Welcome to the Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver/Burnaby Branch of the BCRMTA
I would first like to thank my colleagues for taking the time to attend this meeting, your input is essential to the running of the Branch and the Executive very much appreciates your presence. Next, I would like to thank our sponsors who have supported us through out the year: Bob Kohl and Tracy Richardson of Long & McQuade for preparing and sharing their presentation room for our meetings; Graham Blank and Aida Liang of Tom Lee Ltd for also hosting events and this year for providing the pianos and instrument transportation for the new SPG Festival; Sean Bickerton and Dave McLaughlin of the Canadian Music Centre for the use of their Salon during the CMW Festival; and Manuel Bernaschek of Showcase Pianos for hosting events at their Broadway location.
The Executive Board met monthly from September to June and I’m happy to report that we are now able to complete business in 1.5 to 2 hours with very little tabling of unfinished business to the next meeting. A potluck BBQ was held in July with an invitation extended to all committee members. I would like to express my utmost gratitude to each and every person who has made a contribution to the Board, without their support and expertise, the events we all enjoy would not be possible. As I’ve gotten to know them over the last two years, my appreciate has only deepened and I am extremely grateful for their wise words and keen attention to detail.
The Branch schedule for 2019 has been a busy one. Here is a summary of the year: February – Music and Neuro Science Part I with Andrea Unrau; Alexander Technique sessions with Marta Hunter; March - Body Mapping with Cynthia McGladdry of Oregon and the Celebration of Excellence Recital; April – Inspiring Students to Compose with Katja Pine; May - Spring Student Recital, Annie Cao in Recital (BCRMTA representative for CFMTA Competition), Improvisation with Boris Favre; June - Luncheon; Sept – Self Publishing Workshop; October – Music and Neuro Science Part II with Andrea Unrau, Alexander Technique Session, Discover the BCRMTA presentation for non-members; November – CMW Festival; December – Winter Student Recital and Winter Luncheon. Attendance at events was usually between 20-30 members, we’re happy that it remains stable and going forward we will be polling the members to find ways of increasing the numbers.
Planning for the 2020 calendar is already in progress. More information is available on the Calendar Blog page of the website regarding: February 24 - Registered Massage Therapist Rachel Shiu; March 8 - Jared Ballance presented a 4 hour workshop on the Dalcroze Eurhythmics and the Celebration of Excellence; April 6 - Interpreting Tempo Indications with Dr. Irene Setiawan; May - SPG Festival/Honour Concert and Spring Student Recital; June - Spring Luncheon, location TBA. The Fall schedule has yet to be determined.
Online registration via the new Festival and Recital page was launched in September 2019 and we are extremely pleased with the results. There were some minor adjustments but in general, it is running very smoothly. The system has removed much of the more tideous aspects of organizing events and we look forward to the "big test"which will be the SPG in May 2020.
Over the last two years, the Executive has strived to divide the work load into manageable portions both for themselves and for the Committee members. A prime example of this would be the SPG Committee which is now running equitably with eight members instead of one individual shouldering a bulk of the load. I would encourage all members to be active, the more input the Executive receives the easier it is to direct our energies. We are all volunteers with limited time so I cannot guarantee that all suggestions will be implemented but if it is possible, we’ll do our best. If you have interests in a particular area, maybe consider initiating a project, we would be happy to support you in your efforts. If we can continue to spread smaller jobs amongst the membership no one individual well be over burdened and the branch as a whole will benefit. We are a collective, the more we all participate, the richer the experience of membership will be for each teacher and indirectly for their students.
Thank you again for your support and confidence,
Respectfully,
Barbara Siemens
President