Board Meeting Minutes

July 2017 Board Meeting Minutes

August 2017 Board Meeting Minutes

October 2017 Board Meeting Minutes

December 2017 Board Meeting Minutes

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on June 6th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 1/4

6:32pm
Met at SPU Crawford Hall Faculty Lounge
Board Members Present: Susan, James, Bill, Landon, Brendon, Stan, Erik, Amy

Let into the building by someone already there (didn’t get name)
Chatted about stuff:
James’ band will be playing their first gig in late June
Amy’s writing music for an opera about Nikola Tesla
the first act will be premiered at On The Boards on June 10th/11th

6:37pm
Susan handed out SIFF passes since we were given a bunch
they appear to be redeemable for individual showings

6:41pm
Auction Recap
Susan
So we had approved giving Soren 15% of the auction proceeds since he did so much for it
Day-of, he offered Susan and Brendon 5% each since they helped a lot.
last year we offered Brian Monroney 15% because he ran it but wasn’t on Board
It would be good to somehow incentivize Board members to help
would be good to clearly define roles and support
We made about 4300, vs 4600 last year
didn’t have an “angel” that we’d previously had

Marketing
James
Marketing of events is a major weak point
something CascadiaNow! can help with?
It’s not really working to have Board members reinventing the marketing for each event
Should we have somebody paid to handle this?

Discussion
Amy:
CascadiaNow! might have interns?
List of contacts and news outlets might help.
Landon:
Was hard to bring in people
We have older/non-Facebook/social media folks that we need to contact.
Maybe a monthly email listing?
Stan: At next Board election, emphasize participation?
James: We need clearer expectations.

6:57pm
NWFF Local Sightings Jury
Susan
It’s their 20th year
They want us to award Best Score for Feature and Short films
Who’s interested in being on the jury?
basically watch a bunch, vote on best
Interested: James, Landon, Erik, Amy, Brendon, Susan, Soren (in absentia via Susan)

7:01pm
Leftover Auction Items
Erik
What can we do with them? What are we allowed to do with them?
Susan
They’re just outright donations to SCA, so can do basically whatever we want
We should be damn sure we list our sponsors on our website and events
Brendon
We should probably do something within the year
so they’re not just sitting around when we ask for more next year….
Erik
Give them away as raffles at Meetups and events?
Would help to draw people to the events

7:03pm
Brad texted Susan – son was injured while skateboarding, so Brad won’t make it today.

7:04pm
Meetup
Landon
This month will be at Tavern Hall in Bellevue
Wednesday the 14th at 7:30pm
Brendon
Been posting things to social media, needs details for events

7:06pm
Educational Events
Susan

Penka
June 29th, SFI
7pm chat, 7:30pm talk, then demo critique and Q&A [Brendon: “And a raffle!”]
social afterwards at Mulleady’s
She’s happy to have us charge admission and have that go to the SCA

7:08pm
Susan motion (Landon 2nd)
Charge a $5 admission to Penka’s event on the 29th
Approved

Demo critique: 1 minute to 1:20 long, pre-screened for Penka
by members, who should be present
Discussion of how to screen things:

Demo critique process:
Members will email to an SCA email address that we set up
this will forward to Bill
audio only
1 entry per person
deadline: 7pm on Sunday, June 18th, 2017
Bill will anonymize the pieces and upload them for judging
simply be numbered and catalogued so only he knows the composers for each
pieces will be judged by jury and selected for critique
Susan and Landon
want a good variety of pieces

7:17pm
Other Educational Events
Susan
Ron Jones event in late August?
We’ve had some more communication with him, feelings have been soothed a bit
basically there was a communications gap, possibly about Penka’s event?

Landon
Would Marty O’Donnell be interested in doing a masterclass?
Maybe at SFI?
Stan: I’ll ask him.

Susan
Soren is working on getting a Dorico presentation
Brendon
Has something in mind, but will tell us about it when there are more details.

Susan: we could use more instruments
Stan: Amy mentioned she knows some Persian instrumentalists
Amy: I’ll ask them.
Landon
How about Marina talking about dulcimers?
Susan will contact her

7:26pm – Picnic – still on track for July 30th
Landon
how about Paul Hanson and Harry Partch’s instruments currently at UW
he’ll ask them

7:27pm
Reading Sessions
Susan
1) They’re awesome when they work
2) Getting reliable players is hard
Ron Jones’ suggestion: teachers and students
currently Sunday afternoons – good time?
Feedback from composers:
has been great to hear, but recordings aren’t really useable due to errors and tuning
We might be able to use a re-branding of the reading sessions
maybe working towards a concert?
Landon & Brendon: need more people to submit, need more publicity
Norman Ludwin has apparently been hosting paid quintets in L.A., attendees pay and get lunch

Discussion
Plan so far: Hiatus over the summer to figure out how we want to re-brand this
Next Reading Session: September 17th
Landon
What about school groups?
Evergreen, UW
Community orchestras?
“Tax write-offs are great, money is better.”
Susan
need good sight-readers
Masha’s video game orchestra?
James
Test pieces with reading sessions, send the ones we like a lot to Evergreen?

7:49pm
Susan motion (Erik second)
Next Reading Session on September 17th, 3rd Sunday of the month from then on
Approved

7:51pm
Open Floor

Landon
Ron’s Ravel Masterclass
would have been nice to hear more about Ravel….
willing to do a mockup/demo/study based on a piece the Symphony will be performing
[Secretary’s note: presumably the Seattle Symphony]
September-October timeframe
willing to “spearhead a good chunk of it”
Annual Meeting?
James: have it instead of a meetup? draw more people in
Landon: was nice to have it at Avast
Amy: knows folks at Litho
will ask about October 11th

8:00pm
Susan motion to adjourn (James 2nd)
Meeting adjourned

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on May 7th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 1/6
6:33pm
Met at SPU Crawford Hall Faculty Lounge
Board Members Present: Amy, Landon, Susan, Michaud, Erik , Brooke, Soren, Stephen, Stan
Visitors: Griffin and Sheila from Songwriters in Seattle, Masha Lepire
6:40pm
Songwriters in Seattle
Griffin
about 3300 members, about 10 events per month (performances, learning/classes, networking)
What can SiS and SCA do together?
gave us fliers and his card
6:43pm
New Executive Director
Michaud
Michaud will be moving to Berlin at the end of May – this is his last month as Exec. Dir.
We’ll need a new Exec. Dir.
Michaud nominates Masha Lepire
runs Seattle Video Game Orchestra and Choir
runs The Audio Mentoring Project
composer and classical guitarist/mandolinist
Michaud read out the official Exec. Dir. job description
Any questions or concerns?
Erik: Do we have to clear this with CascadiaNow!?
Michaud: It doesn’t have any impact on our charter, so no.
Stephen: The job description is very comprehensive
Perhaps we could eventually spread out some of the work?
6:51pm
Stephen motion (Michaud 2nd)
Review the Executive Director position in 3 months
Approved
at 6:51pm
Susan motion (Landon 2nd)
Look over Board roles at the same time
Approved
6:56pm
Stephen motion (Susan 2nd)
Have Michaud consider a consultant/coach role, to be presented after 30 days
Approved
at 6:56pm
[Brendon and Bill arrived]

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on May 7th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 2/6

