CONFERENCE THOUGHTS FROM HELEN SHAFFER

Music gives a soul to the universe

Wings to the mind

Flight to the imagination

And life to everything. - Plato 

This lovely quotation was the motto of the 2011 AMSOV Biennial Conference. During the dynamic four-day gathering this past April, members enjoyed interesting lectures, interactive networking, stimulating music, and fabulous venues. All were related to the established theme of Listen, Learn, Launch.

Lucetta and Stan Kallis (Los Angeles) and Linda Stevens (Seattle) enjoy dinner in a private home one evening, a Conference tradition.

 Excited representatives from across the nation discussed the benefits of symphonic music, learned how we can all serve as better volunteers, and discovered ways to take our orchestras to the next level. 

We are now looking forward to the 2013 AMSOV Biennial Conference. Kansas City volunteers are hard at work with their planning. It is the goal of our AMSOV Board to encourage more members to attend in 2013. Some suggestions for ways you can help encourage better attendance:

• Plan early to send representatives from your organization.
• Set aside funds in your organization's budget for your President and/or President-elect to attend.
• Be creative in assisting with the fees for your representatives.
• Invite those who attended this year share all they learned.
• Let Kansas City volunteers know what you would like to see and hear.

AMSOV Board member have begun making liaison calls. We enjoy making connecting with our member groups' leaders and hearing the great news your organizataions are making. It is another opportunity for us to learn from each other and share our activities through our e-News and semi-annual newsletter. When you get the call:

• Be prepared to share.
• Tell us of your memorable activities.
• Let us know how we can assist in having greater attendance at our conference.

In addition, we invite you to contact us with any questions, concerns or suggestions you may have. 

As we begin the fall season, we begin to look forward to cooler weather and the exquisite musical opportunities our orchestras offer.

AMSOV MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS 

 
Your membership includes the following benefits:

●  Automatically qualifies you to attend our next biennial AMSOV Biennial Conference, which will take place in 2013.

●  Assures your place in the AMSOV Membership Directory, allowing you to receive a hard copy of this exceptional networking tool.

●  Includes hard copies of our AMSOV biannual newsletters and your Conference invitation.

●  Provides support from members of the AMSOV Board.

AMSOV's budget is totally dependent upon membership dues and your support enables AMSOV to provide member services, expand our networking services and support volunteers who are undertaking the responsibility for the next Conference.

There are three categories of membership and dues cover the 2011-13 Biennium:  

       · Principal Organization (Orchestra) -$200

       · Affiliate Organization (Leagues) -$100

       · Alumni (Individuals)- $50

DUES PAYMENTS

LOGO CREATED FOR 2013 AMSOV  BIENNIAL CONFERENCE

Kansas City Symphony volunteers have already sharpened their pencils and developed a unique logo for the 39th AMSOV Biennial Conference, to be held in Kansas City, Missouri from May 15 - 18, 2013. See www.amsov.org.

Heading up the effort is C. Michel (Mike) Minor, an active member of the Kansas City Symphony volunteers and AMSOV Vice President and 2013 Conference Chair. 

Michel Minor AMSOV VP and 2013 Conference Chair

Kansas City is known as the City of Fountains. The home of 200 fountains and their import to Kansis City is found in the city's historical literature.  

Several years ago, the Fountains Foundation was established. It works with the Parks and Recreation Department of Kansas City and dedicates its efforts to enhancing Kansas City and its surrounding areas by encouraging the establishment of fountains.  

The Conference planning committee picked up on the City of Fountains concept to establish the theme for the 2013 Conference as A Fount of Ideas. This theme was added to the Conference logo as AMSOV 2013, a Fount of Ideas, Kansas City.

The AMSOV Member Organizational Directory is an invaluable tool, explains Deborah Brown, a volunteer with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, who is the AMSOV Board member in charge of the membership database used to produce an important part of the Directory.

The Directory provides contact information for AMSOV members and includes an AMSOV history, a profile of projects and activities used by the volunteer organizations, and the AMSOV bylaws.

