OU Orchestra and Chamber Music Club Committee Meeting
Tuesday 8th May 2007, 12:05 to 1:10pm
Present
Ian Every, Jane Fransella, Claire Hedges, Laurence Holden, Tessa Holden, Tim Hunt, Bill
Strang.
Apologies
Mike Britton, June Edwards, Sara Hack, David Massey, David Sharp.
1 Minutes of the previous meeting

Tessa to produce a categorised membership list. Carried forwards.
Action: Tessa

New members document: basically finished. Now needs to start being used, and go on
the web site. Carried forwards.
Action: Tessa

Schedule document → website. Carried forwards.
Action: Tessa
2 May concert
Programs and posters are done. Sara was not at the meeting because she was taking the
programmes to be printed.
Publicity is well in hand. Still on Jane’s to-do list are:
Action: Jane

Publicise on the Intranet noticeboard nearer the time.

Arrange for the concert to appear on the illuminated sign by the security lodge.

Contact the screensaver people to ensure our slide appears next week, and more
generally, to find out from them what to do to get a slide with exactly the content we
want in future.
Laurence is making a list of named people to blanket different areas of the campus with
posters, and gave them posters last Friday. This list will be useful for future concerts.
Ian Graham Jones (the AL who edited the Alice Mary Smith) is coming to the concert. He
said that the poster was “Imaginative and interesting”. Thank you Sara.
The Vice Chancellor sent apologies that she will not be able to come to the concert because
she is in London that day, but wishes us well.
Players: The situation is dicey, with erratic attendance at the remaining rehearsals, but we
should get away with it.
It looks like all three trombones will not all be at the same rehearsal until the warm-up before
the concert.
We don’t want anyone to move from cello to bass at this stage.
We will trust the horns when they say they do not need a ‘bumper’, at least until we see how
Friday goes.
Front of house arrangements are in hand. We will not be using the staging. Remaining
actions for Ian:
Action: Ian
1

So far, Ian has asked lots of people to help, and had mostly ‘no’s, but there are plenty
more people to ask.

Contact audio-visual to ensure the ventilation is turned off.

Contact security to arrange reserved parking spaces behind the Old Lecture Theatre
for two bass and one harp players.

Contact lots of people to try to stop there being any noise outside the Old Lecture
Theatre during the concert.
3 October concert
Logistics (piano move): Fiona Richards has agreed we can use the Steinway. The Arts
Faculty will arrange for it to be moved. It is not clear who will arrange for it to be tuned, and
we must clarify this. As before, we would like it moved on the Monday before the concert if
possible. Ian will arrange it – we need agreement of the Arts Faculty, and all users of the Old
Lecture Theatre for the time the piano is there.
Action: Ian
The companion piece will be Finlandia, unless anyone finds a flaw with this plan before the
end of the Friday evening rehearsal. (The score will be available at the Friday rehearsals.)
Assuming that decision stands, June will need to get the parts.
Action: June
Availability for the workshop on 15th July is looking a bit low, in particular some key
violinists are unlikely to be able to attend. However, the best option is to persist with the idea
and encourage as many people as possible to come, then to cancel later if it is really looking
untenable. Laurence will book rooms.
Action: Laurence
Bill had drafted a rehearsal schedule for May to October, showing where possible sectionals,
the workshop, and so on, fit in. We thought this was helpful. When the time comes, we should
share the plan with the whole orchestra.
4 Facilities
When the Arts Faculty move to their new home, the Howard Music Room will be rebuilt.
Laurence made one enquiry to the Arts Faculty to see if they would be interested in any
comments from the various music clubs. The reply was disappointing: budgetary constraints
mean that that the music room has to stay the same, and there was nothing more to say.
However, not taking this chance to make the music room better suited to the needs of
different groups is potentially a big wasted opportunity for the University, so Laurence will
take this further, probably at the University level.
Action: Laurence
5 Budget
There is uncertainty surrounding grants from the University, although we believe money has
been budgeted. Steve knows to share intelligence with Vanessa Skelton, the treasurer of the
Choir.
Action: Steve
6 AOB
On Friday May 25th, when there is no rehearsal, we will suggest that people gather for an
orchestra picnic.
Next Meeting
Wednesday 13th June, provisionally.
2
Copy of Bill’s draft schedule for October 2007 concert
Week
May
25
Bill N/A? Probably orchestra picnic instead.
June
1
1
2
8
3
15
4
22
Sectional?
29
No rehearsal (Choir concert)
July
5
6
6
13
Sun 15
w/w distribution proposed
Workshop with soloist?
SUMMER BREAK
September
7
7
w/w distribution confirmed
8
14
9
21
Sectional?
10
28
Possibly with soloist
October
11
5
12
12
13
12
After-work
Tues 16
Dress rehearsal - soloist
19
Performance
Need to add deadlines for:

checking players’ availability

approaching associates

seeking fillers
3