6:57pm
Michaud motion (Stephen 2nd)
Masha Lepire replaces Michaud Savage as Executive Director of the SCA
Approved
at 6:57pm
[Secretary’s note: Michaud pointed out later in the evening that as Masha is not a Board member, she
can’t propose or vote on Board motions.]
Call for Scores
Michaud
Silver Flight Ensemble (flute non-profit)
– we’ve agreed to three years: piano trio, Mozart quartet (vln, flt, vla, vlc), flute quartet
– they’re offering $500 cash prize per competition
– 2 or 3 of their Board need to be present for the score culling process
– they’ve reached out to add another year (and another $500 prize) with a woodwind quintet
– are we interested?
– we can co-advertise the Call for Scores with them
– will be co-branded with them
– throughts/concerns?
Erik: Before adding another year, do we know that we’ll get along well?
Michaud: We have a lot of leverage.
Landon: Do we have an entry fee?
Michaud: We do – Americans don’t like it, international composers don’t mind.
Lowering it might be wise.
Stan: Do we still pay the musicians’ fees?
Michaud: Yes, we pay them.
[Note: $2000 per year, but this year only 1500 for trio, 500 gets pushed to quintet year]
– Basically, we run it, they provide the prize, winning works are published and they handle that
– their standard publishing deal is about 10% sale, 50% mechanical
7:06pm
Michaud motion (Landon 2nd)
Agree to partner with the Silver Flight Ensemble for an additional (4th) year, with a
woodwind quintet
Approved
at 7:06pm
Michaud note: if you write something and it involves flute, tell them
Michaud: they’d also like to probably do something with a flute choir
Thoughts?
Susan: That’s a lot of flutes for a long time….
Michaud: Also looking at working with Michael Owcharuk’s Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on May 7th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 3/6
[cue discussion]

Key discussion points:
– having $2500 in prize money planned out looks good
– working with Silver Flight helps our standing with SPU
7:18pm
Erik motion (Susan 2nd)
Hold off on flute choir agreement until after our first Call for Scores performance with
Silver Flight at the end of 2017
Approved

Meeting with Society of Composers and Lyricists [SCL]
Susan
– SCL wants a presence/chapter in the Seattle area
– Is there a way to partner with them?
Stan
– Are they affiliated with the AFM? [American Federation of Musicians]
Susan
– according to SCL “some people at GDC” were talking about SCA in a positive light
Michaud
– they know a lot about policy and law, which would be nice knowledge to have
– they used to be a guild
– they get a lot of money from ASCAP and BMI
– the tenor of the meeting with them started really urgently, then turned very sweet
– Michaud is very wary of partnering with them and getting swallowed up….
[cue discussion and general feeling of unease]
[Secretary’s note: we considered joining them a few years ago, but realized that we would be dissolved
and assimilated by the SCL, and that didn’t quite fit what we wanted. Many of our members vehemently
objected when the possibility was brought up at the general meeting. The idea was dropped shortly
thereafter.]

7:28pm
Educational Program!
Michaud
– We used to have a strong one. It has fallen off over the last few years. We should bring it back.
– emailed Ron Jones recently
– he’s not pleased with the SCA’s lack of momentum and is basically doing his own thing
Susan
– has three people interested:
Norman Ludwin (talking at Ron Jones’ place on July 14th)
Penka Kouneva (going to be in Seattle in July)
person from Steinberg/Dorico (via Robert Puff?)
Michaud
– we should try to have them all together at the same time as one event

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on May 7th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 4/6

Brendon
– we would also have audio people interested
Susan
– somebody should get on this and organize it – she is busy and can’t do it right now
Stephen
– call it a “Convening” and have it all on one day – make it an event!
Masha
– will take it on and organize it!
– Landon can help
Aim: have the “Convening” on Thursday, July 13th, 2017
hopefully at Seattle Film Institute
[Michaud: Switzerland! SFI is a nice neutral zone]
Stephen
– there are big 6-figure Murdock grants out there for educational purposes and events
– we should go for them
– he can’t do it on behalf of SCA thanks to SPU politics
Brooke
– will spearhead this
– with Stephen’s help

7:44
Stephen motion (Michaud 2nd)
Go after Murdock grant(s) – Brooke will be in charge of this
Approved
Auction Update
Susan
– online auction goes live tomorrow (May 8th)
– via 32Auction
– 55 items
– need Facebook event to go live
– tickets are live
– The Stranger’s event has been updated – it was terrible before
Michaud
– talent has been secured
– Marina Albero
– Seattle Video Game Orchestra and Choir
– Okanomodé Soulchilde
Brendon and Susan
– we also got discount codes for attendees and raffle items
Michaud
– possibly symphony tickets for raffle
Stephen
– Sounders tickets possible?

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on May 7th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 5/6

Masha note: for organization, Trello can be integrated into Slack
– people should get on the Slack channel
SIFF
they’ve got our branded flash drives of tracks
NEXT YEAR: We should get our SIFF contact to donate passes

7:55pm
Michaud motion (Susan 2nd)
Budget to pay for the stuff we’ve already bought for SIFF
Approved

7:58pm
Michaud motion (Susan 2nd)
$180 for 32Auction fees
Approved

8:01pm
Michaud motion (Stan 2nd)
$75, a full SCA membership, and a SIFF ticket for each Auction performer/group, plus
more if we can afford it after the fact
Approved
8:05pm

Open Floor
[Stephen had to leave]

Bandcamp update
Amy
– should we charge? [cue discussion]
– legally, what’s our best move?
– ask composers?
– right now, keeping it free sounds good
– Amy will send Board the login info so we can see that it looks good
8:08pm
Amy motion (Michaud 2nd)
Publish Bandcamp site upon Board approval
Approved
Landon: score study in the fall?
– a la Ron Jones, but our own thing

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on May 7th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 6/6

Michaud motion (Susan 2nd)
$50 for any further promotional fees for the Auction
Approved

8:17pm
Susan motion to adjourn (Michaud 2nd)
Meeting adjourned
Best of luck to Michaud in Berlin!

SCA Board Meeting – 6:30pm on April 2nd, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Landon Ashby, Board Member

SCA Board Meeting – 7:30pm on March 5th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 1/4

7:33pm
Met at SPU Crawford Hall Faculty Lounge
Present: Susan, Stan, Erik, Brendon, Amy, Brad, Soren

7:34pm
Call to Order
We could use a phone and email list
Soren collected numbers
SCA T-Shirts?
Susan
she’ll look into that
discussion of ideas
Brendon:
made shirts for his band, knows about doing shirts, too
Amy:
embossed earplugs?
Bandcamp can act as a middleman for merchandise
also, it’s almost up

7:39pm
Silence and small talk as we wait for Michaud….

7:44pm
Michaud arrived
James will called in via Michaud
Docket:
Call for Scores
GDC
Guild Wars 2 Concert

7:48pm
Call for Scores
Michaud
met with Sandra Saathoff at SPU
her foundation will be able to contribute
they’ll put that together
foundation will get two copies of the winning score
still working on piano and cello

7:49pm
GDC
Soren and Brendon went
Soren:
spoke with Guy Whitmore – he can donate Wwise lessons for the SCA Auction
spoke with Mike Drummelsmith about donating Wwise certification exams 101, 201

7:51pm
[segue to auction]
maybe we can get group deals for Wwise exams through the SCA?
James:
we should check in with Focal Press
they’re aiming to get more up-to-date on software, etc.
Soren
will email Unity folks
Brendon
will contact people he knows related to sample libraries, Chance Thomas re: book

7:51
Is there an official list of contacts for soliciting auction items?
Michaud has is, and is sending it to Soren, Brendon, and Stan
More ideas:
Maybe we can get Dorico?
Susan will talk to Penka
Masterclass donation?
Michaud will talk to Ron Jones
Concert tickets?

