SCS Updates July 5
Hello SCS friends!
We hope you have had time to review the information sent to you last week regarding our annual meeting. The Board and Polly met on July 1 to hammer out a few more details for the upcoming year. There is more information to share with you, and a questionnaire that we need each of you to complete by July 12.
I apologize for the length of this email, but I wanted to give you as much crystal-clear information as possible so that you can answer the questionnaire to the best of your knowledge. Please review the attached calendar for the Fall season. The first rehearsal is on Aug 15. Our dress rehearsal has been set for Wednesday, Nov 20 with concerts on Thursday and Friday, Nov 21 & 22. As always, your attendance at the dress rehearsal is required in order to participate in the concerts. The Spring 2025 concert dates are planned for April 23 & 24.
New Attendance Expectations
The Board had many conversations with Beth last season regarding attendance. While she is no longer our director, the Board continued these discussions with Polly. We are in agreement with this expectation going into this Fall season and feel, based on past attendance statistics, it should not be a problem for ALMOST ALL members! It is stated as follows:
“Choir members are expected to attend 75% of planned rehearsals and sectionals on the rehearsal calendar prior to concert week. Dress rehearsal and concert attendance is required. Extenuating circumstances should be communicated and discussed directly with the Artistic Director.”
For the Fall season, the expectation is for every singer to attend 8 of the 11 rehearsals between and including Aug 15 and Nov 14. The Social on Aug 22 is not included in this count. One sectional rehearsal on Aug 29 OR Sep 5 is counted in the total. If you plan to sing in the upcoming season, and need to let us know about your anticipated or last-minute absence(s), please fill out THIS FORM: https://forms.gle/4tDaCgEFTLnXwCWq8
Please read through the rest of this message and fill out the questionnaire at the bottom BEFORE you fill out the absence form. This form will be available through the member page of the website for future reference.
*** DO NOT EMAIL POLLY DIRECTLY WITH YOUR EXPECTED ABSENCES. USE THE FORM! ***
Participation Fee
The Board has approved to continue the annual fee for choir members at $100 for the calendar year. The full amount will be due in August. Please discuss extraordinary circumstances with any Board member.
Retaining YOUR membership
Once your membership fee is paid, you are considered a member in good standing for the concert year (through June 2025). This is regardless of whether you are able to perform in the Fall and/or Spring concerts. If you are not able to perform at all for the 2024-25 year, please contact the director to determine if you will need to re-audition (next summer) to remain in SCS.
Auditioning New Members?
Once we see the results of the questionnaire, Polly will determine if auditions will be held to admit new members for the 2024 Fall season.
Our Artistic Team
The Board has approved the following positions on an interim basis through Dec 2024:
Artistic Director: Polly Savage
Assistant Director: Michelle Miller
Accompanist: Brenda Hartman
The Search team will continue their work through the summer to find a permanent Artistic Director to begin in January 2025.
Additional singing opportunities
We continue to entertain options for outreach concerts. We will note your availability/desire to perform at each function. Some functions will be open to any singer regardless of whether you sing in the November concerts (e.g. Findlay Market, Kenwood Star, etc.). Some performance rosters will be determined by the director. Polly will note your desire to sing on Dec 14, but she will be setting the roster for that event (at a later date).
Okay – now that you have read through all of that (!), here is the questionnaire:
https://forms.gle/HoCG3nBM6L7KdaRA8
If you have comments or questions for us, there is a spot in the form to enter that, rather than replying to this message. Thank you for responding as soon as possible and before July 12! We appreciate you and look forward to singing together again very soon!
The SCS Board
Mark, Erica, Don, Mary Wynn and Susan