THANKS to all who attended our Pizza Night / AGM … Several long-standing Committee members are having a rest after much dedicated effort & a few Band members (players) have stepped into their shoes to help share the load of supporting & managing the Band .. HUGE THANKS to outgoing Committee peeps & WELCOME to our newbies.
MINUTES from this recent AGM (or any future Meetings) can be obtained by request from our new Secretary, Letitia Scott.
Please find below text from our ANNUAL REPORT for the 2017/2018 year, as presented by our outgoing Secretary, Wendy Coates [who has held this position for 4 years until now <– thanxx Wendy].
Lismore City Concert Band Annual report: 2017/2018
Presented by Wendy Coates (Secretary), on behalf of the Lismore City Concert Band Committee …
The Committee is happy to report a year of solid achievement for the Band.
Members: The band has grown some over the year, with a steady trickle of new players including some younger players, which is good to see. Also good to have several families with siblings and parents getting involved. At the same time we have missed other members who have taken time out for various reasons, or moved out of the area. We had a Japanese clarinettist join for a term while she was studying at Southern Cross University. It’s great that some ex-players, other local musicians and extended family members continue to join us for public performances.
Gigs: The band continues to play its regular gigs as well as some new ones. We performed our end of year Christmas Concert on the new Quad area that has been developed between the new Art Gallery, Library and Con. It’s great to now have access to such a beautifully appointed open air space in the centre of town, and not far from our rehearsal space in the Conservatorium. We hope to use it more in the future. The regular Anzac day gig went well in 2018 and this was followed up with a midday performance at the Lismore Workers Club, which was a lot of fun for all involved. Unfortunately we had to miss our regular appearance at the Lismore Show in October 2017 due to inclement weather. Last year we decided to reach out to other concert bands in the area, extending invitations to a shared event and were very happy to have a contingent from the Ballina Concert Band journey to Lismore to join us in the auditorium at the Worker’s Club in September for a day of combined rehearsal and culminating in a performance. The band marched again in the Lismore Lantern Parade in June 2017. It was exciting to have our new T-shirts ready for the gig featuring a funky icon of a hand clutching a bunch of music notes rising from the water. The flood theme being very significant to Lismore as this was only a couple of months after the devastating 2017 flood and the town focus very much on recovery.
Funds: Raising money in addition to membership fees is an ongoing responsibility, to cover our ongoing tuition, insurance, library maintenance and photocopying, special projects and other costs and to keep the band operating and solvent. A small increase in membership has helped improve our finances but we are still going behind by a certain amount each year and need to find alternative ways to raise funds. We applied to the Southern Cross Credit Union for a grant this year but were unsuccessful. This year we missed the usual end-of-year raffle because the committee members were busy and we didn’t get it started early enough. We really could do with some extra help with this to rectify this situation in 2018. The regular Bunnings Sausage Sizzle remains a reliable source of income that plays a vital role in our fundraising effort. A big shout-out to the small band of volunteers donned aprons and served bangers on sizzle day last year. We sold out by days end. As well as raising much needed funds, it’s also an excellent opportunity to talk to public about the band and a great bonding session. The committee will be seeking help from members with this activity again for our next sizzle on 1st July, 2018.
Library: Maintaining our extensive library of scores and instruments requires attention on a regular basis. At the beginning of the year a small team gathered to sort scores, returning them to the filing system so they can be easily located for the new year.
Promotion: Band publicity has been maintained via the website and a number of pieces in the local press. The Facebook page continues to be an important site for sharing information. At the beginning of the university year a small group of members took a stall at SCU Orientation week to promote the band, and had many good inquiries but unfortunately no new members from it to date.
Venue: We are ever thankful to the Conservatorium for supporting the Band by providing us with ongoing use of the Concert Room for our weekly rehearsals and of the storage space. At the beginning of the year we signed another Memorandum of Understanding to continue this arrangement for the next 12 months.
Musical Direction: We thank our wonderful music director, Ben Van Kleef for his vision, musical guidance and leadership. Ben continues to inspire the band to be the best that it can be and to make playing music together a lot of fun.
Committee: Thanks to the members of the committee for their diligence and commitment to doing as much as they can with the resources available. We look forward to another year of musical development, sharing the enjoyment of playing together and to making a contribution to the culture and community of our town.
We look forward to the Lismore City Concert Band going from strength to strength over the coming year.
Wendy Coates (Secretary)
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENTS: Let us know @ start of REHEARSAL so that we can order appropriate pizzas [e.g. including GLUTEN-FREE].
Lismore City Concert Band 