8:02pm
Call for Scores (revisited)
Geoffrey Larson of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra
collaborate with them for the next one?
tagging pieces onto the end of local orchestra concerts
Mike [I missed his last name… Orchinuk?] is working on this
Does the Seattle Symphony do their “Day of Music” any more?
Brad: no

8:06
T-Shirts (again, for Michaud and James)
Brendon:
Bandcamp merch is fulfilled by the musician
will figure out how much that would cost
Michaud:
we might be able to grab old American Apparel lots as they’re going out of business?
Susan:
maybe we should have a standard design for on-demand printing (Cafe Press, etc.)
wouldn’t financially benefit us, but wouldn’t cost us either

8:16
Guild Wars 2 Concert
James
ArenaNet is in charge of marketing and doing that
not selling merch
Eventbrite for tickets
tickets are a donation to the program
we have everything we need for the concert going
two performances on Wednesday March 29th
6:30pm is more for the families of the students
8pm is more general public
time for/with the composer (Maclaine Diemer) with the SCA?
afterward?
we’re in charge of that
maybe some sort of postcard/flier?
Michaud:
we’re using this as the student membership launch
will make Facebook event
Stan:
is in contact with the director, Doug
Wednesday meetup
Susan’s in charge this week

8:26pm
Reading Sessions
Michaud
last one: string quartet + dulcimer (played by the composer) flamenco
was apparently great, but tough
feedback from player:
consistency is key
more pieces would be nice
if you know people who want works played, get them in touch with Michaud
This month: reading SPU songwriting class works as an experiment
Brad:
for a while, there was a jazz group at Tula’s that would read charts
Soren:
emailed the Royal Room again
[we don’t really know what’s going on with them]

8:31
CascadiaNow!
Michaud and Brad need to talk with them.
that’s about it for now….

Open Floor
Membership Cards
Soren
presented design iterations
[cue general discussion and eventual choice]
Soren will refine the design a bit, get a quote by the next meeting
Membership Levels (tied into card designs)
Full
Associate
Student

8:50
Events
Brad
string techniques
he can organize that
Donations
Brendon:
Do we have an email template for soliciting donations?
Michaud will ask Brian
CascadiaNow! website
Susan:
they have our outdated old mission statement
Soren will tell Naomi and give her the new one
she needs to know about Bandcamp anyway
Bandcamp licensing questions
who owns what, and how would people get paid?
Amy will look up the Bandcamp licensing language

9:03
Michaud motion to adjourn (Brad and Amy seconded)
Meeting adjourned

Next meeting:
April 2nd, 2017

SCA Board Meeting – 7:30pm on February 7th, 2017, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

7:30pm
Met at SPU Crawford Hall Faculty Lounge
Present: Stephen, Kyle, Soren, Landon, Amy, Erik
Landon: How does membership renewal work?
Stephen: Log in, and it should show a a button to renew
Soren: The system should email out a reminder

7:33pm
Brendon, Michaud, Naomi Botkin (CascadiaNow! representative), and Susan arrived
Michaud: Docket

7:36pm
Updates
Michaud
– Reading session going well
– Amy: got the recording back quickly
– next month: Stephen, Brooke, and others
– Student Membership is coming together
– Stephen: confident that students will see the value
– Soren: any changes to the existing membership?
– Michaud: maybe? Probably a price increase.
– needs to be looked at, but less urgent than Student launch in Spring

7:39pm
CascadiaNow!
Naomi
– pleased to be partners and a project of CascadiaNow!
– services available: development staff to help with fundraising assessment and ideas
– project page on the CascadiaNow! website
– with a customizable donation page (could have a monthly donation option….)
– CascadiaNow! will help spread the word that the SCA has been adopted
– CascadiaNow! attends intern fairs, in case we need interns
– for instance, at UW late next week
– Naomi will be working with Michaud
– our contact will generally be Bethany
– ask Michaud for contact info

7:44pm
Michaud: What are the next steps?
Naomi: Welcome to 501(c)3 status!
– transfer of assets to CascadiaNow!
– legally SCA has to disclose our relationship with CascadiaNow!
example: “A project of CascadiaNow!” on things
– CascadiaNow! will give us a webpage of the disclosure legalese
– Soren will add disclosure to our website

7:47pm
Other projects
Michaud:
– Michael Owcharuk, a local pianist
– putting together calls for scores across local orchestras
– hopefully by the end of 2017 we’ll have something with that for 2017-2018 season
Call for Scores 2017
– we had said solo piano originally; budget-limited
Susan:
– finding available pianists can be tough
Michaud:
– Peter Nelson King said he would be interested
Stephen:
– Sandra Saathoff (flute professor at SPU) is looking for new music, has a nonprofit
– he’ll clarify what she’s looking for
Michaud:
– we could work with her nonprofit, maybe they could pay her
– works for solo piano, solo flute, and duets?
Brendon:
– it’s relatively easy for composers to get solo piano performances
– piano trio?
Michaud:
– it’s easier for soloists to rehearse, so we get better performances
– piano, flute, and cello, in any combination?
Susan:
– we should emphasize piece length
– previous year(s) the pieces weren’t all performed at the right tempo and ran short or long
Stephen:
– is it for members only?
Michaud: members get a discount
– we should have a prize
Michaud: we should make an award…? We could ask Ron Jones to judge

8:09pm
Michaud Motion (Stephen 2nd):
Create an award for the Call for Scores
Approved
at 8:09pm

8:11pm
Michaud Motion (Stephen 2nd):
$1500 for performers for the Call for Scores: piano, cello, flute
Approved
at 8:09pm

8:12pm
Michaud Motion (Susan 2nd):
$300 (provisionary amount) for recording
Approved
at 8:12pm
Susan:
– we’ll need to tell the performers that it will be recorded and is intended for release
Michaud:
– what will the award be like?
Stephen: a plaque?
Naomi: it doesn’t have to have CascadiaNow! on it
– digitally publish the winning score?
Amy:
– can publish the score
– has a publishing company, registered with ASCAP
Erik:
– maybe a nice bound copy for the winner?
Stephen:
– 2 honorable mentions
– certificates for all 10 performed finalists
Michaud:
– by next month we’ll have the players
On the docket for next month’s meeting: discuss timeframe for Call for Scores based on player
availability, taking into account announcement/launch, contest conclusion, and the final performance
date, which should probably be in either October 2017 or January 2018
Michaud -> Soren:
– get sponsors to donate things
– maybe the finalists get things?

8:24pm
Fundraiser
Michaud
– we owe the Royal Room money, but they’re not accepting it
Soren will poke at them
Naomi: send them a tax receipt thanking them for their donation of time/space?
Michaud -> Kyle, Brendon, and Soren (and everyone):
– look for donations
– benefits to donors: their logo on SCA site, public thanks, 501(c)3 tax donation!
Kyle:
– when is the fundraiser
Michaud: “Mmmhmmm. Yep.”
– targeting late May

8:33pm
Meetup.com
Brendon
– how do we pay for the fees? It’s $15/month with a six-month signup
Michaud: save receipts, talk to Brad, get reimbursed

8:35pm
Michaud Motion (Landon 2nd):
Budget for Meetup.com
Approved
at 8:35pm

8:37pm
SCA political stance on issues – discussion
Susan brought it up
Naomi:
– 501(c)3 can’t support a candidate or party
– the IRS cares about money regarding candidates and parties
– CascadiaNow! has a political endorsement policy – we’ll get a copy
8:42pm
James announcements via Michaud’s phone
– Wednesday meetup: James will be late
– Soren will be there at 7:30
– Event at end of March: Evergreen Philharmonic Guild Wars 2 Concert
Wednesday March 29th, 2 shows: 6:30pm, 7:30pm, in Issaquah
– composer might be there, hopefully will do a Q&A
– admission donations go to the orchestra
– SCA can collaborate with Game Audio
– get our logo on things?
– Michaud: give the performers a student membership?

8:48pm
Open Floor
Soren:
– wants the recordings from the reading session to put in a member-accessible archive
– has initial ideas for membership cards
[cue discussion]
Naomi: CascadiaNow! has a membership card printer!

8:58pm
Stephen: an SCA app in the future?

