiki too complicated and no one had "trained" them on this tool. Sigh. I wondered aloud if they needed someone to train them on the use of a pencil since wiki's are almost as common a writing tool in our current era.

But that is the dilemma. We have these great tools but only the technologically literate are truly using them. While I intend to write more on this, here's the information on this Monday's talk. It's worth dropping into Second Life for.

Beth Noveck talks about Wiki Government in Second Life on July 20th!

Please join a Second Life simulcast, from the Markle Foundation, of Beth Simone Noveck, now the deputy Chief Technology Officer at the White House responsible for Open Government, presenting her new book, WIKI GOVERNMENT: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A, in which participants from both Second Life and in person can ask questions of the author.

In the digital age our lives are constantly being transformed by the way in which we connect and collaborate with one another, affecting the way we make decisions - on a personal level, an institutional level, and a national level. Drawing on her expertise, and more directly her experience in creating Peer-to-Patent, the federal government's first social networking initiative, Ms. Noveck's Wiki Government insightfully demonstrates how technology, along with citizen participation, can help the government become more open and effective at solving the complex social and economic problems we face today.

The event will begin at 12:00pm EST/9:00am PST on Monday, July 20, 2009 and will take place in Second Life on MacArthur Island (click here to teleport http://slurl.com/secondlife/Foundations/109/231/34).

-----------------------------------------------

Further information

WIKI GOVERNMENT: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful

Beth Simone Noveck's book provides a coherent and compelling "new vision of governance in the digital age - collaborative democracy - government with the people."

Drawing on her expertise, and more directly her experience in creating Peer-to-Patent, the federal government's first social networking initiative, Ms. Noveck's Wiki Government insightfully demonstrates how technology, along with citizen participation, can help the government become more open and effective at solving the complex social and economic problems we face today.

About the Author:

Beth Simone Noveck is the United States deputy chief technology officer for open government and leads President Obama's Open Government Initiative. Based at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, she is an expert on technology and institutional innovation. Previously, Noveck directed the Institute for Information Law & Policy and the Democracy Design Workshop at New York Law School. She is founder of the "Do Tank," and the State of Play Conferences, and launched the first of its kind Peer-to-Patent Community Patent Review project in collaboration with the United States Patent and Trade Office. As a professor of Law at New York Law School, she has taught in the areas of intellectual property, innovation, and constitutional law, as well as courses on electronic democracy and electronic government.

To read more, please go to http://www.nyls.edu/faculty/faculty_profiles/beth_simone_noveck.

Will more public engagment or more electronic media be the future of the arts

2009-07-15T04:34:00.004-04:00

While recently the Met was reported to be contemplating replacing its' summer programming with filmed performances shown on the big screen, the public was more engaged in filming and tweeting about the 30 public pianos that the city of London had placed on the streets.

“They’re out there to get people talking to one another and to claim ownership and activate the public space,” said the creator of the project, Luke Jerram, an artist who lives in Bristol.

Using obvious search terms in Twitter I found no one chatting in the public commons about the possibility of the Met replacing summer opera with its big screen version. It would seem that news was a big snore, while by contrast I immediately found 140 recent tweets on London's street pianos. Does this simply mean that in a day of social media viral news that anything you can capture on your cellphone, digitally broadcast to blogs, YouTube, and tweet about is going to have the edge?

Or does it mean something more important about our culture's relationship to art at this moment in history?

I think the signs are there that people want to take back art from the star system, from corporate control, big record systems, film studios and corporations. From the popularity of shows like American Idol to the rise of YouTube videos to the "do-it-yourself" atmosphere of the Arts in the virtual world of Second Life, more people are spending their entertainment hours watching the little guy and more people are engaging in making art instead of being passive observers.

Toronto Bubble Battle July 11 @ 3 pm

2009-07-10T19:16:00.004-04:00

Never has a Smart Mob had so much fun as blowing Bubbles at the annual Bubble Battle organized by the street art group NewMindSpace. The people who brought you the Union Station pillow fight, street car parties, and city wide Capture the Flag games are sending out the news by email, facebook and cellphone to be at King and University tomorrow at 3 pm .... and bring your bubble gear!

Here are my own snaps from 2007

Alain Trudel reaches out to young Canadian composers

2009-07-09T14:41:00.003-04:00

I have thought for a long time that Alain Trudel is one of Canada's greatest musical assets. He can conduct, he can sure play trombone, and he has great programming ideas. Isn't it great that he also is concerned about the future of Canadian music? I just had to post this newsrelease that just came into my inbox.

The Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO) and TSYO Conductor Alain Trudel announce two opportunities for young Canadian musicians. Composers aged 30 or younger can submit their orchestral composition to the TSYO Open Call for Canadian Works, and musicians between the age of 12 and 22 can apply to audition for the 2009.2010 Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra season.

TSYO Conductor Alain Trudel started the TSYO Open Call for Canadian Work as an opportunity for young composers to have their work performed by a full orchestra. “Winning this competition invites young composers to take the next step with their work,” says Alain Trudel. “Hearing your composition with full orchestration brings the work to life and allows the winner to receive feedback from professional conductors and coaches.”

The deadline to submit compositions to the TSYO Open Call for Canadian Works is September 18, 2009. For details on how to apply, visit http://www.tso.ca/season/youth/youth19.cfm

The Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra is also now accepting applications for the 2009.2010 season. Musicians aged 12-22 are invited to apply to this high level training programme using the application form at http://www.tso.ca/season/youth/youth06.cfm. Application forms are due by August 7, 2009. Juried auditions for the TSYO 2009.2010 season will be held on September 11-13, 2009. The TSYO selection jury includes Alain Trudel (TSYO conductor) and TSO musicians Keith Atkinson (TSYO Woodwind Coach), Harcus Hennigar (TSYO Brass Coach), Young-Dae Park (TSYO Violin Coach), Daniel Blackman (TSYO Viola Coach) David Hetherington (TSYO Cello Coach), Paul Rogers (TSYO Double Bass Coach) and David Kent (TSYO Percussion Coach).

To learn more about the TSYO, please visit http://www.tso.ca/season/youth/youth02.cfm

Michael Kaiser's "The Art of the Turnaround"

2009-07-03T20:00:00.009-04:00

Yesterday I was reading a post by Jodi Schoenbrun Carter on Michael Kaiser's "Arts in Crisis" program that is a follow-up to his book, "The Art of the Turnaround". I agree one-hundred percent with the sentiment that Kaiser has great ideas, but they are hardly original ideas to most experienced arts managers. You'd be hard-pressed to find any who didn't agree with him, hadn't advocated his main principals to their Boards and hadn't gone away shaking their heads in dismay as Boards failed to listen.

Kaiser says that the quality of art matters, be bold, be brave be revolutionary. Know your Mission and stay on Mission, and spend the money it takes to do it right and market it correctly. You cannot save your way to financial health. He says that the arts are remarkably efficiently run and do not have a spending problem, the arts instead have a revenue problem. Nor can arts organizations win by compromising the art by trying to vie with popular entertainment biz by watering down their season with pop and shlock. Any pickup at the box office will be equalled by loss of donations and funder support.

