Oklahoma City Philharmonic Names Brent Hart as Executive Director
Tag: Volunteering
Quad City Symphony Volunteer Group Earns Award
Houston Symphony League Earns Gold Award
Obituary: Barbara Tucker, longtime Detroit Symphony volunteer and fundraiser, League board member, 98
Arts advocate, fundraiser, and fashion consultant Barbara (Bebe Lou) Tucker, a resident of the Detroit area for over 60 years, died on December 16, 2020 in Maumee, Ohio. She was 98. Tucker was deeply involved with Detroit-area arts organizations, among them the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where she held multiple leadership positions in the orchestra’s volunteer groups. She served on the Board of Trustees for DSO Orchestra Hall and was an active member of the Michigan Orchestra Association, the National Women’s Board of Northwood Institute, Concerned Citizens for the Arts in Michigan, the Arts Foundation of Michigan, and the Governors Arts Awards. In 1964 she represented the Detroit Symphony as part of the League of American Orchestras’ newly established Volunteer Council, and also served as Volunteer Council president. She supported the League for many years and served on the League’s Board of Directors. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Tucker worked in the fashion industry in New York City before marrying Richard Tucker in 1952. They moved to Detroit, where she worked in the fashion industry and began years of volunteer service to the Detroit community. She is survived by her daughter, Pamela Blakley. At present, no memorial is planned because of COVID-19 restrictions. Click here for a complete obituary.
Nearly half a century at the Owensboro Symphony, working and volunteering behind the scenes
“Carl Davis is not a native of Owensboro, but has called it home for several years,” writes Bobbie Hayse in Sunday’s (2/16) Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky). “He has a lot of pride in the area, particularly in the arts culture that thrives here. He has worn many hats in his life: ice cream shop proprietor, radio engineer, photographer. In all of that time, he has been involved with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. For 47 years … he has held many positions within the organization … from recorder of performances to board member, volunteer and operations manager, to his current position as stage manager. And while many individuals may not recognize Davis in passing, if they have attended a symphony concert since Sept. 23, 1972, there’s a good chance he was somewhere behind the scenes ensuring the performance went on without a hitch. In his capacity as stage manager, Davis makes sure everything is in place at the beginning of concerts, and that performers and the conductor have everything they need…. Davis says if he ever ‘truly retires’ he will continue to attend symphony concerts. He believes the organization has a great future.”
League’s Volunteer Council announces 2020 Gold Awards for outstanding volunteer-led projects at orchestras
The Volunteer Council of the League of American Orchestras, which includes volunteer leaders from orchestras of all sizes nationwide, has announced the winners of its 2020 Gold Awards. Each year, the Volunteer Council recognizes the most innovative volunteer-driven projects across the country with the Gold Award of Excellence. Winning projects are selected based upon originality, volunteer involvement, adaptability, and the overall success of the projects. This year’s Gold Award-winning volunteer projects (listed with the orchestras they support) are: Lunch and Learn, Amarillo Symphony; A Southern Savour Supper Club, Dallas Symphony Orchestra; MSOL e-News: Reaching Members in a Digital Age, Madison Symphony Orchestra; Orchestrating Excellence Fundraising Luncheon, Oklahoma City Orchestra; Utah Symphony Youth Guild, Utah Symphony Orchestra; A Change of Seasons for “The Four Seasons” at the Women’s Symphony League of Tyler 2019 Ball, East Texas Symphony Orchestra. Learn more about the Gold Awards and the League’s Volunteer Council.
Volunteers: Be recognized and inspire others!
The Volunteer Council of the League of American Orchestras is seeking the country’s most innovative volunteer-driven projects. Submit your work as a volunteer by Friday, August 30 to be considered for a Gold Award of Excellence or a Spotlight Award. Categories for projects include: audience development/community engagement; communication/technology; education; leadership/organizational structure; and membership, fundraising, and service. Awardees will share their innovative programs during a volunteer session at the League’s 2020 National Conference in Minneapolis, June 10-12.
Click here to submit projects.. There is no fee to enter, and no limit to the number of entries you may submit, but awardees must be present at the League’s 2020 Conference as a condition of winning. Eligible programs and activities must have been completed by June 30, 2019. Winning projects are selected based upon originality, volunteer involvement, adaptability, and the overall success of the projects. Learn more about previous projects here.
Posted August 9, 2019
Summer 2019 Volunteer Notes available now
Four times a year, the Volunteer Council of the League of American Orchestras publishes Volunteer Notes, a newsletter that reports on the activities of the Volunteer Council and volunteers at orchestras nationwide. In the Summer 2019 Volunteer Notes, read about the inspiring sessions and thought-provoking discussions by volunteers at the League’s 2019 Conference in Nashville, the awards for outstanding volunteer projects at orchestras, and the upcoming “Strategic Conversations” series of conference calls involving presidents and presidents-elect of volunteer guilds across the country. Check out Volunteer Notes here.
Posted July 25, 2019
Bringing music to work: Amazon’s volunteer orchestra
“Room 302 in Amazon’s Doppler Building is much like any other conference room,” write Gavin Borchert and Gwendolyn Elliott in an “Amazon Arts” feature in the May issue of Seattle magazine. “Most such meeting rooms don’t include 60 or so musicians … taking their first crack at Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. But this is the rehearsal space for the Amazon Symphony Orchestra (ASO), a volunteer group of the corporation’s employees who meet two hours weekly… Music director Hsing-Hui Hsu, a software development engineer … was a clarinet performance major at Rice University…. Hsu is just one of the dozens of Amazon employees who pursued music in high school or college…. Two years ago, … oboist and applied scientist Wenduo Wang launched an in-house email thread seeking classical music enthusiasts…. The first rehearsal drew 40 people…. The … first performance, in May 2017, drew an audience of 500, and now the ASO gives four public performances a year…. Probably the most eloquent testimony to the benefits of the orchestra came from [Amazon vendor manager Josh] Tuckman … when he recognized it as ‘an excellent opportunity for those of us who thought music was gone from our lives.’ ”
Posted May 2, 2019
Volunteers: Gold Book Awards of Excellence announced
Volunteer associations at six orchestras have won a 2019 Gold Book Award of Excellence from the Volunteer Council of the League of American Orchestras—and now you can check them out here. Every year, volunteers at orchestras across the U.S. and Canada create and execute projects that explore topics including audience development, community engagement, fundraising, education, and more, and then submit their projects to the League’s Volunteer Council for the Gold Book Online competition. Twenty volunteer associations entered projects to this year’s competition, and the Volunteer Council selected six for the Gold Book Award of Excellence. This year’s winning projects come from the Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra; West Suburban Friends of Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Sinfonietta; Women’s Symphony League of Tyler, East Texas Symphony Orchestra; Houston Symphony League, Houston Symphony; Kansas City Symphony League, Kansas City Symphony; Waco Symphony Council, Waco Symphony Orchestra. The awards will be presented at the League’s 74th National Conference, June 3-5, 2019 in Nashville, TN. Click here to learn more about the Gold Book and the Volunteer Council.
Posted February 15, 2019