9pm
Stephen Motion (Michaud 2nd):
Research creating an SCA app for at least 10 months
Approved

Michaud -> Naomi:
– SCA wants to sponsor electronic music festivals and events
– are there any under CascadiaNow!
Naomi knows people

9:02
Amy has started the Bandcamp page
– will talk to Naomi for info for money
Naomi’s contact info: naomi@cascadianow.org

9:05pm
Landon will be our Social Media Tsar
in charge of Facebook, Twitter, fledgeling Instagram, etc.

9:08pm
Michaud Motion to Adjourn (Landon 2nd)
Meeting adjourned

SCA Board Meeting – 7pm on November 6th, 2016, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

~6:45-7pm
Met at SPU Crawford Hall Faculty Lounge
Present: Roy, Stephen, Brooke, Soren, Brad, James, Amy, Erik, Susan, Bill, Landon, Brendon
– Susan brought candy
– informal conversation, stories about pets
– impromptu name signs (thank you Stephen)

7:09pm
Official Call to Order
– by our newly-elected President, Susan
Introductions
– a little about ourselves and our backgrounds and history with the SCA
Michaud arrived during introductions

7:22pm
Michaud: Board Meeting process
– how things work (and sometimes don’t) here

7:24pm
Reading Session Debrief
Michaud
– previous sessions: musicians have disappeared in the days leading up to the session
– this is not good, and we’d like to avoid that
– consistency is key!
– last series of reading sessions took about six months to get everything consistent

7:25pm
Blue Star Hangouts – Second Wednesdays
James
– there’s one this coming Wednesday! (November 9th)
– averaging about $40 for appetizers, and that may not even be necessary eventually
– the space is free
– they’re picking up steam and becoming a regular thing
– nice no-pressure no-programming hangout time for people
– Soren: Should we have a way for demos to happen?
– Michaud: Best to just have it be a hangout
– we should start bringing the SCA banner
[Secretary’s Note: Who currently has that? Michaud, right?]
– outreach!
– Brendon: How?
– Michaud: Facebook, Mailchimp
– Susan: My priority is to make communication better and clearer this year
– Brendon: meetup.com?

7:32pm
501(c)(3) Update
Michaud
– we haven’t renewed our previous 501(c)(6) nonprofit status
– we’re in with Cascadia Now, with a little snag in the paperwork:
– they want an official 10-year plan
– Michaud’s plan to write up and send to them: continue to attract more composers and
reach out to sound designers and electronic musicians
Landon:
– will we still have membership dues as a 501(c)(3)?
– Michaud: Yes
– Basically the fundamental change is that now we’re serving a community
– we can still charge dues, charge for events, all that
Roy:
– Are the criteria for the Cascadia Now process the same as when they did their presentation?
– they’re officially in charge, we have to put their name on our stuff, etc.
– Michaud: Yes
– met with an accountant and talked about the process
– we need to look at the bylaws to make sure that this transition to 501(c)(3) isn’t a problem
– right now we’re basically a chamber of commerce

7:41pm
James:
– The ship has sailed – this is already in-progress.

7:43pm
Electronic Music
Michaud:
– one of the Cascadia Now projects is the Chance of Rain electronic music festival
– we might be able to partner with them next fall

7:45pm
Audio
Michaud:
– we’d like to do more outreach to audio groups
– need an Audio Czar
James:
– we already do a lot with the Seattle Game Audio group
Educational Events
Michaud:
– we have planned for three events, proposing:
– Norman Ludwin masterclass (orchestrator)
– electronic music event of some sort
– audio event of some sort
Amy:
– involved with the Seattle Phonographer’s Union – do something with them?

7:50
Michaud:
– looking to help grow the SCA through electronic music and audio communities

7:52
More 501(c)(3) discussion
Susan:
– When can we start mentioning the tax benefits?
– Michaud: When the paperwork is done
Brad:
– What happens to the Treasurer position?
– Michaud: They don’t want to reorganize us, just oversee
Susan:
– Who actually signs and is responsible for all the paperwork for the process?
– Michaud: Me?
Michaud:
– How the finances work: they have our budget and our accounts, there’s about a 72-hour
process for spending money

7:57
Brad:
– Did we make a mistake by not filing the 501(c)(6) paperwork?
– If the paperwork for 501(c)(3) with Cascadia Now isn’t actually all set to go, we’re
technically nothing right now….
Michaud:
– Most of the paperwork is done; met with their Executive Director and went over most of it
– [aside: “This is why I don’t want to be in charge of a 501(c)(3).]
Brad:
– will find out about filling a late 501(c)(6) application, probably has a small penalty
All: Aargh. Do it.

8:01pm
Reading Sessions
Michaud:
– February, March, April, possibly May of 2017 are all set to go
– at SPU
– we have their audio and facilities departments helping us, recording

8:02pm
Board Meeting Time
Susan:
– is 7pm still good?
Stephen:
– 6:30pm to 8pm might be better, since things might be scheduled for 8pm later
All:
– works for people; 6:30pm will be standard meeting time
SCA Board Meeting – 7pm on November 6th, 2016, the Faculty Lounge in Crawford Hall, SPU

8:04pm
Tax Deduction Clarification
Brad:
– December might be a good time to start telling people about that and getting donations
– people want end-of-year tax writeoffs
Miscellany
Michaud:
– will get the 501(c)(3) paperwork all done and set to go
– will make event notices for meetups, sessions, etc.
– does anyone know a bassoonist or bassist for the Reading Sessions?

8:07pm
Susan:
– next General Meeting: October 18th, 2017
– location and time TBD

8:08
Audio Czar?
James:
– will be the audio czar
– [applause]
– will organize an audio event, probably in the summer
– James also got a thank you card and candle from Susan (and signed by people)
– for being last President
– [more applause]

8:10pm
Michaud:
– do the electronic event as part of Chance of Rain?
Michaud Motion (Susan 2nd):
Have an event with Norman Ludwin
Approved
at 8:10pm

Bill:
– other orchestrators, too? Hummie had suggested that
Michaud and Brad:
– Ron Jones?

8:13pm
More Miscellany
Brad:
– will start work on the fundraiser
Amy:
– maybe we can get matching funds from large local companies?

Susan motion to adjourn (Michaud 2nd)
Interrupted by Brad….
Brad:
– do we have upcoming events all set out?
Michaud:
– help with players for reading sessions!
– have sessions in 2016 still

8:19pm
Brad:
– If people have ideas for events, tell everyone!
– Even better, start organizing it!

8:20pm
Meeting adjourned
Next meeting: December 4th, 2016, 6:30pm
SPU Crawford Hall Faculty Lounge

SCA Annual General and Board Meeting – 8pm on October 19th, 2016, at SPU
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary 

8pm
Met at SPU
– in Beegle Hall
– pizza and drinks
People arrived, both current members and non-members

8:34pm
Start of Business, Welcome
James: Events and community involvement
– we have someone to maintain our contacts and relationships: our Executive Director
– introduced Michaud Savage

8:38pm
Current Projects
Michaud: We’ve narrowed our scope a bit to focus on our main projects
– Demo Derby has now been split:
– 2nd Wednesday Meetup
– Reading Sessions (now open to the public, as well)
– moving to SPU in January
– Call for Scores
– we get submissions from all over the world
– Masterclasses
– especially regarding instrument technique
– every four months or so, down from every three
– looking to bring in more game audio and electronic music people

8:50pm
501(c)(3) Project
Michaud
– We’re transitioning from a 501(f)(6) to a 501(c)(3)
– We’ll become a federally-recognized nonprofit
– This will allow donations to us to be considered tax writeoffs
– will also allow us to apply for more grants
– Going through this with Cascadia Now
– they provide a treasurer and accountant
– by April 2018 we’ll be our own 501(c)(3)
– review at the midway point and decide whether to continue with Cascadia Now
– we get some money and a lot of outreach through them

