Things are busy at Civic Music Association as we prepare for the 85th Anniversary Season. So, where do we begin and what are the steps to producing a season of world-class music? Here is a general time line of all our hard work:
August - The CMA Programming Committee composed of members of our Board of Directors puts together a "wish list" of artists. This list includes artists you recommend to us, so if there is someone you are dying to see on our stage, let us know!
September - I attend the Arts Midwest Conference and meet with dozens of agents while sampling potential acts. While exhausting at times, this conference is a music lovers dream! Almost every minute is filled with musical samples of talent from around the world.
October - I narrow down our wish list based on our budget, artist availability and discussions from the Arts Midwest Conference. Once the list is shortened, the Programming Committee meets again to listen to samples, discuss artist fees and put together three or four possible seasons.
November - I am on the phone many hours a day! I must negotiate fees, discuss our education requirements (we ask that ALL artists included in our season conduct an education program for the community), and narrow down the list to our final season.
December - Contracts start to arrive. I carefully read every line of the document to make sure we are able to meet all of the artist's requirements including food requests, equipment rentals, and even what temperature the hall must be set at for the performance. I have not had any really funky requests unless you count the upcoming Vienna Boy's Choir's requirement for lots of milk and cookies!
January - The Season is set! The beginning of the month is difficult because we must keep quiet until our formal announcement is made at our January concert. In the meantime, I am busy putting together press packets and working with our designers on a new brochure. We also must determine our new Subscription, Membership and Single Ticket prices. I am happy to report we have another year of NO price increases. In fact, this year, you will see some price decreases in celebration of our anniversary. Click here to learn more!
February - After our season announcement we start taking subscription and membership orders while promoting the new season. Past subscribers can take advantage of our early bird prices while new subscribers have an even deeper discount. In thanks for all of their support, past subscribers will receive a bonus two tickets to any concert in the 2009/10 Season.
March - We will continue to promote our subscriptions and memberships and our brochure will be mailed to approximately 7000 people in the next couple of weeks.
The months before our first concert (September 18, 2009) will be filled with planning, promoting and celebrating what promises to be a fabulous 85th Anniversary Season!
As we look forward...who do you want to see in the 2010/11 Season?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment