Resources Archive - Page 2 of 15 - Orchestras Canada/Orchestres Canada

Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance: 2025 Pre-Budget Consultation

As is our custom, Orchestras Canada recently submitted recommendations to the Federal Standing Committee on Finance as part of that group’s pre-budget consultation process. In our brief, we make the case fo:

An additional, permanent investment of $270 million per year in the arts, culture, and heritage sectors, via $140 million to the Canada Council for the Arts and $130 million to the Department of Canadian Heritage.
A partnership between the Government of Canada and the charitable sector to evaluate the current state of charitable giving, and develop a government-wide strategy to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to
charities’ services.
Implementation of a Live Performing Arts Tax Credit, allowing organizations in the live performing arts sector to receive a tax rebate proportionate to their labour expenses.

You can read the complete brief here.

The Rhythm Of Repeat Attendance

The beat pulls us in, and the notes start to soar. We are attracting more first-time buyers than ever, and our audiences are getting younger. So why do we feel out of step? Our retention rates are at an all-time low.

How can we get back in the groove? More repeatable revenue, at every stage of the customer journey. This session redefines churn and looks beyond “the killer offer.”

On July 18, 2024, OC hosted a webinar in which Eric Nelson from TRG Arts discussed data trends and shared examples of how today’s successful Orchestras are crafting customer invitations that use programming, packaging, and segmentation to grow repeat revenue from customers at all stages of their attendance tenure. 

Presenter: Eric Nelson, VP of Global Partnerships at TRG Arts

Eric Nelson, VP of Global Partnerships at TRG Arts, is proud to partner with performing and visual arts organizations of all shapes and sizes to grow patron participation, revenue, and community impact. Before joining TRG Arts, Eric was Director of Marketing & Communications for New York City’s Kaufman Music Center. He was also Vice President of Client Services, New Business, and Marketing for DCM, specializing in marketing and fundraising strategies for non-profit organizations. Eric started his career in the arts, leading marketing efforts for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Eric is honoured to be on the steering committee for the League of American Orchestras LGBTQIA+ affinity group.

Collaboration Pitch Sessions V.2

On 25 April 2024, we hosted the second edition of Collaboration Pitch Sessions. This one-hour virtual gathering provides a platform for member orchestras to pitch projects for which they’re looking for collaborators, from commissioning a new work to creating a support network for young musicians, and everything in between!

You can watch a recording of the Collaboration Pitch Session here:

Here are the pitches from this edition:

Oakville Symphony wants to commission a piece about the life of Amice Calverley, a composer who lived in Oakville and had a fabulous and exciting life.
Lethbridge Symphony Association is Requesting interested/Ontario orchestra partners to support a funding application to have an early 1900s piano work in ragtime style, composed by an Ontario composer, arranged for a full orchestra.
Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra is looking for collaborators to create a suite of orchestral works inspired by various National and Provincial parks across Canada.
Fredericton Symphony Orchestra is interested in a collaborative commission of new work by a Canadian composer for a family-oriented work suitable for a Christmas concert or any concert setting.
Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra is seeking letters of support, programming commitments, and commissioning opportunities for a new violin concerto.
Orchestre Philharmonique de la Relève du Québec seeks partners to create a support network for the next generation of professional musicians.
Orchestre symphonique de Laval is looking to submit a grant proposal defining a new collaboration mode between Canadian regional orchestras. The project would focus on managing artistic resources and marketing the Canadian repertoire through a commissioned work.

If you are interested in any of these pitches, please send an email to [email protected] and we will connect you with the right person to pursue the conversation!

Discover HarmonySite: A platform for easy group management

“Harmony Site has streamlined our communications with orchestra members, and gives us one place to manage all our member information and communications. Since we can easily give people permissions to edit various pieces of information within Harmony Site, it has been easier for us to share the work among multiple people. And our players like how it all looks and works!” – Kristin Hoffmann – Manager of the London Community Orchestra

Does your orchestra manage too many spreadsheets? Do you have a significant amount of information stuck in your email inbox? Are you looking to streamline your group email communications? Are you considering integrating a member area into your website for improved efficiency? If the answer is yes, then you definitely should watch this webinar sponsored by Virtual Creations Pty LTD. to showcase their platform: HarmonySite!