It makes me tired --as it did Jodi-- to hear this touted as new advice. The question in my mind is, "why does arts management common-sense so often fail to be implemented?" And the answer, I believe, is that there is a flaw in a structure which gives governance of our cultural assets to mostly untrained groups of volunteers, with little or no oversight or accountability. I have seen Boards do amazing things from time to time--saving and revitalizing arts organizations. But too often competent arts managers stagger and fail under the weight of dysfunctional boards that-- while perhaps composed of well-educated and competent individuals-- cannot seem as a group to acquire the knowledge or retain the organizational memory to plan well for their organization's success, or to carry good plans forward into future years of implementation.

If public funds were invested in building a bridge, and the bridge collapsed, people would ask questions, folks would be held accountable, fault would be found and those at fault would pay real costs. I wonder why we are prepared to invest dollars in arts organizations (and non-profits in general) and yet feel we don't have the right to hold Boards accountable?

Canadian Corporations vow to continue charitable support

2009-07-01T06:26:00.004-04:00

The big news in the recently released Trends report on philanthropic giving from Ketchum Canada, is that Canadian corporations intend to hold the line on their charitable giving this year. For the past 20 years, Canadian corporate giving as a share of profits has been slightly on the increase. Each year Canadian corporations have put more actual dollars into philanthropic giving and also dug deeper into their pockets. This year they going to have to dig much deeper just to keep the dollar amount at the same level in the companies surveyed in the quarterly report.

Many companies suggested that their multi-year commitments meant that they had an inability to do much to respond to new requests for funding. At the same time companies report many more new requests coming across their desks as charities feel the pinch.

Austere times have meant a shift in priorities for corporations. Galas are going to find it more difficult to sell corporate tables as company heads find it difficult to justify thousands for black tie dinners when they are laying off staff and the charitable needs of healthcare, housing and poverty relief are in the news daily. Many charities are responding with changing their fundraising events or radically scaling them back.

Arts, culture and sports will be the losers as corporations continue to migrate funding to education, healthcare, and community programs.

Accountability is a key word in corporate funding these days. Corporations are selecting priority areas for their charitable dollars and now more than ever, projects seeking funding need to demonstrate how their activities are a fit with corporate goals. Reporting back to the funders on the reach of their corporate dollars--while always an important step in fundraising--is not an absolute requirement for ever being funded again by the corporation.

The 7 tips for non-profits in tough times is well worth reading this small quarterly.

Free Music Garden Concerts start June 28

2009-06-24T08:15:00.005-04:00

One of the greatest things about Toronto is all the free live music and art around the city. If you are living on a tight budget, you can still enjoy the "roses" without forgoing your daily "bread". The free concerts in the Yo Yo Ma inspired Music Garden in the City's Harbourfront area is one of the nicest of these events.

At just an hour long in the family-friendly times of Thursdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 4 pm, these concerts are a great opportunity for parents to introduce younger people to serious music. They are not too long and it is an easy thing to take a fussy younger one away for a walk and return awhile later for another taste. Don't forget the sunhats and sunscreen as this is a location near the water and very open to the sunny skies.

This year the line-up is a mixture of traditional chamber music, early music, and small ensemble worldbeat music.

Canadian cellist Shauna Rolston opens the 2009 Season Sunday June 28 at 4 pm. Click here for details for the rest of the season.

Grantwriting Basics -- Grantwriting 101

2009-06-23T07:43:00.001-04:00

There's a lot about writing grant applications that crosses international borders and disciplines. I have written successful grant applications since about 1985 for projects as disparate as women's fitness programs, community centre building upgrades, the establishment of a foodbank, the founding of a community music school, building improvements for a Black History museum, a Jewish children's theatre production, an outdoor opera festival, a science-fiction themed audience outreach series surrounding a new opera festival, new music commissioning, outdoor music/theatre in the Ontario northwoods, and scores of more conventional arts projects.

Since the bulk of my grantwriting has been in the Canadian arts--where I have to assume a type of applicant and type of funder--that will be the basis of my examples.

Corporate fundraising uses some of these same techniques but as it is substantially a different process than grantwriting, it will not be explicitly covered in this article. Corporate foundations, on the other hand are foundations and should be handled as a part of your foundation campaign.

IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL FUNDERS

Know your government funders and programs: If you are an arts or non-profit management professional, you likely already know the major funders for your program activities. In the arts at the national level you will be researching programs primarily from Canada Council and Heritage Canada. (From time to time other departments offer programs for foreign travel, international marketing of arts events.) Provincially, you will be looking at provincial arts councils and tourism programs that are available to support marketing for cultural events. Municipally or regionally, you will be looking at the programs of civic, regional, or county arts councils and regional/local tourism initiatives. Don't be afraid to call the Officers administering the programs to ask what programs fit your activities. Book a meeting with them if you are a new grantwriter, or new to the discipline, organization or geographic area. You may learn about programs that fit your planned activities that you didn't spot on the website, or in the literature. Establishing a good relationship with your Grants Officer is a really important first step in grantwriting for an organization.

Subscription databases: If you can afford them and you don't have a good list of funder contacts in your organizational records, you may want to subscribe to one of the subscription databases that are out there. They are expensive but it will only take one additional foundation grant that you would not have received to pay for the Bigonline database or Foundation Search Canada . Even one year of a subscription database will help you build your list of funders to the point where you may not need this resource in future years if cost is an issue. Note that these resources are not without some errors. I have found that where my organization has had an active relationship with a foundation, I have often had more accurate information regarding contacts, programs or even contact information changes. Building and maintaining your own contact list geared to your own program relationships/fits is irreplaceable.

Public tax information of charitable foundations: Okay, you can't afford an online database but you don't have much of a list of past donors in your organization. In fact the most recent foundation files are dated 1999? Sigh. I have so been there and done that. My commisserations!

Here is a real tip. Foundations are in themselves charities. As such they have to file a charitable information return with Canada Revenue. And that return is available to you free ONLINE. You can search the name of any foundation you are interested in, or search on a search term like "Foundation", or by city, to net yourself a list to browse through. You can open up the information to see who is on the Foundation's board and which organizations they have given to in the year of the return.

See below a screen shot of a search on all private foundations in Ontario sorted by city. All those with icons of returns on the right have accessible returns.

Buried deep within the return you will find a list of the projects and organizations funded by the foundation and the amount of each grant. This, together with the listed mission of the foundation, will give you a strong indication about whether this foundation is a fit for your programs and also what level your ask should be at for a program such as yours.

Finally access the foundation contact information of those foundations who fit and add that contact and any other information about website, deadlines, application forms and process to your grantwriting calendar.

Search public and foundation funders of projects like yours: You know who your competition is, who your colleagues are in the community and in neighbouring communities, and a little skill with online search engines and you are able to come up with some unique search terms that will generate a list of programs and services like your own. When you see a pattern of funding projects like your own, pull out all the stops to track that foundation or charitable giving program down. These are key funders with high probability of success.

Don't forget local family foundations: Sometimes we overlook family foundations in our neighbourhoods who may not have a discernible pattern of giving to projects like our own. That is because their giving is focused on all quality of life projects IN OUR BACKYARD. They give a little bit to fitness, some to amateur sport and some to education. If we are looking for "arts funding", we may never find them. However as the local symphony or community arts organization in their community of interest, we fit solidly within the mandate of their foundation and they want to support us! Don't deny them the chance to give us their money.