8:56pm
James: Any questions about the 501(c)(3) process?
– Ed H.: What percentage to they take?
– Michaud: 3.8?
– Ed H.: What revenue do we get?
– Michaud and James: We’ll get a lot more than we could on our own.
– Soren L.: Any specific grants that we’re looking at?
– Michaud:
– Arts from Seattle, every two years they have 20k and 10k
– Seattle Arts and Culture
– National grants
[applause for 501(c)(3) process]

9:00pm
Board Elections
James: This is the official reason we’re here tonight
[ballots handed out]

9:02pm
Added to ballot:
Landon Ashby
Amy Denio

9:03pm
Ed Hartman talked about why to be on the Board

9:06pm
Erik spoke briefly

9:07pm
Added to ballot:
Brendon Williams
Kyle Preston
Brooke Richey

9:10pm
Neither James nor Michaud will be President in the next year
[ballots collected]

9:11pm
New Music Concerts
Shaya Lyons
[handout about upcoming events]
– concerts and happy hour
– New Music Day: January 28th at Cornish; full day event
– Live Music Project: submit via website
Other announcements:
– Ed Hartman has a licensing class on Saturday the 22nd
– James is selling chocolate

9:16pm
Meeting Adjourned
Board went to the hallway for our first meeting

FIRST BOARD MEETING – SPU BEEGLE HALL HALLWAY
Election of Officers

9:17pm
President: Susan (nominated by James)
Treasurer: Brad (not present, nominated by Michaud)
Secretary: Erik (nominated by Michaud)
Vice President: Amy (nominated by Michaud) [Secretary’s note: “Co-Vice President” perhaps?]
Vice President: Stephen (nominated by Michaud)
All votes were unanimous

9:20pm
Motion by James (seconded by Erik): Pay $400 to Michaud for the coming month
Approved

9:21pm
Meeting times
Stephen: 1st Sundays could be at SPU

9:23pm
Meeting adjourned
Secretary collected email addresses of new Board members
Next meeting: November 6th, 7pm
SPU Faculty Lounge

SCA Board Meeting – 7pm on October 2nd, 2016, at the Pagliacci’s Pizza in Interbay
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

7pm
Met at SFI
– locked, we waited around for a few minutes
Present: Michaud, James, Bill, Erik
Decided to move to Pagliacci (Starbucks closes at 7pm)
– plus this way we can get pizza

7:15pm – Soren arrived
James: Informal debrief of Local Sightings judging
– next time: could use more and clearer communication earlier (links for videos, etc.)

7:22pm
Michaud: Reading session
– good, but some musicians didn’t show
– Stan’s piece worked particularly well
– all set for next month
James: we can promote it at the general meeting in 2.5 weeks

7:25pm
Demo Derbies?
– they’ve kind of stopped….
– communication is the issue
Stephen arrived
Official Call to Order

7:27pm
General Meeting – October 19th (Wednesday)
James:
– we need a venue. Will SPU work?
Stephen:
– Wednesdays are good
– will do the application Monday morning for using Nickerson Studio
– having Brad on the SPU faculty should help.
– 7pm is a good time for parking
– SPU is a dry campus (Michaud had asked if we could bring food/drink/alcohol)

7:30pm
What will be covered at the General Meeting?
– fiscal sponsorship / 501(c)(3) process
– programs (reading sessions, meetups, etc.)
– board election; immediately following will be first meeting and officer election

7:34pm
501(c)(3) Update
Michaud: it’s in progress
Reading Session and Meetups (recap)
– want to get more audio people in
James:
– the meetup has been getting lots of audio people

7:36pm
Local Sightings (recap)
James:
– we should lock in the judges earlier and assign them better
– need better communication with NWFF (get video links earlier, etc.)
Future Reading Sessions
Michaud:
– last Sunday of the month, 1-4pm
– we’ll have one in October, not in November or December, back to monthly in January 2017
– we’re contracted with our current place through January
– shift to SPU from February 2017 onward?
– would be good to have SPU students there!

7:41pm
Membership Tiers?
James:
– thinking of three levels: Student/Associate, Standard, “Cadillac”
– allow volunteering to go from Associate to Standard
Bill:
– we need to be sure we’re not taking advantage of volunteers
Stephen:
– Students would interested in experiences they can’t get in school
– involvement, meetings, workshops, etc.

7:48pm
Michaud:
– Stephen, can you write that up? [it was very eloquently stated]
– Stephen: will do

7:50pm
Stephen:
– Student/Associate membership should make them feel like equal citizens
– General Meeting: he’ll be in Vancouver, would like a proxy (Brad?)

7:53pm
Michaud:
– James, can you write up your ideas for membership tiers?
– James: will do
James:
– Prices: Full 100, Student 25
– that way, at 5 hours of volunteer work (equivalent pay: 15/hr) go from Student to Full

7:56pm: Bill has to leave
Meetups
James:
– come to the meetups!
– 2nd Wednesday of the month (this one: October 12th)
– at the Blue Star Cafe at 45th and Stone
Soren:
– we should have a catchy name

7:58pm
Adjourned
Next meeting: annual General Meeting, October 19th, 7pm
venue TBD

SCA Board Meeting – 5pm on September 11th, 2016, at the Seattle Film Institute
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

5pm
Met at SFI
– one of the SFI faculty let us in when we explained why we were there
Present: Roy, Erik, Michaud, Susan, Bill (Brad arrived at 5:29pm)
– took a little while for everyone to arrive

5:20pm – gathered in Writing Room
Call to Order

5:24pm
Docket
Michaud:
– Reading Session
– 501(c)(3) update
– Membership clarification

Reading Session
– September 25th at the Royal Room, 1-3pm
– If any full members want to submit, parts due the 23rd
– Ensemble: 2 violins, viola, cello, bass, percussion, flute, oboe, Bb clarinet, bassoon, bass
clarinet/doubler, trumpet, 2 French horns, trombone, guitar
– requirements: can be read without a conductor, everyone plays
– two people, each with 50 minutes with the ensemble

5:28pm
Membership restructuring
Michaud:
– currently (since the founding of the SCA), full members technically have to have a certain
amount of their time and money devoted to or made from writing music (currently 50%)
– likely very few of our members would currently qualify for that
– proposal: membership tiers are by choice, and if you pay more you get more out of it
Roy:
– Charge for Associates at events? [full members would get in without additional charge]
Bill:
– Do we stand to gain anything by having Membership tiers?
Brad:
– Full Members can vote, Associates can’t?
– change to just “Membership” perhaps?
– have a student discount, but same membership benefits?
– just change the wording of Full requirements?
– this would be a Bylaws change, which would be voted on at the next general meeting
– that is next month….
Michaud:
– a month to figure out what the new wording and stipulations would be

5:48pm
501(c)(3) Liability Question
Susan:
– In a 501(c)(3), Board members and officers generally have a liability for things
– We should probably have insurance for events and such….
Michaud:
– will talk to Cascadia Now about all that

5:52pm
501(c)(3) Update
Michaud:
– Cascadia Now has agreed to take us on for October 2016 – October 2017
– there will be a meeting to get things going
– they’re fine with our 6-month review
Bill:
– Are there hard deadlines for paperwork?

5:54pm
Annual Meeting
Erik:
– When and where will the annual general membership meeting be?
– Last year: October 27
– [negotiations and discussion]
Annual Meeting will be Wednesday October 19th at 7pm
– Michaud will find a host
– perhaps somewhere good for audio people
– PopCap? ArenaNet? SuckerPunch? Amazon?

