3 March 2011
Blazer Voting
69 of the 77 financial members of the ARC voted in the ballot. 42 (approx 60%) voted in favour of introducing a blazer, 27 (40%) voted against. Therefore, at its meeting next Tuesday your committee will commence consideration of procedures for introducing an appropriate blazer. Thanks go to Geoff Ford for acting as Returning Officer and ensuring such an excellent and viable participation rate.
Wollongong Regional Tour
Please notify Max Brennan of your intention to participate in the Wollongong regional visit with the Arcadian Lamplighters on the weekend of 21-22 May. Max needs indications of your attendance, whether your partner will accompany you, whether you will be interested in taking up places on a coach, and whether you will need group motel accommodation. Complete Max's sheet at practice.
Currently, it would appear that too few are interested in coach travel so please contact Max directly before next Tuesday's committee meeting if you think you do want coach seats.
Annual Fundraising Concert
Tentative bookings have been made at Hughes Baptist Church Hall for Thursday afternoon, 13th October and Saturday afternoon, 15th October for our Annual Fundraising Concerts. The Thursday afternoon will target the Aged Care market and the Saturday afternoon will target the normal market. Please consider your work and diary commitments and endeavour to be available for BOTH concerts that week to assist in our own fundraising.
Annual Retreat
Your committee has tried to provide a significant lead time to enable you to plan your commitments accordingly. Our Retreat weekend has been booked once again at Goulburn Conservatorium for 17-18 September.
Wagga Wagga City Rugby Club Mens Choir
The Wagga Wagga City Rugby Club Mens Choir will be joining with us again this year on Saturday 26th March for the Brumbies v Waratahs match. However, due to the unavailability of both their MD and accompanist, those who come will join with us in our repertoire. Mick Rice will be advising them of repertoire to help familiarise them for the day. I know we will make them welcome. More details later.
Canberra Services Club Membership Renewal
I expect that everyone, like me, has received a reminder notice from Canberra Services Club that renewal of memberships is due by the end of March. Can I suggest that you hold off (unless you particularly wish to renew anyway of course) renewing that membership because your committee is currently exhausting the POSSIBILITY of taking up an alternative practice venue. Nothing is certain or confirmed at this time but we expect to make a decision soon and we can all renew at CSC if the status quo maintains. Watch this space.
Choir Promotion
Remember to access the promotional e-flyers for display wherever you note an opportunity. This was a major element of last year's Forum to enhance promotion and recruitment so use the resources now made available please.
Your committee and I are delighted with the take up rate of New Members to the ARC in recent months. We will be focusing on those new members and trying to ensure that they are happy and comfortable in their early weeks and being assisted by their Buddy from their particular part group. To this end, your committee has decided to defer a specific New Members' event at this time but we encourage all members to continue to seek new entrants to try out our choir. New members are advised that when you officially join and decide to purchase the uniform that you can participate in most gigs by standing in back rows with the assistance of your song books.
UNIFORM SUPPLIER
Supply of our uniforms has been taken by:
Workin Gear
Paragon Mall
Gladstone Street (between Wollongong Street & Maryborough Street)
FYSHWICK ph: 6280 5885
Costs:
Blue chambray shirt with ARC logo $57.45
Blue polo shirt with ARC logo $26.95
Gabardine taupe (fawn) trousers $42.50
Other uniform items are available through our Uniforms Officer, Peter Scott:
ARC tie $20.00
Blue spray jacket with logo $32.00
Camel colour broad brimmed hat $26.00
Black shoes, black socks, black belt to be supplied by you.
NB: it is NOT acceptable for members to wear "close resemblances" of the above items. You are expected to purchase the designated items so that the integrity of our uniform is assured.
Antarctica Conference
Details are still forthcoming but our participation is likely to be on Tuesday 28th June at Llewellyn Hall. I expect that this proposed gig will develop apace when Andrea returns because she knows the movers and shakers at the School of Music who are driving this event. She is very excited by the songs and the nature of the proposed performance. Watch this space.
Choir Committee News
Your committee and I are delighted with the take up rate of New Members to the ARC in recent months. We will be focusing on those new members and trying to ensure that they are happy and comfortable in their early weeks and being assisted by their Buddy from their particular part group. To this end, your committee has decided to defer a specific New Members' event at this time but we encourage all members to continue to seek new entrants to try out our choir.
New members are advised that when you officially join and decide to purchase the uniform that you can participate in most gigs by standing in back rows with the assistance of your song books. It was pleasing to see newer members and some returning members doing just that at the Brumbies game last Saturday night.
Thank you for your attention to guidelines mentioned recently about communicating with your committee. It is necessary to contact only one member of the committee.
Please do not direct your submissions to our Musical Director, Andrea. Whilst Andrea is an ex-officio member of the committee, she is rarely able to attend meetings and she has commitments and responsibilities in other directions and she often has difficulty responding adequately to individual approaches. Please direct submissions about musical direction, repertoire, performance, practice etc to the President or Mick Rice as Coordinator of Practice and Performance. Your submissions will be taken up with Andrea and the Repertoire Committee by this channel.
From the London Gig 2012 Sub Committee
The 2012 London repertoire books have arrived and are available for $5 from Rick Dresser. The Repertoire Committee in conjunction with Andrea upon her return will determine which of these songs will be included in the regular ARC repertoire.
This is to flag that one of our good bass men, Warren Whittaker email address is , has resumed his earlier occupation as a Travel Agent. For those of you travelling to wherever (including London in 2012 for the Concert at Alexandra Palace) Warren can if you wish alert you as to when the best fares are available. He advises that 'Early Spring Fares' get released in August 2011 for travel in 2012.
If passengers pay by 30 September they can save up to $300 per person. If the airlines don't sell enough seats in the first round then they extend the ticketing deadline to 31 October with less saving, so you will have to firm up some sort of travel plan by early August as the cheap seats sell fast - this applies to all airlines.
After payment passengers can make one change for a small fee. Warren can also provide you with details on Travel Insurance and some of the issues relating to pre-existing medical conditions (e.g., he advises that there is a trap is you use your credit card insurance re health issues).
Many Parts in Tune
Paul
Related files:
- Warble 3 March 2011 (PDF 78.3 kb)