PREPARING ORGANIZATIONAL AND PROJECT PROFILES: Annually when your next season is well advanced in planning and before the first major operational grants are due, it is a good practice to update Organizational and Project profiles. This main document will be used in the following ways:

As is for press-release backgrounders, potential board members, foundation appeals to foundations that lack a set process, as backgrounders to foundation appeals with more targeted content in the main application.
Tweaked for foundation appeals where the emphasis is on an aspect of the program, expanding some sections, condensing or omitting irrelevant content
As fodder to cut and paste into relevant sections of government grant applications and into the application forms for those increasing numbers of foundations that have a formal application process.

Your organizational profile document will be about 4 to 7 pages long and will include the following, organized into sections and illustrated with photos, charts and graphs as needed:

Mission, Incorporation date and charitable number--if you have a briefer version of your Mission, you may want to use it here.
Brief history of the organization (updated, brief, and engaging)--focus on accomplishments, programs, community impact, staying away from tedious details that are of internal archival interest only. Quotes are great!
Artistic or Leadership statement--Put a photo of your conductor or theatre artistic director beside their own words on what is exciting and valuable about your upcoming program. Don't under-estimate the ability of Artistic Leaders to frame the importance of their work. If they won't write something for you, give them a phone call, write down what they said and send it to them for approval. It will help you as a grantwriter. You may be looking at a season that looks like a hodge-podge. You have no "hook" to hang your thoughts on, but when the Artistic Director tells you the season is a "dialogue between the conventional and the new, the audience's taste and the pressure for artistic innovation"... wow... you are off and running with and angle for your prose.
Main Program Description--Describe your artistic season or core programs. While you might start with brochure content here, don't stop there. You want to think always from the standpoint of impact. What are the benefits to the community, artists, the art form, ties to education or multiculturalism in your program? How is this program a stretch for your organization, or the artists in your orchestra?
Community Outreach/Education and/or Adjunct Programs--separately describe your audience development and outreach programs. Start with and update the descriptions of annual and recurring programs. Next add what is special and unique about this years programs and share details of one-time programs. Illustrate your content with examples and photos from last year's successful programs. Include participant's quotes. Their words are always going to include more weight than yours, no matter how hot-shot you think you are as a grantwriter!

Organization--Who are the key players? Brief bios of artistic leadership and management here. Organizational challenges and triumphs. Any major projects in the coming year. (A Board List will accompany where appropriate).
Financial Position of the Company--If you have a debt, here's where you explain it. If you have a surplus, here's where you explain why it is needed and why it can't be used for operating. Do you need to save to repair the roof next year, or are you on a cycle with a festival every two years? This is only a good news over-view, you'll need a detailed explanation for funders if you have serious explaining to do. (You'll attach financial statements where needed).

PROJECT PAGES:

In addition to your main project description prepare single sheets for specific adjunct and optional projects. Are you going to have two composers visit schools next year? Prepare a "Composers in the Classroom" page. Are you going to have musicians from your orchestra give workshops? Prepare a "Young performers workshops" page. Are amateur ensembles going to play before your concerts? Prepare a "Community Overtures" page.
Update or create project pages from the former years projects. If you had a successful collaboration with a youth choir last season, do a one-sheeter on it.
Try to keep your project titles consistent as that will allow you to send three sheets on "Young Artist Spotlight" that detail past and planned activities. Although the activities may have slightly different aspects, the one linking idea--in this example, young artists on the stage--will allow you to build a case for this stream of activity within your organization.

These one sheeters will be used for:

Targetted foundation and corporate appeals
Reports to donors on prior projects funded
Fodder for larger applications
To add to or tweak applications to foundations where added emphasis is needed to match the funder's priorities or mission.

YOUR GRANTWRITING CALENDAR

You can use MS Outlook, a database, or a spreadsheet to construct an annual calendar for you to chart the deadlines and progress of your grantwriting.
Be sure to keep and include your accumulated knowledge arising from your past successes and failures with the funding body. Many funders ask you when you applied to them last, what for and what was the result.
As you talk to officers, look at websites, add all information into your grant calendar listing. Link to application forms and guidelines where those exist.
Where deadlines are given, you can enter those along with your own projections of when to schedule work on this grant. Many foundations will give vague information such as "meet before the end of each fiscal quarter". You will have to either find out the deadline or plan to have the application in well before the deadline might be anticipated to fall.
You will determine patterns in your calendar which will allow you to schedule grantwriting weeks where you will lock the doors, turn off the phones for some part of the days and focus on a series of foundation appeals or a major operating grant. In my experience, given basic knowledge and writing skill, the major determiner of a successful grant is the time invested.

GRANTWRITING TEAM TASKS:
"Team, what team?" you ask. I smile as I have certainly written many grant applications on my own. However, there are ways to divide up the tasks to work with one or two other staff members in assembling materials for your more major grant applications. Even if it is only you on your lonesome, it may be helpful to you to think of working on your grant applications in terms of these tasks which may be extracted and assigned.

Pre-read grant application forms, program guideline sheets AND final checklists, making a list of everything you will need for the grant. Please note that due to over-sight, omission or sadism, there will often be some item that you cannot get at the last minute which will only appear on one of three of these documents, usually the final checklist. If you only look at that as you prepare to mail your application, you will be up a creek without a paddle. Be sure you have defined the deadline properly: is it "postmarked by X date", "in our office before 5 pm on X date", or "in our office before midnight on X date".
Solicit, acquire and create a file of all needed external and internal documents: These can depending on the program include: financial quotes on equipment you are intending to purchase with grant funds, artistic statements from artistic leaders, signed releases from creative partners, signed Motions of the Board authorizing the application, copies of Letters of Incorporation, signed Financial Statements, work samples on CD's, copies of scores, letters from references, marketing materials, marketing plans from companies on retainer, resumes of partners, etc. You will want to chart progress on these items to avoid nasty surprises.
Create an electronic "fodder" file: On your computer network create a folder into which you throw copies of all documents likely to be of use to you during the grantwriting process. (You will delete these copies later). This will save you oodles of time in searching and opening and re-opening the same documents as you look for re-useable content. These documents will include your organizational profile, individual program sheets/descriptions. Strategic planning documents. Past grant application to the same government body. Recent grant application to other government bodies. Documents on financial planning. Statistics, budgets, and copies of marketing materials.
Fill in grant cover sheet (get signatures done well in advance).
Create separate documents for your main prose sections for the application.
Cut and Paste--Use your current organizational profile and any other relevant content in your fodder file. Do a rough cut and paste of the material into the program sections where it best fits and might be helpful. Do not worry at this point about duplication. You are merely positioning the material for convenient accessibility.
Statistics and Budget pages: Do these as fully as possible before starting on the prose. You can cut the time you spend on editing prose a lot more easily than truncating the time on stats sheets and Budgets. Trends evidenced in these sheets will help frame the prose.
Write and edit. Self-explanatory as this seems, determine well in advance who the lead writer is and who gets to say, "this is done". Arguments on these points seem to happen frequently in mid-sized to larger organizations and make a tense process much worse.
Proofread.
Make the required number of copies and prepare as required
Checklist of everything submitted
Copy to file.
Cover letter
Mail, courier or hand-deliver. Nothing quite compares with the festive atmosphere in the line-up at the last post-office open in a major city on the deadline of a major grant. It is a time to meet old colleagues and catch up with the news from last year. But really, we'd much prefer to have been home at 5 pm rather than be in a post office at 10 minutes to 10 pm.