6:03pm
Michaud motion:
Change the “50%” requirement for Full Members from composition to music in general
Approved

at 6:05pm
Michaud:
– Executive Director should also be a fundraiser; he is not a fundraiser

6:09pm
The local Union will be a series of workshops in November, would like the SCA to do one on licensing
Other misc:
– If anyone knows/has a string quartet, have them contact Michaud for a project

6:13pm
Meeting adjourned
Next meeting: October 3rd, 7pm
probably at SFI, maybe Starbucks

SCA Board Meeting – 7pm on August 7th, 2016 at the Starbucks near the Seattle Film Institute
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

7pm
Met at SFI
– SFI was locked, so we waited about 10-15 minutes for people then went to Starbucks
Present: James, Michaud, Susan, Bill, Stephen, Erik, Brad

7:24pm
Call to Order
Non-profit status update
James:
– looked up wayfindlegal.org
– they would connect us with pro bono legal counsel to help with 501(c)(3) setup and transition
– they have a $100 application fee, and would need our finances, mission statement, etc.
– they would probably take a few weeks to months
– we’re on our own once we’re a 501(c)(3), and we’ll need to find our own accountant, etc.
Michaud:
– Cascadia Now as a fiscal sponsor and guide
– they did their pitch a while ago (a lot of us missed it)
– would take about a year or less) under their guidance, then we’d be on our own as a 501(c)(3)
– they take 7% of our yearly budget while we’re with them
– Brad: that most likely wouldn’t be much
– if we go with Cascadia Now, our Board next would have the same goals/responsibilities
– would have oversight from Cascadia Now to make sure we’re doing everything legally
– we have access to their legal team while we’re with them
– we’d need an accountant/legal once we’re on our own as a 501(c)(3)
Brad:
– sometimes you can form a relationship with accountants and layers
– they get a tax write-off, we get help

7:37pm
Michaud: regarding the Executive Director position
– Executive Director should be in charge of fundraising and actively do it
– he (Michaud) doesn’t have the time and energy to do it
James:
– if the goal is to expand and do more [especially as a 501(c)(3)] then we need an Ex. Dir.
Michaud:
– yes, but there’s not much to talk about right now

7:40pm
Discussion of how being a 501(c)(3) works for our membership
– it makes it easier for us to get things and money
– in turn, that means we can do more for our members

7:46pm
Starbucks closes “in ten minutes”

7:47pm
Stephen: we should aim to get at least one large ($20-$30k?) grant while with Cascadia Now

7:48pm
Bill: [if we do Cascadia Now] We should have a clear exit strategy
Michaud: absolutely; we should also do a mid-term assessment

7:49pm
Motion by Michaud (Stephen seconded):
Become a project of Cascadia Now, with a 6-month assessment period and the intent to
become our own 501(c)(3) by the end of the 2017 fiscal year
Approved at 7:53pm

7:54pm
Michaud: August pay and reading sessions
– he’s really busy in August and not able to do much for SCA
– he won’t take money for August, and instead that will go to reading sessions
– at the Royal Room, 3 @ $140/session
– already partially funded, this will completely fund them
7:55pm
Brad:
– we could eventually move things like that to SPU
– would be cheaper, we’d get more musicians
Educational events
– Send ideas by email if you have any!
Michaud:
– aim for one big educational event per quarter – that’s what we have budget for
– 501(c)(3) and grants will help with offering more
“When you have a whole lot of money it’s easier to just do [stuff].” – Michaud
Bill:
– we can start to use SPU as a venue
Stephen:
– maybe we could offer educational discounts, especially for people who help in some way?
– grants would help cover the rest of their membership costs

8:00pm
Starbucks closed – meeting moved outside

8:04pm
Meeting adjourned
Next meeting: Sunday, September 11th
probably at SFI, maybe at Starbucks

SCA Board Meeting – 8pm on June 13th, 2016 at the Seattle Film Institute
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

8pm
Met upstairs in one of the classrooms
Present: James, Nan, Soren, Erik, Bill, Michaud via phone

8:09pm
Becoming a 501c(3)
– It would allow us to be eligible for grants
– Donations to SCA would be tax-deductible
– some discussion of 501c(3) among people at the Soiree

Idea: We should get someone to do all the legal stuff
– Michaud will put it in the budget, which should be ready next month
– James will ask Roy about getting a quote for someone to do the paperwork

Question: what would the SCA have to do? Re-craft our mission statement, perhaps?
– We should probably tell the membership, especially once it’s all ready to go

8:14pm
Nan: Are Board meeting minutes generally available?
Well, they probably should be!
– Erik will send the notes to the Board once they’re typed up (as he has been doing)
– Soren will put them up on the SCA website

8:16pm
501c(3) additional
Michaud: there’s a $30k grant every other year that we’d be great for, if we were a 501c(3)

8:17pm
Soiree Debrief
James: There were about two dozen people there
Michaud:
– The auction paid for itself
– The venue and band probably didn’t break even
– We need more social media elbow grease
– He has put together a procedural and database for events – should help with future publicity
– Michaud will send it out when it’s done

James:
– It was great to be there; the evening was great
– We should get more Board members there
– Board members should invite other people!
– There were some suggestions from Doug Zangar and Ed Hartman
– Ed: Drop the price to only cover the band, let people buy their own food and drink
– Clarity would help! What are the tickets for? Food/drink/entertainment?
– Perhaps having tickets only for covering the band would help get more people?

8:23pm
Michaud: radio/ad campaign?

8:26pm
Call for Scores
Michaud: based on our budget, solo piano is looking pretty good.
Also, ensembles haven’t been responding to him.
– Three pianists, each performing four pieces, would work.
– Would probably cost less than $2k

8:27pm
Michaud Motion: 3 Pianists for the Call for Scores
Approved

8:28pm
Michaud: there’s a group in San Francisco that gets together and plays new music
– they have a Seattle branch that he’s familiar with, and it’s pretty much defunct
– it might be a good way to supplement the Ravel studies
– Ron can’t do a monthly Ravel study – can only do quarterly
– the group is 16 strings/woodwinds/brass players
– would play monthly
– perhaps this would be a regular event, available to members
– perhaps different membership levels would get priority for sessions

8:32pm
Michaud will get the group going again

8:33pm
James: Penka’s talk at ArenaNet
It was great, and he was able to nicely dovetail in the Demo Derby
– for this month especially, we should promote the heck out of it
– focus on demo reels especially this month
– June’s Derby will be at the end of the month

James will keep this going, keep prodding people about it

Other events – what can we do this month?
Picnic?
Meet up somewhere?
Social/Hangout?
James: after the 4th of July, some weeknight evening
Michaud: later in July so that we can promote it!
James will organize July’s event

Important points for events: Repetition, Frequency, Board members there
Wednesday evenings would be good

8:40pm
Michaud Motion: $50 budget for the July event appetizers
Approved

8:43pm
Hello from the Board to Michaud’s family
– they were all in the car driving somewhere
– Michaud out for the evening

Nan and Soren: online events
they’ll handle integrating the website and social media events

8:46pm
Meeting adjourned

SCA Board Meeting – 7pm on May 1st, 2016 at the Seattle Film Institute
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary – page 1/5

7pm
Met upstairs in writing room
Present: Michaud, James, Erik, Susan, Roy, Aaron, Soren, Bill, Heidi
chatted about things and waited for people

7:12
Michaud – puns

7:12
The docket
Bill added: keeping an eye on financials, especially for emailed votes
Aaron added: dedicated person for PR?

7:13
Keycard?
Can we get a keycard for the SFI door so that we don’t just have to hope that someone will be there?