The Directory also includes volunteer coordinators and/or executive directors of current member orchestras, presidents or chairs of Principals and Affiliates, and Alumni with paid memberships from the 2010-2012 and/or the 2011-1013 biennium.

Many orchestra volunteer groups change officers over the summer, so please ensure we have the correct information before we print the next directory, requests Deborah.

Summer Memories 

Fireworks above Hollywood Bowl

Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl received the Pollstar Concert Industry Award for Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the seventh year in a row. The Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1922, with Southern Californians enjoying concerts under the stars and the traditonal pre-concert picnics. Every season ends with a fireworks display synchronized with the music.

 Kansas City Symphony volunteers watched their future new home take shape this summer. On September 16th, Helzberg Hall, home of the Kansas City Symphony, opened as part of The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Helzberg Hall is considered one of the most technically and architecturally advanced concert halls in the nation. AMSOV members will enjoy a concert in Helzberg Hall at the 2013 AMSOV Conference, to be held in Kansas City, Missouri.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra League celebrated the success of the  

Dallas Symphony Orchestra League members hold their handmade purses.

2010-2011 year with an Encore luncheon in May, announcing that $816,648 had been raised through five major fundraisers.

Attendees at the luncheon remarked that it was one of the most memorable luncheons. Guests were encouraged to be  "purse snatchers." The Decorations Chair had created over 100 special box purses, fashioned in a dozen unique designs, with an added surprise of a bracelet and set of note cards inside.

The luncheon was open seating with the purses placed at each seat. Guests arriving early were encouraged to "snatch" a purse they liked. Everyone thoroughly appreciated the creativity that made the event so special and so much fun for all.

During the summer, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League kicks into high gear beginning the first week of June. It plans the Debutante Ball, which accounts for approximatley 50 percent of the funds raised during the year. First is the Announcement Party, followed by more than a dozen events and parties for the Debs and Honor Guuards throughout the summer.  

The National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.) National Trustees' 19th Summer Music Institute (SMI) opened on June 27th with 55 students from 27 states participating. The four-week-long Institute provided the students with training and experiences designed to aid aspiring musicians for a future in music.

Training included intensive coaching by orchestra musicians along with private lessons. In the course of the program, participants   

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in six concerts that were free and open to the public.

The National Symphony Orchestra Women's Committee provided transportation for students from the Kennedy Center to the orchestra musicians' homes for lessons. This year, 27 drivers made 55 trips covering the region from Washington, D.C. to Centreville, Virginia to Gaitherburg, Maryland, a total of 200 volunteer hours.  

In accordance with the AMSOV bylaws, the Conference Chair automatically moves to the position of AMSOV President for the next biennium.

2009-2011 Board Members at Opening Ceremony, 2011 AMSOV Biennial Conference in Houston, Texas.

The in-coming president can thus bring immediate experience and knowledge of the how to run the Conference, as well as know the members' expectations for AMSOV.  

Helen Shaffer, who served as Vice President and 2011 Conference Chair of the Biennial Conference held in Houston, Texas this past April, now serves as President of AMSOV for the 2011-2013 term.

Marjorie Saulson, a Detroit Symphony Orchestra volunteer who served as President during the last biennial term, now serves on the AMSOV Board as Immediate Past President. She provides a link to the institutional history of AMSOV, as well as searching for new Board members and the host for the Conference four years down the road. 

Returning to the AMSOV Board is Michel Minor. At the 36th Biennial Conference held in Dallas, he was elected to the Board and recognized as the first male member of an AMSOV Board. After he completed his term, he was absent from the Board for two years.

At the Houston 2011 Biennial Conference, he became Vice President and 2013 Conference Chair. A volunteer with the Kansas City Symphony, he can look forward to automatically moving to the position of AMOV President after the 2013 Biennial Conference.

Other members of the nine-member AMSOV board serve a two-year term. For the 2011-2013 term, they are Sally Bullard, The Philadelphia Orchestra; Mary de Tray, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.); Charles Cagle, Nashville Symphony Orchestra; Deborah Brown, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Iris Harvie, The Cleveland Orchestra; and Arlyss Burkett, Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

Thank you to these devoted volunteers who govern the organization.