WRITING TIPS

Make a plan: List everything you want to tell the funder in brief points.
Make it easy for them to give you the money by using their language. In addition to the application forms and guidelines that shape your writing, be sure to take time to read annual reports, strategic planning and online copy from your potential funding body. As you read, highlight (or electronically extract if possible) the prose in their documents that resonate powerfully with what you do or are proposing. Put this in your "fodder" file. Organizing your argument under sub-headings that echo their goals and priorities, using their language makes it easy for funders to see where your activities and plans fit their funding priorities. I worked with one great grantwriter who called this, "finding the money words".
Tell your positive story first. Find several key points in each section that are strong positives. Put them upfront and in strong brief language. Use quotes from stakeholders, partners and leaders to enliven and add credibility.
Address negatives briefly and honestly - move quickly to your positive plans (the only exception to this is applications for organizational effectiveness projects where you are making a case for the needs of your org.)
Keep to length guidelines: Find out how flexible your funding body is in length guidelines. If they have some flexibility, don't abuse them. Sometimes copy from one question might be adapted and moved to another question that allows for a more lengthy response.
Have you hit all your high notes? Look back at your list from No. 1. In your edits and moving blocks of copy around have you failed to tell some of your positive stories? See where you can fit those missed notes back in.

If you follow all these steps you will maximize your success with funders. Remember that the funders want to give you the money but you have to show them why and how your activities are the best place that they can invest in order to achieve their goals.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

Be honest: Any dishonesty or misrepresentation in your application will assure you have a very short relationship with the funder, so you want to be sure that you'll deliver on everything you have outlined. Fudging on postage dates is mail fraud, unfair to your colleagues and creates a nasty, unethical climate in organizations where leaders coerce staff into going along with submitting applications days after deadline with an old postage meter label. Expose this where it occurs. If extensions are needed due to dire circumstances, often there is a way to submit a barebones application with additional material coming as updates.
Don't forget to file your reports. A part of successful grantwriting is filing reports as required. Since you are reporting on last year's activities anyway, send reports even to those funders that don't require them.
Recognize your funders: assure that funders have the logo recognition and thanks that meets or exceeds the funder's expectations. Forgetting the Canada Council logo on your program book today, means you will not want to send that program to them with your next application, no matter how good it looks. When logos and thanks are part of your development team plan, meeting your final requirements and giving courteous acknowledgement is assured

Music on the High Seas August 5

2009-06-20T19:05:00.000-04:00

Enjoy your very own classical music concert in the most beautiful of settings...

Join us for an intimate evening with members of the 2009 orchestra on board Kajama, Toronto's only tall ship.

This is an opportunity to see and hear the remarkable talent of Canada's future musical greats.

You will be treated to:

A private performance by members of the NYOC
A meet and greet session with NYOC students and conductor Alain Trudel
A leisurely sail through the scenic Toronto Islands and Harbourfront
A gourmet dinner and drinks
A silent auction

Call now to reserve your ticket!

August 5th, 2009
6:00pm - 9:30 pm, Toronto Harbourfront
Tickets $200 (Tax receipts issued for the maximum allowable amount)
Contact: Maggie Fairs
T: (416) 532-4470 ext. 233 E: mfairs@nyoc.org

International Drawing Day June 6

2009-06-03T12:37:00.002-04:00

You know you want to do it.

You know you really want to do it.

Do what?

Draw of course!

So on Saturday June 6, International Drawing Day stop everything pick up a pencil, a pen, a paintbrush, a chalk, a burnt stick if you have to, and just draw something. Everyone has an artist inside longing to bust out of the prisons that most of us put that aspect of self in these days. Art is for everyone. Take back your right to create stick figures, cartoons or whatever your artist inside is capable of rendering.

Zen and the art of organizational maintenance

2009-05-13T19:25:00.011-04:00

I think it was David Parsons, the Music Officer at the Ontario Arts Council who said to me that while he used to think of arts organizations as going through processes of recovery that would end in a stable state that would remain indefinitely, he now believed that most arts organizations were constantly going through cycles of invention and re-invention if they did not wish to devolve and die.

I agree. Arts organizations that depend upon their founding energy and original creative mission as the only continuing energy in their engine will eventually meet the law of entropy and run down, engine sputtering and eventually failing.

What makes for a resilient arts organization that can recover from challenges and find new momentum?

I think of organizations as having some similarities to mechanical engines. They are propelled by the forces of varying numbers of cylinders and work at peak performance when all cylinders are firing with equal force. They can limp along when one weakens, if the opposite/complimentary cylinder is strong. Certain configurations of failures cause the engine to seize up and fail dramatically, while others just cause slow oil leaks that take years to grind the engine to a halt. In no small part I am drawing my analogy from the classic, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" , a book that talks about how the attention to the small details of systems, ensure that the whole runs trouble-free.

What propels a healthy arts organization?

Artistic Vision/Leadership--a compelling artistic vision from artist(s) that is at the centre of everything the organization does. The heart of the organization.
A community that is connected to and responsive to the artistic vision, supporting it as audience, donors and through word of mouth
A Board of Directors that is engaged through buy-in to the artistic and educational vision of the artistic leadership and provides the direction and resources to realize that vision.
Management-volunteer or paid that reports to the Board of Directors and carried forward their strategic plan in partnership with artists and community board members
Staff & volunteers as needed who are selected for the best fit with strategic goals within the living organism of your arts organization.

ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP: It all has to start with the Art.

Artistic Visioning is not something that gets done when the organization has some down time, or as a make-work project funded by OAC's COMPASS program or Canada Council's Flying Squad (as is too often the attitude in organizations already in trouble). If there isn't an Artistic reason for your organization to exist, then quit, get out of the way, give up, fold, you are wasting the audience's time and scarce resources. There are scores of artists and artists collectives out there filled with creative projects crying out for funding so, "I don't know, we've been presenting concerts for 37 years so we are just trying to keep on doing what we've done for those years" just isn't going to be a compelling battle cry for anyone. If you are parched with thirst for real art, go back to the well, consult with arts visionaries and re-connect with an inspiration to carry you forward again. If your artistic leadership is not inspiring your musicians, your actors, your company, then you have a problem. You are not going to solve that problem by band-aid solutions (programming committees, artistic guidelines, etc.) although those things might help in the short-term. You need to find out what the obstacles (if any) are to the artistic process, help the leader(s) re-charge their batteries, and be prepared to replace the vision or abandon the organization. There is no point to an arts organization without an artistic voice. Does this mean you must be professional? Absolutely not. An arts organization can have at its core a mission to empower and present local amateurs, artistic creation of children and youth.

When do you know when there is a problem in Artistic Leadership?

Do reasonably informed stakeholders give radically different answers to the question, "What is X arts organization about?
Do Board members frequently feel that the organization has lost focus, is on the wrong track artistically (because so many discordant visions co-exist)?
Is programming more often reactive to fundraising, marketing, educational programming rather than being a starting point for those processes.
Do marketing and fundraising staff often have difficulty in constructing clear, convincing descriptions of artistic programming for brochures and grantwriting
When Artistic Statements are written for grants & brochures: Do they vary wildly from year to year? Are they so generic that they say nothing about the artistic priorities of the organization?
Is Artistic vision identified as a problem by major funding bodies?
Are peer organizations reluctant to collaborate with you because they view your Artistic Leadership as problematic or lacking in vision?
When you perform formal or informal exit interviews with departing contributing artists/musicians or staff, is lack of artistic vision a recurring theme?