7:15
Aaron debrief: Derby
~10 people attended
6 of the 7 entrants were there, Ed Hartman won
General rules guideline for competitions: no stock music
generally better to say more than less in the rules
NWFF was incredibly accommodating
Film director was confused about the date
– Aaron called him and he arrived around 3pm
Played all of the clips once, then the director chose a winner

Three successful points:
1) Great NWFF staff
2) Right amount of time for the number of entries
3) Coconut “fries” are awesome

Areas to improve:
1) Better planning communication with NWFF, timing-wise
2) Get more people to show up

7:19
Brad arrives

7:23
Susan debrief and discussion: Call for Scores
This was year 2
Went much more smoothly than laster year
Could have been better attended – there were maybe 35-40 people
We made $195 after paying the venue
– they charge 20% if you make >$200 (if this qualifies for the Wayward Music Series)
Susan made a handout Action Plan

Instrumentation for next year – something other than a string quartet?
– this was discussed later

We need to have a better delineation between participants and organizers
– but there’s still a lot that can be done without a conflict of interest

We should get next year going right away so we can have the concert earlier

Brad: how about having a sponsored piece in some one else’s concert?
– this puts more pressure on the judges, as there will only be one winner

James: we should be talking to more groups about performances anyway

What if we had more than one concert?
– multiple groups?
– Brad: start with one group, then expand

Michaud: important to still have chamber works
– new music for old ensembles?

SCA would eventually become a patron organization

7:35

Hummie says hi

7:41
Call for Scores, continued.
Let’s keep this discussion for later
Brad will email some conductors

7:45
Instrumentation for Call for Scores: keep the string quartet?

– Michaud: “It’s kind of hard to [screw] up a string quartet.”
What other groups are around?
Vocal groups?
It’s good to have an SCA-only concert….
– this is one of our big events, after all

7:49
Outreach
Michaud: we need to reach out to even more people, not just film and media

Decibel Fest?
– attract more electronic composers?

7:51
Call for Scores, continued….

We should start planning sooner rather than later
Brad will talk to vocal directors and ensembles
Let’s talk more next month
– keep the idea of two concerts:
1) SCA-only (what we currently have)
2) an SCA-sponsored piece in another group’s concert

7:58
Pricing structure change?
– free for local composers, charge for outside?
– Brad: free for members, charge for non-members?
– Michaud: maybe only SCA Full Members can apply for the orchestral piece in the non-SCA contest, while non-Full can’t?

8:07
What made the first Call for Scores so successful?
– publicity: we pushed it really hard

8:09
Wind Quintet?
– Brad knows “Spiritus Winds”
http://www.spirituswinds.com/

8:11pm
Motion for a Woodwind Quintet or Small Vocal Group for the next (3rd Annual) Call for Scores
Approved

8:12
Finances – Brad
PayPal: $4876.90
Bank: $1211.06

Soiree
Brian Monroney says that Soiree fundraising is somewhat lackluster vs previous years
– apparently fewer people are donating things

8:17
James will talk to Brian and will make a call in the next couple of days whether to postpone the Soiree

8:17pm
Motion by Michaud
$700 for musicians and food for the Soiree, contingent upon the date staying May 17
8:22: Approved

8:25
Ravel Study Group – Michaud

Tabled

8:27
Soiree, continued.
Erik asked about where to get tickets
– Turns out that’s not available yet due to technical things
Brad and Bill and Soren will figure out getting the PayPal and ticket system up and running

8:29
Michaud will create a Facebook event and may delete the lower-traffic (and confusing) Facebook group/page
– will also update the logo on the one we’re keeping

8:33
We’ll talk about underwriting via email in the coming days

8:34
Bill request

Review financial information at the start of meetings and email discussions so that we know how much money we have and are more comfortable voting about things

8:37
Roy: it would be good to know how many paying members we have
Brad: Mailchimp goes out to 208
– it’s not clear whether it updates via the website
Soren: 53 paid members are active on the website
We get money in all the time, apparently

8:40
Talk about SCA at events!
Spread the word

8:44
Do we have a donate button?
– does that have to do with (not) being a 501(c)(3)

PR
Michaud will develop a default PR campaign for events
– that can be used by other people who organize and publicize events
– will be the PR Czar for now
Aaron: solicit the membership for PR person?
– Michaud: “I’d rather just do it.”
– keep it all in one place

8:49
Next Derby – Aaron
May 22nd at 2pm
Aaron will create a Facebook event

8:53
Michaud – more puns

8:54
Outreach, continued.
Michaud: we need to figure out film-wise what’s going on here, and support it. And we need to reach out to other musical people.
Roy: grow vertically, as well? More depth

9:03
Brad – puns about Wwise

9:04
Discussion about talking and working with game audio people

9:14
Michaud: think of specific events that we can do to involve more people
– he’ll start a Google Doc

9:17
Adjourned. Good night.

SCA Board Meeting – 4pm March 6^th, 2016 at the Starbucks near the Seattle Film Institute
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

4:25pm

meeting began – we were hoping to get in to SFI for a while, then went to Starbucks (took over their big table in the back room)

Present: James, Michaud, Brad, Aaron, Ron, Jeff, Erik, Soren

Michaud went over agenda

4:27pm

Seattle Ravel Study – Ron

In L.A. his group took about 2.5 years to go through a piece, looking at about 30 bars per hour-long session

Logistics/cost:

• Ron subsidized it, paid assistants to play music, run computer, etc.
• attendees paid $25 per session to the club to cover the session, continental breakfast, and lunch

• schedule: 1 hour for people to arrive – showed documentaries, things like that; 1 hour of study (more than that causes “brain explosion”); meet-and-greet-and-hangout time afterwards

• this was once per month, usually on a weekday
• they went to a jazz club which usually didn’t have anything in the mornings
• eventually the got the club to kick back $5/person to the non-profit (Ron still covered assistants)

“Every person needs to take away something from this.”

Ideas for Seattle:

• every so often it could be at his Studio
• maybe at Spitfire or the Royal Room? -> Michaud will contact them
• maybe at schools?
• probably a weekend
• We could have an anonymous “Adventures in Listening” demo derby that same day, either before or after, in addition to the visit/hangout, maybe add in a masterclass
  • Make this a whole day of musical events
• maybe make a video of the sessions available to members (probably just before the next session)

• discounts for Members and students?

4:49pm

Website/Committee update – Soren

Have tightened up the website:

• Header update
• working on Facebook and Twitter integration

Soren culled inactive members and made all the profile pictures square – database looks a lot better

All members will have October 26 for their start date due to database migration

Nan is handling the events page – send things to her to go on that

Matt recommended another web developer/photographer to help as needed on the page

4:54pm

Fundraiser – Michaud

We have a date/time and location: Tuesday, May 10^th at the Royal Room

• setup will be at 5:30pm, doors open at 7pm, event done at 11pm, then RR opens to the public

• again, payment is set up with them so that we don’t have any risk

Ron will donate a 3hr session and will sponsor the SCA – talk to Brian

Events – Jeff

Networking event at Clatter & Din

• April 3^rd or 10^th
• Jeff should talk to Indiana Cho, Kirk Nordenstrom
• drinks/refreshments? Maybe the whole thing should be downstairs at Henry’s with tours of C&D?

5:00pm

Motion by Michaud

$250 for the Jeff’s C&D event

Approved

Jeff is contacting Symphonies – Bremerton, Federal Way

• Call for Scores – Federal Way (paid musicians)
• Open rehearsal reading session – Bremerton (volunteer) – they “love new music”
  • limit to Members?
  • could this be an annual thing?

Brad will approach Alan Futterman about being part of the SCA

Larger issue: Getting new works read

• Brad: this is the time of year when groups are programming things
• EVERYONE: Call people, drop Brad’s name, ask for commissions

5:06pm

Game Jam – Soren

Soren will do a presentation on Wwise Game Audio in April/May, to tie in with the Ludum Dare Game Jam

– update at 5:53pm – Do this with Jeff’s C&D event so it’s right before the game jam

5:08pm

Job Descriptions – James

Complete with handout!

Possible new/clarified roles and positions

President’s spiel at events, introducing them and SCA, hopefully without taking over from the presenter

Ron: to avoid Death By Committee and have people do things that they want to do, should we have Tsars and Secret Weapons to get things done? A Director of Happiness to keep things happy?

