New Music Virtual Town Hall Meetings
The new music community has taken a huge financial and emotional hit due to COVID-19. As a performing arts non-profit organization that employs many freelance musicians and navigates relationships between individual and institutional funders, the International Contemporary Ensemble would like to take a moment to gather together with our community to focus our processes, answer questions, and share initiatives. How can we build coalitions to advocate for the arts sector nationwide? How can we all be resources for each other? How do artists shift from a live stage to a virtual one?
We will keep this page updated with upcoming Town Hall meetings and recordings/notes from each.
resources
COLLABORATIVE COVID ARTS RELIEF SOURCES DOCUMENT
We created this collaborative document which includes several tabs with links to financial relief information, other aggregated lists, and advocacy information. Click here to view and contribute. Thanks to Ed Yim (President, ACO) for the great idea of sharing links of live-streams and aggregated sites for live-streaming.
ARCHIVE
March 30, 2020:
Our first Town Hall meeting took place on March 30th and featured Ruby Lopez Harper, Senior Director of Local Arts Advancement at Americans for the Arts.
Please see the recording to the left and notes below from the meeting.
April 7, 2020:
This Town Hall focused on Digital Live Streaming practices.
How do artists shift from a live stage to a virtual one?
Guest Speakers:
Raquel Klein (Founder & Producer, MUSIC on the REBOUND)
Eun Lee (Founder & Executive Director, The Dream Unfinished Orchestra)
Shaya Lyon (Director, Live Music Project)
Ed Yim (President, American Composers Orchestra)
NOTES
April 20, 2020:
This Town Hall focused on Equity & Access in the time of COVID-19. How do we ensure that we are not overlooking those on the fringes within a virtual space? How do we recognize our own privilege and power in regards to gatekeeping and creativity during this time?
Facilitator:
Rania El Mugammar, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Educator, Multi-disciplinary Artist, Organizer and Consultant
Guest Speakers:
Durell Cooper, Cultural Curator and CEO/Founder of Cultural Innovations Group
Marjani Forté-Saunders and Everett Saunders, 7 Names; instagram: @7nms_
Click here for EPK about 7 Names
Nathalie Joachim, flutist, composer, vocalist
May 12, 2020:
This Town Hall focused on Board Leadership in the time of COVID-19. How are board members from different non-profit organizations responding to this crisis? How are boards leading the organizations they advocate for via fundraising, messaging, and new initiatives?
Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, we are not able to share an audio recording from the meeting.
Please find detailed notes with resources below:
Guest Speakers:
Claude Arpels
Board President, International Contemporary Ensemble
Claude Arpels spent the first twenty years of his career in the luxury goods industry. A Columbia MBA, he was an executive in his family business Van Cleef & Arpels, then became CEO of the Italian fashion companies Redwall and Alessandro Dell’Acqua. Afterward, Claude decided to dedicate himself to his interests in food, the environment, and social enterprise. He is an avid angel investor, particularly in businesses with a sustainable food and agriculture mission. Claude is Board Co-Chair of Slow Money NYC and a core member of Social Venture Circle’s New York chapter. Passionate about the arts, Claude is the Board President of the contemporary classical music ensemble International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).
Astrid Baumgardner
Board Member, Program Committee Chair, American Composers Orchestra
Yale faculty member Astrid Baumgardner, JD, PCC, loves helping creatives to be successful! Trained as a lawyer and career coach, Ms. Baumgardner teaches creativity and career entrepreneurship and heads the Office of Career Strategies at the Yale School of Music and is president of her coaching company, Astrid Baumgardner Coaching+Training. A leading voice in arts entrepreneurship, she is the author of the book, Creative Success Now. Ms. Baumgardner coaches and guest lectures on creative success at universities and festivals including The Juilliard School, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute. She also conducts leadership training workshops at OPERA America and Ensemble Connect, the teaching artist academy at Carnegie Hall. As a result of their work together, her students and clients are thriving as professional musicians, arts leaders, academics, and entrepreneurs. A lifelong amateur pianist and champion of new music, she is a board member and past board chair of the percussion quartet, Sō Percussion, and board member, past chair, and co-chair of the board of the American Composers Orchestra.
Stanford Thompson
Founder and Executive Director, Play On Philly; Board Member (Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Chapter), American Composers Forum; Board Member – The Presser Foundation, Marian Anderson Award, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Stanford Thompson is a musician and educator who serves as the Founder and Executive Director of Play On Philly and Founding Board Chairman of El Sistema USA, bringing music education to students in underserved areas throughout Philadelphia and beyond. Recognized as a TED Fellow, Stanford believes that music education is a powerful tool for positive personal and community change. Mr. Thompson serves on the faculty of the Global Leaders Program and regularly presents at major universities and music conservatories about leadership, entrepreneurship and social justice. As a consultant, he has guided the development of dozens of music programs across the United States and collaborated with major orchestras, higher education institutions, and arts organizations to develop new strategies and initiatives that help provide equitable access to the arts. As a professional trumpeter, Stanford has performed as a soloist and member with major orchestras around the world and continues to perform chamber music and jazz. Stanford is a native of Atlanta, GA, graduate of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program and holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory’s Sistema Fellows Program.
December 7, 2020:
This Town Hall focused on sharing processes of developing anti-racist practices. Some guiding inquiries included: What anti-racist policies are being put in place in organizations and music ensembles? What is the follow through on this work regarding hiring practices, artistic and board leadership, funding, and artistic programming? How do we hold each other accountable?
Guest Speakers:
Eleanor Savage (Program Director, The Jerome Foundation)
Lisa Funderburke Hoffman (Executive Director, Alliance of Artists Communities)
Deidre Huckabay (Representative of the New Music Equity Action Coalition)