Discover HarmonySite, a powerful platform for group management and communication. Regardless of what kind of group you lead, HarmonySite can simplify administrative tasks, enhance your online presence, and foster harmonious collaboration. Gain insights from the London Community Orchestra, who have been piloting HarmonySite for the past eight months, and meet Mark Virtue, the platform creator.

You can explore a demo version of HarmonySite here: https://demo.harmonysite.com/

username: demo

password: demo

OC will receive a financial consideration from HarmonySite for any group that signs up to the HarmonySite platform using our discount code. So, the discount code reduces your cost by 10% – and also benefits OC. To receive the discount code, please contact [email protected].

The content of this webinar was developed by and sponsored by Virtual Creations Pty LTD.

Presenters

Mark Virtue – Creator of HarmonySite

Mark has been writing software professionally since 1986, and developing websites since 1996. In 2001, Mark joined a local Barbershop chorus. He saw that they didn’t have a website, and took it upon himself to create one, designing it so that the other members of the chorus would not only be able to find any information they needed about the group’s music, events, other members, etc, but also be able to administer the site themselves, without needing to involve Mark in every change. The site was a huge success, so when Mark moved to another city, and joined another Barbershop chorus who also needed a website, Mark made them a similar site, also a success. Mark realised that there may be many groups around the world that may need a website like this, and decided to invest more time in making it suitable for any type of music performance group: Choirs, orchestras, marching/concert bands, theatre groups, etc. HarmonySite was born.

Mark lives in the small town of Mullumbimby, on the East Coast of Australia, with his wife and children.

Kristin Hoffmann – Manager of the London Community Orchestra

Kristin Hoffmann is a violinist and manager of the London Community Orchestra, an amateur orchestra in London, Ontario celebrating its 50th anniversary season this year.

Comparative Report 2022-23

Summaries by Budget Size and Regions

For almost half a century, Orchestras Canada has collected and published financial and audience information from member orchestras. The Comparative Report is shared confidentially among participating orchestras and used by Orchestras Canada for advocacy and ongoing research.  The 2022-23 Comparative Report contains information from 76 orchestras. It includes all member orchestras with budgets over $1.5 million, and most other orchestras which historically have had budgets over $50,000.

The 2022-23 Summaries are compiled using information from the Report. They provide an overview of the Canadian orchestra industry for the 2022-23 season, consolidated in two ways: by budget size and by regions.

Percentages are calculated in two ways: 1) based on the aggregate totals, and 2) “averages-of-percentages” using percentages for each participating orchestra. This approach is useful when considering relatively small samples of organizations of disparate size and scope, especially by regions.

We continue to calculate “Cost per live audience contact” (CPLAC) in the Summaries. This is a simple calculation: total expenses divided by total (live) audience. It’s a quick indicator of business efficiency across similarly sized organizations and of an orchestra’s own efficiency from year to year.

Summary of Summaries – 2018-19 to 2022-23 by Budget Size and Regions

COVID-19’s dramatic impact on orchestras started in March 2020 with the shutting down of performance venues. Within weeks, many orchestras began pivoting to various forms of online presentations. Not surprisingly, the 2019-20 financial and attendance numbers were far below results from the previous season.

2020-21 was a fully COVID-affected season. Budgets contracted further. Most orchestras pivoted to online activity almost exclusively. The 2018-19 aggregate live audience of 2,843,000 collapsed to 53,000 in 2020-21; a drop of 98%!

2021-22 marked the beginning of recovery. The miniscule live audience of 2020-21 rebounded to 1,061,664; but still a long way from pre-COVID 2018-19 audience of almost 3 million.

In the context of the previous four years, 2022-23 is a fascinating read. Overall budgets were similar to 2018-19, with 2022-23 expenses coming in 5% higher. However, live audiences lagged by 700,000: 2.1M (2022-23) against 2.8M (2018-19).