– Also, this will help avoid email overload and burnout

5:21pm

NWFF Contest/Derby – Aaron

organizing a Derby at the Northwest Film Forum

• have a filmmaker submit a scene beforehand from a film they’re working on, have people score it

• filmmake decides the winner
• winner gets a prize (an SCA Membership?) and gets to do the movie

James: Rather than a Membership, some cash too? They get a gig and some money

Both? Membership and cash prize (and the gig)

Larger issue: getting more projects in the Seattle area

Ron – need pilots/series around here, get composers royalties

James – NWFF is encouraging local filmmakers – can the SCA get attached to that? Ron – SCA Membership commissions a film/series/Musical Murder Mystery?

[ 5:33 – Brad headed out to meet with the Cornish people for tonight’s event ]

NWFF has agreed to do this Derby, so we need to get up to speed on this – Aaron will find a filmmaker – maybe ask SFI?

Back to the larger project issue:

Ron – maybe a community project? School(s) project?

• get local schools to do artwork about local things, get someone to score it
• get the Mayor’s Office involved
• Vera Project
• pull the community in, get media coverage
• Aaron will put together proposals for these sorts of things
• Ron will write up timeframe management for projects, pilots, etc.

Back to the Derby

5:41pm

Motion by Michaud

$100 + a 1-Year Full Membership as the prize for Aaron’s Derby at NWFF

Approved

Membership Tiers – James

we need to clarify/separate what the different membership tiers do Perhaps a third tier above Full?

Perhaps a Student tier?

Perhaps accept volunteer time or financial support to move membership tiers?

Programming – Michaud

We need to rebuild it, make it more standard and recurring

• it’s been a while since we’ve had events every month
• need to get back on a schedule

5:46pm

Membership Cards / App

To show Membership

– get discounts at sponsors, etc. QR code for each person?

Erik: have it be part of each Member’s page?

• Already has our picture
• just log in there and have a QR code on Profile?

Soren will look into solutions that use the website we already have

5:49pm

More Ideas – Ron

get community events highlighting the SCA and composers

“1000 Kick Drums for Peace”

• Have someone write a piece for 1000 kick drums, get local drummers to play it as a public event

• support a charity/cause (peace, food, medicine)
  • Erik: hearing loss research?
• Michaud is taking this one

5:50pm

Ron’s (Semi?-)Official Title

“Director of Crazy Shit”

5:53pm

Next Meeting:

March 27^th at 7pm

5:55pm

Adjourned

SCA Board Meeting – 7:30pm November 3^rd, 2015 at the Seattle Film Institute
notes by Erik Feldman, Secretary

~7:35

meeting began (we were waiting for Nan to arrive)

Is everyone getting emails on the “Board” list?

– mostly… some new members weren’t sure

Introduced ourselves and gave our backstories

James, Steven, Roy, Jeff, Heidi, Soren, Erik, Nan, Michaud fun tidbit: Heidi was a student of Nan’s in eighth grade

Updates ~7:43

Nan – Website

Things addressed to the “webmaster” come to us, not Matt

Not a lot of people have logged in and updated their directory entry yet Do we need a “carrot” to encourage people?

• Perhaps free Focal Press Books?
• Perhaps an opportunity to score some of Brian Edwards’ film library? What percentage are we hoping for?

80% – we have about 20% right now. We should send an email to the Membership list

“Have you had trouble logging in?”

Once your avatar/bio is up, you get onto the bottom-of-page composer rotation Those who haven’t yet signed up should get a “You are about to be deleted” email

Payments not catching up?

Example: Roy Herzer (board member)

the site missed his Aug/Sept. PayPal payment Nan will talk to Matt

We need a contact person to handle problems like this People should keep sending site bugs to Nan to be forwarded to Matt Weekly updates to the board to see our bio update membership % We need to train people on the website and email systems

in the next two weeks?

~7:52

Call for Scores

Susan is in charge of that, but home with a migrane We have some submissions!

Board can enter, just can’t judge/vote if entered. If you have a string quartet, send it in!

It’s going to be a good ensemble

performers are organized by Heather Bentley

North Corner Chamber Orchestra (nocco.org) best players from Vancouver to Portland

Next year might be a different ensemble type

~8:00 – Upcoming Events Media composition stuff

We’ve been moving a lot towards more concert type things maybe we should move a bit more back towards media the Game Audio Group has events related to media

– Perhaps we could synergize with them? James is well-positioned to work on that

Northwest Film Forum

Courtney has been reaching out to us for events Leverage that!

Ed Hartman emailed us about his recurring licensing class Can we co-sponsor that?

he’s looking for a larger location – next class is November 18th

the current venue he’s looking at is a tad expensive ($800 minimum bar tab) – Perhaps London Bridge Studios?

Michaud will check with them on Thursday (the 5^th) – Perhaps at Seattle Pacific University in the future?

Steven will look into that

What kind of money do we want to offer? $100?

8:12pm – Motion by Michaud to offer $100 to co-sponsor the licensing class Unanimous Aargh

Brian Edwards wants music for his film events

we would need digital versions for people to score

– Again, perhaps this could be an incentive for membership bio completion?

~8:15

Anything going on with Northwest Film Form or Seattle International Film Festival? NWFF initiative: sponsor extremely short local films

– Are we interested?

might be a chance to set a general price on film music for local people to know might we subsidize that?

• Perhaps we could organize a film showing(s) to focus on the music
  • Co-sponsor?

presentation/speaker/etc.

~8:18 Brad arrived

he’ll remain our SIFF contact no news from SIFF

– Perhaps they’d be interested in the film/music showing?

Michaud spoke to Ron’s proxy (Ron is still in-transit) he’s going to be doing more events

might include regular Ravel Group sessions

-Perhaps do it locally (SFI or SPU) rather than at Ron’s place

8:25pm – Motion by Michaud to cover Ron’s travel expenses to bring the score study sessions more local. Not expected to be very expensive.

Unanimous Aargh

Steven will work on getting a place at SPU for those events. might even be able to get Alumni Association support

Contact Michale Nicolella about guitar stuff

Contact Akash Thakkar about an event on career building – Erik will email him

Derby organized by Aaron Cadam Samuels nicely-written proposal email

wants to pull in film people, guest speakers, special projects, etc.

Aaron would be able to host (with occasional substitutes), Soren will help – Perhaps we could do this at NWFF?

would get more local film-type people

We should do this frequently to encourage regularity and more people writing there’s a game show-and-tell quarterly

talk to them?

Student Chapters of the SCA

Steven’s “Pet Project for the Year”

similar events to SCA, get more people (students and their parents) involved pitch it as a “pilot idea” or “experiment” when talking to institutions

~8:36

Brad has to run, but…

Brad is now the official Treasurer

done all the paperwork with Brian Monroney, has all the account info, etc.

HOMEWORK:

Everybody think of things to add value or perks to SCA membership

Networking events

December 2^nd (Wednesday)

• at Henry’s below Clatter and Din?
• at NWFF?

Northwest Film Forum might be a better location to get film people

Soren – Sponsor local Game Jams?

Global Game Jam is January 29^th to 31^st at AIE and Seattle Center Armory

Michaud – Newsletter and Calendar?

Michaud – Masterclass by Caroline Shaw

We need more media events, as mentioned earlier

~8:52

We need a communication check with membership – Are the email lists opt-in or opt-out?

Facebook Group vs Page

Admin list needs to be updated

things need to be sorted out, organized, and cleaned up – Michaud is going to work that out

The next three months

• Ed H. class
• NWFF networking and events
• Aaron’s Derby
• Ron events

Other miscellany:

• We might be able to become a 501(c)(3) rather than a 501(f)(6)
• Concert this Saturday at 2pm at Benaroya

music about astrobiology, including pieces by Nan and Stan LePard

Next Meeting:

December 1, 2015 at 7:30pm at SFI

Adjourned at 9:01pm