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: Art has a purpose and that purpose is how it is transformative in the lives and culture of our practicing artists and the community that the arts organization serves. Finding the balance between artistic vision, serving the community and working transformative magic within the community is the ongoing role of community engagement that the arts organization must undertake as a constant. Communities change constantly and so arts organizations must change also in order to serve new constituency and/or move programs and services to areas craving their programming. A mentor of mine was fond of saying "if people don't want to come, you can't stop them".

Think of two scenarios for a family that has recently arrived in a community. In the first the family gets a brochure for a subscription series to the local orchestra. One child has had an orchestra ensemble visit their school and brought home a study guide. The family saw the orchestra playing in the park during the summer, and mom attended a program at the library on music appreciation led by the orchestra's artistic director. In the second scenario, the family gets a brochure out of the blue and has never heard of the orchestra. Which brochure will go straight in the re-cycle bin and which one will get a second look?

In two organizations that I worked in during times of economic problems for (respectively) an orchestra and an opera company, their communities were alarmed and outraged at any thought that the organizations would fail. Individuals, corporations, area businesses and civic politicians helped to find ways to restore the organizations to financial health. It is interesting to note that neither communities were terribly wealthy nor noted for culture. But in yet another organization I served in, the organization had decided to pare its programming down to cut all community outreach, made an alienating name change, and disenfranchised community participation ... all in the same year. Recovery of community trust was a huge challenge for that organization despite its existence in a privileged community.

ENGAGED BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Without #1 Clear Artistic Vision and #2 Community Engagement, an organization will find it difficult to recruit and motivate a volunteer board.

Boards typically go through a development cycle as organizations grow. Take the example of a community theatre. At first the Board does everything from hanging lights, sewing costumes, selling tickets and holding fundraisers. As staff is hired to take care of production and ticket sales, the Board becomes more engaged in fundraising and community liaison. As the organization is able to afford professional grantwriting and fund-development staff, the Board role will shift to stewardship and making connections to major sponsors and donors for staff to follow-up on.

Board Executive and Nominating Committees have to set clear expectations of Board Members and recruit appropriately. When Board Members expect to be part of a "doer" Board and find that the expectation is mainly fundraising and oversight, they may feel sidelined. When Board Members expect to set policy and direction only and join the Board of a small arts organization, they may be surprised or even offended to be asked to roll up their sleeves and help with the nitty gritty. It is important that Board Members understand that their role is to help fund resources, find resources for the artistic work of the organization and work in ways that support the artistic mission of the organization. I have seen Board Members who behaved as though the arts organization was there to provide opera singers for their private parties, buy services from their clients, and that staff should shelve all artistic production work to assist Board Members with the running of gala balls or golf tournaments. While we all have to work together in arts organizations to raise funds, pulling staffing from accomplishing the core Mission, in order to facillitate Board fundraising initiatives cannibalizes artistic resources and is not sustainable.

MANAGEMENT: The role of the arts manager is to take the artistic program and the resources supplied by Board & funders and to implement the program objectives. Through expert knowledge of the industry, the manager employs best practices, allocating resources as carefully as possible to achieve optimum results.

The manager that is both under-resourced and without a clear and well-ariticulated artistic mission & strong community connections is unlikely to be able to achieve good results. If the organization also is burdened with an unfocused, non-contributing Board, the manager alone will not have the power to turn the engine of the organization single-handedly. In order to write grants, appeal to foundations or seek sponsorships, the manager will need a compelling story to tell about artistic & community arts education plans and the support that exists in the community, demonstrated by results, photos, endorsements. She or he needs the community connections of an engaged Board to gain new funding and connect with local industrial and business leaders. If there is a lack of money for marketing artistic programs, the manager will need the Board's community connection and legwork to promote artistic programs through grassroots initiatives.

Arts managers are there because they really love the arts and they have a tragic tendency to burn out as they try to prop up failing arts organizations.

WHY DO ORGANIZATIONS FAIL? We always hear of arts organizations failing for lack of money, but I have yet to see an organization fail purely from lack of money. An organization that has less money than is needed to fulfill all it's programming has to be flexible enough to be responsive to the reality and scale back or make economies to live within its means and simultaneously work on seeking more funds. A healthy arts organization with a clear Mission, valued by the community, with an engaged Board and adequate staffing will survive financial setbacks.

When organizations insist on not changing despite annual deficits, money becomes an issue. When artistic mission is muddy, community connections are lost, fundraising becomes extremely difficult. When Board Members are unclear on their roles, unfocused and non-contributing and sometimes caught up in their own politics, an important driving force in the organization siezes up. When managers and staff are called upon to deliver/sell/find funds programs that have no coherence, artistic energy or community connections, it is no surprise that they fail.

Two fundraisers for two great orchestras

2009-05-06T13:30:00.004-04:00

Viennese Ball in aid of Toronto Philharmonia this Saturday, May 9

If you like elegance, opulence and hob-nobbing with Toronto's social elite, this late-breaking news is in. Get half-price tickets to one of the most shwish balls in Toronto for half-price rush tickets (only a few remaining) @ $150. a person. Frankly the meal and the wine would cost you that much at the Royal York location for the ball, so why not also take a whirl on the dance floor to a symphony orchestra? Call 416-499-2204 before 5 pm on May 8 to reserve your tickets!

Esprit Orchestra annual fundraiser

If Viennese waltzes leave you cold, how about some hot jazz in support of Canada's pre-eminent new music orchestra?

The Joint Is Jumpin'
Music, Cash Bar, Appetizers and Silent Auction
Wednesday, May 13.09 @ 6:00PM

Reservoir Lounge, 52 Wellington Street East

Tickets: $75 Regular, $125 Patron
A tax receipt for the maximum allowable amount will be issued.

Call: 416-815-7887

Guerilla Gardening this May in Toronto

2009-04-30T05:57:00.003-04:00

Interested in guerilla gardening? Be there Sunday at 2pm at the 519 Community Centre to make seed bombs. The event will be on the second floor. Prospective guerilla gardeners are asked to bring any seeds that you have to donate.

We'll be throwing the seed bombs on Thursday May 7th at 7pm. The location is yet to be determined. (Top secret for now)

If you know of any spots that could use a seed bombing please email gardeners@publicspace.ca

So your arts org is ready to hire a marketing company

2009-04-16T10:05:00.005-04:00

There comes a time in every small, growing arts organization when the people involved realize that the busiest time for promoting their activity is also the time that they are busiest WITH the activity as they gear up for performances or art show. They can't drop everything to follow-up on marketing opportunities but they need the marketing activity to keep on schedule, no matter what production complications might be thrown their way.

Because small arts orgs' marketing needs are sporadic, they often think of shortterm contracts with a marketing company. How can they get the most out of this business relationship and avoid the horror stories that we sometimes hear when the arts meets the professional world of marketers.

Oh, you haven't heard any horror stories? Let me share a few from my own experience.

I once came into a position and found the season brochure was behind schedule. The marketing firm had been secured on a contract that was based on a monthly fee rather than product delivery. All the budget was spent and the brochure was still at rough draft stage. The copy on the brochure was almost un-edited cut and paste supplied by the arts organization with in-consistent length of artist bios & performance description, wild shifts in style and a look which was out-of-step with the organization's mission. After one try at salvaging the relationship, I canceled the contract and we were forced to pay a monetary settlement to extricate the company from a contract where we would be forced to pay for work that might not result in anything we could use.