Across the three COVID years, orchestras accessed unprecedented levels of targeted government support. In 2022-23, this support receded significantly. Many orchestras posted significant operational deficits, but Net Assets positions remained stable, primarily due to net surpluses in the previous 3 seasons.

Online activity: In 2018-19, online orchestral activity barely existed, and – given its rarity, we neither collected information on it nor reported it. This began to change in 2019-20. In 2020-21, the “season of closed concert halls”, online activity blossomed, with 67 orchestras reporting online activity. In 2022-23, only 27 orchestras reported online activity.

While these Summaries of Summaries are packed with information, we hesitate to over-analyze. 2023-24 seasons are already at or past, their mid points. We expect that numbers for 2023-24 will be different, hopefully showing continued audience growth.

In the years that we have been preparing the Comparative Report and Summaries, we never expected to see numbers like those of the past four years. We commend these Summaries and Summary of Summaries to you for vigorous discussion in your organization.

General disclaimer

We produce these Summaries using straightforward information and commonly accepted definitions, avoiding subjective judgments as much as possible. The accuracy of the Summaries is dependent primarily on the accuracy of information provided by the participating orchestras, followed by accurate transfer of information to master spreadsheets. If significant errors are noticed, we would appreciate knowing.

Respectfully submitted
C Stephen Smith (Statistician, Orchestras Canada)
February 2024

Directors and Officers (D&O) liability insurance

One of the membership benefits for Orchestras Canada members is access to Directors and Officers liability insurance through Cowan Insurance. Wondering what that actually means? On January 25, 2024, we hosted 3 experts from Cowan Insurance to give an overview of the exact product the Orchestras Canada members have access to, to ensure everyone is aware and comfortable with what they are insured for. The webinar discussed this insurance’s who’s, what’s and why’s! The session included looking at the coverage and explaining what it is, who would benefit from it, and going over some claims examples of why this would be important.

Presenters:

Matt Wilford, Director of Claims & Director Small Business Solutions at Cowan Insurance Group

“I joined the insurance industry in 2007 when I attended Mohawk College in their insurance program. After graduating in 2009 I have held various positions both on the insurance company as well as the brokerage side. In November of 2019 I joined Cowan Insurance Group in their claims department handling commercial claims. From their I was able to move up into a Specialist role focusing on more complex claims and eventually into a leadership position initially just leading the claims department and eventually expanding out to lead our sales and service team in the Small Business section f the organisation. I am very passionate about protecting businesses and families and have seen up close from my claims experience how important the proper insurance is. When I am not working I enjoy spending time with my wife Nicole and our newborn daughter Eris going for hikes or walking the dogs. I also enjoy playing sports in local community recreation leagues in my community of Woodstock Ontario.”

Adam Beattie, Sales Consultant, Small Business Solutions

“After spending 14 years teaching TESOL overseas, I joined the insurance industry in 2022, looking for a new challenge. I have several friends in the industry, from benefits to commercial lines, and they all spoke highly of the profession, leading me to apply for my current position at Cowan. I enjoy my entire process with every client, from listening and gathering information about their businesses and operations to providing them with the coverage that will protect their businesses as they grow. I’m fortunate to be in a position that’s as challenging and rewarding as this one! Aside from my current sales role at Cowan, I enjoy spending time with family and friends. My wife Minji, who I met overseas, and our two sons Raiden and Reuben like to travel and do activities together around the London area where we currently reside. We look forward to hitting the slopes this winter for the first time with some family and friends. ”

Angela Barham, National Business Development at K&K Insurance Canada

Angela Barham is the National Business Development Manager at K&K Insurance Canada, an MGA specializing in sport entertainment and leisure risk. With over 18 years of experience in insurance, she helps brokers across Canada find the best solutions for their clients.

Angela has successfully developed and maintained relationships with brokers nationwide, increasing K&K’s market share in the last three years. She has also created and delivered CE credit programs on sport entertainment and leisure risk, enhancing the knowledge and skills of her broker partners.