Lesson No. 1: contract payments have to be attached to successful completion of materials by deadline.

In another larger arts organization where some of the work was outsourced to marketers, we were occasionally shocked and embarassed by advertising materials where the marketers' lack of understanding of our artistic product led them to distort copy without checking the results with artistic leadership. On one memorable occasion, the marketing firm changed the orchestra's working title for a concert "Memory and Reflection" to their preferred "Soothing Reverie". But the work featured on the program was a symphony inspired by the Holocaust, so very far from "soothing". This was a public relations disaster.

Lesson No. 2 : It has to be clear who has sign-off within your organization of marketing copy to avoid misinformation and/or public relations disasters.

Lastly, I remember an occasion when I asked an office assistant in my arts organization to do some tasks for me that day and had her break down in tears. What I didn't know was that she was trying to do a full work load assigned by me, and a full workload assigned by our marketing company. She felt like she had two bosses as the marketers phoned each day with things she needed to get for them or materials that they wanted her to mail out. Much of the work she described I had expected the marketers to do themselves, using their own support staff. We had hired a Marketing firm because we did not have the staff resources to do the work ourselves, but they were pushing the work back on us to the extent where little gain was being realized.

Lesson No. 3: "Who does what" is an important part of the conversation with your Marketing company. If your staff has to provide some of the legwork for the Marketers, firm limits and process has to be put in place.

Does it sound like Marketing firms can be more trouble than they are worth? I certainly thought that at one time, but really all of the above situations were mostly the fault of the arts organization, who failed to be clear in their expectations when contracting a marketing firm.

Hiring a part time staff member with some training or experience in arts marketing and communications to work for you in-house is a preferable choice for many arts organizations. If you have a good mailing list and are not hoping to increase marketshare dramatically, this may be the best choice for you. A staff member is more responsive to your needs and more able to provide low-cost grassroots maketing solutions. The advantage of Marketing firms (that you want to assure they will bring to the table) is that they have access to lists of contacts that might be interested in your artistic product, and their volume buys of more expensive media spots will make for more choices in advertising, eg. advertising in an expensive high distribution newspaper will become possible at half price.

Questions to ask yourself as you think about your marketing needs:

Do I most need a marketer or a publicist, or both?
Is my marketing budget sufficient to maximize the contribution of a professional marketing company by making the media buys the firm will recommend?
Can I articulate the look and feel that my company wants in their marketing through samples of our materials, or materials of other companies that we'd like to emulate and/or through a style sheet we've constructed?
Have I done my research by asking colleagues who has done their excellent marketing campaigns?
Have I considered who will provide sign-off on marketing materials (considering both knowledge and accessibility/availability)?
Have I considered who will be the point person in assisting marketing company with acquiring the materials/information they need, and distribution of print materials? How much of that person's job description/time is to be allocated to marketing liaison?

Once you have answered these questions, you are ready to book meetings with your chosen marketing firms. You will want to communicate the following when asking for a plan and quotes:

An outline of your need for material with due dates.
What you will be supplying and when it will be available (rough copy, artist bios, photos, etc.
What you are hoping they will do. Finish copy or just edit and format? Find and supply art or use your art? Find new markets or use your lists? Leverage ad spots?
Who will be point person and how much time/assistance they can give the marketers and who will have final sign off on copy.
Lastly communicate which part of the marketing plan/campaign you will be keeping in-house (if any). Coordination of efforts like your inhouse flyer exchange campaign will help everyone. Surprising your Marketing firm with inhouse efforts will lead to bad feelings.

With all these things communicated, the Marketing firm should be able to present you with a clear plan and costing which will reflect a solid grounding in the reality of your organizational needs and expectations.

Wanted! Musical Ensemble or Presenting Organization for Second Life Collaboration(s)

2009-04-06T13:15:00.003-04:00

For two years I have been presenting concerts in the virtual world of Second Life developing my series of live concerts at Music Island into one of the virtual worlds' hot spots and attracting attention of both online and traditional journalists.

Now, having recently stepped down from my position as Executive Director of the Toronto Philharmonia, I would like to find ways to make my avocation part of my vocation. I am actively looking for (preferably Canadian) ensemble(s) or presenters that would be interested in partnering with me for a series of concerts/audience development activities in virtual reality.

I would see this collaboration as involving me in developing a budget and proposal and seeking funding for an artistic project we would jointly develop. I am an experienced proposal and grantwriter. I would also be able to supply the inworld expertise in streaming, coordinating the event and promotion.

One model that has occured to me would be a series of concerts in a Toronto venue that would be streamed into Second Life with streaming video from both worlds. The Toronto live audience would see the virtual performance/audience on big screen and the international virtual audience would see the Toronto audience on an inworld media viewer. There are other ideas that might fit. I see this as being of interest to local ensembles & presenters, individual musicians and also with some appeal to a venue or destination wishing to promote itself to international tourism.

You can contact me via a comment left here, or inside of Second Life by IM'ing Kate Miranda.

The purpose of the Arts

2009-04-06T12:45:00.004-04:00

As I conclude my three years with the Toronto Philharmonia, I am led to consider again the purpose of a live performing arts organization in this time of electronic media. Why have a professional orchestra performing in our community when we can listen to such great music on CD, on our televisions or via online podcasts?

Some will say that the social experience of sharing a live performance in a great hall is, in itself a reason to support our orchestras and chamber ensembles. I agree that it is one reason. But is it enough?

If we make our musical organizations simply museums for the display of works by composers long dead and gone, we have no one to blame but ourselves when other citizens find what we are doing irrelevant to their daily lives, or who feel that what we do can easily be replaced by electronic records of performances by a very few orchestras worldwide.

An art form is alive, growing, challenging our assumptions, involving us, and provoking debate or it is dying. Performing the best of music from the past should always be a part of what an orchestra does, but if it is not also encouraging students, new musicians, community artists, collaborating with living composers, creating opportunities for its own musicians to learn, grow, explore new collaborations then it is irrelevant to the artistic life of its own community. It is my view that this is at the core of the mission of any orchestra in today's society, and not the after-thought, or add-on that so very many organizations regard the role of education and professional development.

Organizations that view contributions to music development, education and professional development as hoops they must jump through in order to succeed with funding applications are unlikely to priorize these activities. Unfortunately it is a common view. I would challenge them to put the musical life of their community at the core of their Mission and view concert presentation as but one way to contribute to that Mission.

Virtual Praxis: A Conference on Women's Community in Second Life

2008-10-09T08:40:00.006-04:00

(yours truly will be a presenter at the Ohio State University Conference, as detailed below, November 15, 2008)

Saturday, November 15, 2008
To be held on Minerva, the teaching and research space in Second Life maintained by The Department of Women's Studies, Ohio State University.

http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/collingwood7/minerva/conference.html

As teachers, librarians, artists, health care workers, and as volunteers in the many charitable and activist organizations of Second Life, women are a very visible element of our virtual community. The number of women's groups and community centers is increasing, supported by an informal network of committed individuals. Those who come here out of curiosity often find themselves involved in these community activities, and those who came for professional reasons often find that their interests have widened and diversified as they have come into contact with Second Life society. Is what we do here just relaxation, a metaphor for what we do in real life, or do our Second Life activities have importance for our home communities and for society in general?