Angela is passionate about travel and sports- having visited over 60 plus cities worldwide and attended various events such as the Formula 1, Rogers Cup, and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil; she is a huge soccer fan, supporting Barcelona and Chelsea. When she is not working or traveling, she enjoys spending time with her 5-year-old daughter, going to concerts, dancing and trying out new restaurants.

Submission to the Ontario Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs : January 2024

On behalf of Ontario’s orchestras, Orchestras Canada submitted a brief to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs’ 2024 pre-budget consultations. We recommended that the province of Ontario:

Invest an additional $5 million dollars per year in the arts through the Ontario Arts Council starting in 2024-25.
Invest $25 million over 5 years to relaunch the Ontario Arts Endowment Fund at the Ontario Arts Foundation.
Study, pilot, then scale an adaptation of the highly successful “Soutien aux sorties scolaires en milieu culturel” launched in Quebec in 2019.

On January 24, 2024, OC hosted a webinar titled A Lunch and Learn for Ontario Orchestras: Making Friends with your Member of Provincial Parliament, presented by OC’s Executive Director, Katherine Carleton, providing:

An overview of this year’s pre-budget submission and recommendations 
Tips and tools for sharing the pre-budget brief with your MPP 
Strategies for clearly communicating your orchestra’s impact in their riding

You can see a recording of the webinar here:

Canadian Orchestra Repertoire Report 2023

Early in 2023, we were delighted to collaborate with Rich Coburn, founder and director of BIPOC Voices, on a Canada Council for the Arts-funded proiect designed to answer a simple yet important question: Have Canadian orchestras diversified the repertoire they are bringing to the public in recent years, and are they actively including music by female, trans, non-binary, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) composers?

Click the image below to download the first ever report on how Canada’s orchestras have programmed female, trans, non-binary, and BIPOC composers. Discover the trends, progress, and what we still need to do. And find a list of repertoire by equity-seeking composers to use as a programming resource.

The report meticulously analyzes over 107,000 data points, and encompasses 6,700 performances from 72 of Canada’s largest orchestras. As well, the report includes a listing of orchestral works by equity-seeking composers programmed by Canadian orchestras.

Cliquez ici pour télécharger le rapport en français

This report was created in collaboration with Orchestras Canada and the Institute for Composer Diversity.

This work was generously funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Impact on Musicians & Orchestras of the Canadian regulatory amendments for elephant ivory and rhino horn

On December 13, 2023, Orchestras Canada hosted an overview of the impact on musical instruments of regulatory changes for elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn, and how these amendments fit in the overall controls on international trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Presenter: Lise Jubinville, Manager, CITES Permit Program Delivery, Wildlife Management and Regulatory Affairs / Canadian Wildlife Service

Lise Jubinville has been with the Canadian Wildlife Service since 2010 in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permitting program. She previously worked in the private sector in the telecom sector as software developed, architect, development, and test manager. Lise leveraged her extensive technology experience into stream-lining and improving the quality of the service delivery of Canadian CITES permits. She represents CITES Canada as the Management Authority in international meetings and discussions.

Health Insurance 101

One of Orchestras Canada’s member benefits is access to extended health coverage through the AFBS Arts and Entertainment Plan. But, what does that really entail? To answer this question, we hosted a webinar titled Health Insurance 101 on December 6, 2023 at noon.

Jason Saulay provided an overview of health insurance in Canada and introduced us to the plan to help demystify and explain health insurance.

The Arts & Entertainment Plan is a service of AFBS, a member-owned and governed, not-for-profit, federally incorporated insurance company operating since 1975. The Arts & Entertainment Plan is designed to help those in the arts manage their health care costs. OC members are guaranteed acceptance into the plan, with no medical questionnaires necessary and no refusals based on pre-existing conditions.

Presenter: Jason Saulay, Assistant Director, Benefit Operations at AFBS.
Jason is responsible for managing client relationships, growing the business across the country, and assisting with benefit operations.
Jason has been in the benefits space for over 25 years and prides himself on the industry relationships he has developed and on providing great customer service.