Virtual Concerts in the Park
Linda Rogers (Second Life: Kate Miranda)

Executive Director, Toronto Philharmonia

There was a time when orchestras wanted to reach out to new audiences, they would go out and play in public parks or shopping malls. These days people are increasingly gathering on the internet and in virtual reality to play and shop. As an arts administrator I have been curious about the possibilities of audience development within Second Life. Who are the musicians that are active in Second Life? Why are they performing there? And who makes up the audience?

Virtual Praxis: In the Director's Chair
Phylis Johnson, Ph.D. (SL: Sonicity Fitzroy)Associate Professor & Interim Chair, Department of Radio-Television

Southern Illinois University

This paper looks at women involved in the creation, production, and distribution of news and entertainment content, and provides a wide scan of their contributions in-world. This content is created for and distributed to radio streams and news and entertainment cable services, and printed in magazines and newspapers in Second Life. The discussion specifically investigates the role of "media" women in SL content creation, and the potential impact on the larger media industry. SL users, internationally, are becoming notable media makers, and HBO featured the first documentary produced inside this digital community in early 2008. This paper attempts to create a portrait of an emerging woman producer who resides in this hall of media mirrors, and subsequently considers how much originality is realistically possible during construction in this parallel mediated universe.
The Women of Chilbo
Chris Collins (Second Life: Fleep Tuque)Instructional & Research Computing, University of Cincinnati

Chilbo is a community of artists, architects, educators, musicians, parents, hobbyists, students, and people from around the world who share a common vision that our interactions and experiences in virtual worlds can have a positive impact on our real world and our real lives. The Chilbo sim in Second Life is the cultural center of our community, but neither physical nor virtual location limits our ability to collaborate and share resources with one another.

A Village of our Own

Leta Hendricks, MA, MS (Second Life: Tamu Oh)

Librarian, The Ohio State University

"A Village of our Own" is a discussion of womanist resources available in Second Life. The Discussion will include a review of Second Life contacts, landmarks, and other womanist sources.

Gender and Race in Ultra-Conservative Groups in Second Life

Randolph Hollingsworth, Ph.D. (Second Life: Bella Yan)

Assistant Provost, University of Kentucky
My presentation will focus on the role of female avatars in racist right-wing groups in Second Life. Why would a right-wing group choose to use Second Life for communication and outreach - and especially in regards to women? Katherine Blee's Inside Organized Racism (2002) states that women are heavily sought after by American hate groups, making up half of all new recruits. Second Life is ideal for imagining and practicing gender and race, and ultra-conservative groups have found land, groups and events in Second Life that match their needs. There is a clear connection between some white power, nationalist websites and groups in Second Life. Individuals identified in fascist discussion groups and MySpace profiles sometimes post their Second Life avatar names. Portraits of female avatars participating in right-wing groups in SL will be described. Attendees will be given a party favors bag with hyperlinks to important rightwing groups' websites and SL landmarks to interesting sites. Attendees may wish to be teleported to one particular site to see and discuss the symbolic structures present. In this session, as Ingeborg Reichle wrote in her 2004 essay "Remaking Eden," (Cyberfeminism. Next Protocols): "the observer is no longer merely an observer, but rather becomes a participant." The presenter will facilitate a short discussion on the role of gender and race in rightwing groups in Second Life.

Performing Virtual Women's Community

Lea Popielinski (Second Life: Lette Ponnier / Laertes Parx)

Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Women's Studies

The Ohio State University

This paper will explore the ways in which the concept of "women" in Second Life shapes the building of women's homosocial environments within SL through an examination of the concept in terms of gender performance. The facility of constructing an SL avatar that is, by conventional definitions of sex and gender, incongruent with one's physical body, is enough to place such concepts as "women's community" in tension. This paper will explore the meaning of the phrase "women's community" through the concept of performativity as it is understood through the work of Judith Butler. I will argue that the physical sex of SL users is filtered through the SL medium to obligate avatars in presumptively all-female spaces to perform "women's community." The creation of "women's communities" in SL is a practice in referentiality wherein tropes that take their meaning in users' understanding of women's community come to be recognized and reiterated in the virtual context, but with a latent awareness that gender performance takes precedence over physical sex in the creation of such spaces. One SL space I particularly wish to examine is the Joyous Harmonious Park, formerly known as the Baths of Sisterhood, a women-only relaxation park with a history that seems to involve several characteristics stereotypically associated with the creation and dissolution of women's spaces.

Panel discussion: Is Second Life a welcoming space for women?

As educators, business people, community activists, artists and musicians, women make a strong contribution to Second Life society. According to the last published metrics from Linden Lab, 40% of user hours in Second Life are spent by people who self-report as female. While their achievements are to be seen everywhere in our virtual world, the energy and creativity of women in our community may face obstacles. Although no formal studies have been published, there is anecdotal evidence of harassment and intimidation. This panel will be one of the first attempts to assess the problem, beginning with a discussion our own personal experiences.

MUSIC FOR 6008 SPOKES-May 31

2008-05-28T13:40:00.003-04:00

Received from Gregory Oh today.

Q: Do you still need cyclists? A: YES!!!
Q: Is it hard? A: NO!!!! (5 easy instructions)
Q: Is it fast? A: NO! (easy, comfortable pace, riding in formation)
Q: How do i join in the fun? A: Check out gregoryoh.com/6008 spokes for more details and instructions on how to register as a cyclist. No registration is needed to play "In C"
Q: Is Eine Brise a good piece? A: I have no idea...
Q: When is the rehearsal? A: Earlier that day - probably around noon or 1 pm.

May 31, 2008 - 3:00 p.m.

MUSIC FOR 6008 SPOKES
New Music Arts Projects
Track field, King Edward PS, 112 Lippincott St., Toronto

Sometimes a bicycle with a bell is more useful than a graduate degree in making music. Case in point - Mauricio Kagel's Eine Brise (procession) for 111 cyclists. The work may have been intended as a two-page testament to conceptual art, but mere technicalities cannot stop the two-wheeled artistic soul. A crticial mass of cyclists will ride around the audience in formation, creating a web of sonic undulation. It could sound wonderful, it could sound awful, but in truth we'll have no idea until the actual performance! If you have a bike with a bell or horn, are not too ashamed to make strange noises, and are interested in "riding" some Kagel, go to gregoryoh.com/6008spokes to find more details on how to join in the fun. If you want to participate but don't want to ride, we are looking for about 15 volunteers to help us out with the event.

On the same program, former Dancemaker Julia Aplin choreographs an ensemble of teenaged cyclists/dancers in her Bicycle Ballet, set to music by John Gzowski. Going far beyond obvious functionality, Aplin helps us to find new things to love and adore about our Mieles, Treks and Norcos, and the people who ride them

Finally, EVERYONE is invited to bring an instrument, or just their voice, and participate in an open performance of Terry Riley's In C. It is easy to play and lots of fun. Music is available at gregoryoh.com/6008 spokes. All are welcome to perform. If you've never played this work before, be brave and find out how fun and easy it is; if you have played this work before, you won't need any encouragement!

Technology in the Arts Conference

2008-05-13T17:49:00.006-04:00

It was my privilege to present to people at the Technology in the Arts conference at the University of Waterloo May 9-10 on the subject of classical music in virtual reality.

My introductory presentation can be found here. In addition I have posted my backgrounder document with more detailed technical information here

But the magic really happened when Alessandro Marangoni, stepped up to the real piano in Italy and the virtual piano as Benito Flores and charmed the participants across oceans and media.

Rally to save the CBC Orchestra

2008-04-17T15:22:00.001-04:00

HUGE RALLY TO SAVE CBC RADIO ORCHESTRA
SUNDAY APRIL 20 AT 2 P.M. AT THE CHAN CENTRE AT UBC

Wednesday April 16, 2008 … Standing on guard for the CBC Radio Orchestra, April 20 at 2:00 pm CBC Radio Two listeners are following up on last week’s successful staging of a coast to coast National Day Of Action to demand CBC brass back down on their apparent systematic destruction of the Radio 2 network and their decision to replace it with programming completely foreign to its core audiences. The rally Sunday is a call to the CBC Board and Management to restore the CBC Radio Orchestra within a revitalized CBC Radio Two.

The rally on Sunday starting at 2:00 pm is an hour before the orchestra’s regularly scheduled, and nearly sold-out, performance at 3:00 pm.

The natural amphitheatre at the Chan entrance is a dramatic location, which will accommodate an impressive number of supporters, while allowing the 1,200 concert-goers easy access.

“It’s not the usual sort of prelude to an afternoon of live music at the Chan” said Canadian Music Centre head Colin Miles. “This situation has become a flashpoint for the general downgrading of CBC by the people who have been entrusted with our precious public broadcasting system."

“We are seeing the end of a cultural treasure that serves Canadians coast to coast and is an essential player in our musical exports to the world. Elimination of the CBC Orchestra is the destruction of our ability to tell our stories. It amounts to censorship and stifling of free expression of our composers" he stated.

“At 2 cents per year per person, how can CBC management, the board and Parliament agree to this? The issue has now been raised on the floor of the House of Commons and we will be keeping the pressure up.” added Colin Miles.

Three years ago CBC management stopped the CBC Orchestra from working in the studio to record music for broadcast and CDs and told they could only give public performances. Renting concert halls and paying for publicity to promote concerts is expensive. This orchestra has a recording studio that was built for them and well trained creative producer, recording engineer and orchestra librarian on staff. CBC management needs to be reminded what power in creating programming they have by keeping their orchestra. We are calling on CBC to restore the orchestra and get the musicians back into the studio to do what they do best for the benefit of all of Canada. As the CBC Radio Orchestra's own webpage states "With an audience as diverse as the Canadian experience, we create engaging musical radio programs, commission and perform new works as well as established classics, and showcase exceptional Canadian performers and conductors."

Rally organized by:
Save the CBC Orchestra Committee
Based in Vancouver, Reaching Across the Country

For more information:
Joan Athey 250-294-6040 to April 18; 604-908-9124 April 18, 19 & 20.
Laurie Townsend 604-822-9161
www.StandOnGuardforCBC.ca

Benito Flores; another real musician in Second Life!

2008-03-22T10:36:00.007-04:00

Benito Flores in Second Life, known as Alessandro Marangoni, here in real life, has been generously sharing his time and talents with SL audiences over the past few months.

The real life pianist can be viewed here, performing with the Malaga Philharmonic:

YouTube - Malaga Phil. Orchestra - Aldo Ceccato, Alessandro Marangoni

Benito Flores was recently was interviewed and performed on the Second Life cable networks, Music Academy Online program on his life and work as both a real and virtual musician.

Benito also has a blog!

Akito Kuramota, a real musician in Second Life

2008-03-11T15:34:00.009-04:00

Anyone interested in learning more about classical music in Second Life might by interested in visiting the new My Space page of Akito Kuramoto. There is a little about the artist, but best of all some truly delicious recordings of some selections from his popular recitals in Second Life.

Classical Music in Second Life

2008-02-18T17:34:00.006-05:00

Pictured above, is a "live" concert by British community orchestra Sinfonia Leeds in the virtual world of Second Life. The concert appeared in virtual reality within an open-learning community Cedar Island, where I reside in my Second Life identity as Kate Miranda. Organizing and presenting concerts Music Island is part of my work and play within Second Life.

People unfamiliar with virtual reality usually have a few main questions:

1. How does it work?
2. Why present classical music in Second Life?
3. Who is performing in Second Life and what is there motivation?

How it works:

The performer or ensemble use microphones or instrument pickups to capture a live performance. That performance is encoded as an MP3 stream (usually using one of three popular programs Winamp, Simplecast, or SAM) and uploaded to a ShoutCast server on the Web. Meanwhile in Second Life, a venue owner tunes the media channel the URL to the streamed music.

At the same time the performers are using their computers to position their Second Life avatars to "play" virtual instruments, in fact triggering animations. Performers also can use the stream to introduce their works by speaking into a computer head set microphone or by using their avatars to text introductions.

Why present classical music in Second Life?

Well first let's deal with the principal objections. The sound is no better than any podcast on the internet and the animations are not really linked with sound production in any way--something some consider a bit of a sham.

Both true.

The principal reason for presenting classical music in Second Life, for me, revolves around the quality of the audience experience. Listening to a podcast or recording is a solitary experience. By contrast, concerts in Second Life are joyfully social, audience members are joyfully celebratory in their anticipation and appreciation of the music in a way rarely matched in real life orchestras. Unique to the medium, listeners silently text appreciative comments, hurrahs, and questions that they hope someone more informed will be able to answer. Sometimes Second Life avatars even decide to dance to the music in the manner of small children at a summer concert at the park.

Conversations quickly reveal that many of those attending classical concerts in Second Life have little or no experience of live classical music. While classical music series are having trouble attracting new audiences to conventional concert stages, it seems that the internet virtual audience is open to the experience of art music. It seems worth it to step into the virtual world to reach out to this new audience.

The other unique element to the SL live concert experience is the accessibility of artists. Performers can view texted messages and questions. They usually engage the audience before and after concerts and sometimes at breaks in the program. This accessibility is as rewarding to the performer as to the audience.

Not to be minimized is the "fun" factor. Even audience members and performers who are regulars in the real world concert hall are amused, engaged and refreshed by the experience of classical music in the context of virtual reality.

Who is performing in Second Life and what is their motivation?
Classical performers in second life range from competent amateurs, music students, music educators, plus emerging and mid-career professional musicians.

Love of the music and interest in virtual reality is common to everyone performing in second life. You have to think it's just a gas to be bothered. Those without a sense of humour will not be amused.

Some performers find it is a good way to work up new material and play it before a live audience before facing an audience in the concert hall. For students it is a way to get more live concert experience. For educators, a way to keep performance skills sharp.

Performers are warmed by the appreciation of the audience and the sense that they are reaching new audiences.

While some hope to promote real life careers and boost earnings, this last goal is more difficult. The requirement to have a pseudonym in Second Life hobbles name recognition. As Second Life evolves into a serious platform for art, corporations, and learning, this role-play with fictional names seem more and more out-dated.

On Music Island we have been getting around the name recognition issue with posters, T-shirts and even virtual CD stands with links to performers' real world websites.

Anyone interested in learning more about classical music in Second Life should join the Classical Group in-world. Please contact me--Kate Miranda--if I can help you or answer your questions.

Conference for the Cuban Five

2007-11-08T04:59:00.000-05:00

more information at: Canadian Network on Cuba