Minutes of Meeting of Suffolk Concert Band held on

Thursday 5^th November 2009 at Alstons Court

Those present were: Angela Hope, Toby Hope, Gordon Scopes, Simon Pulham, Mark Cheadle, Tom Rumbold, Trevor Daldry, Roger Jones.

91. Apologies for absence

There were no apologies.

92. Adoption of minutes of meeting held on Thursday 1^st October 2009

The minutes were adopted.

93. Matters arising from meeting held on Thursday 1^st October 2009

There were no matters arising.

94. Rehearsal Venue

The committee discussed the venue at Alstons:

· The acoustics are good.

· There is a lack of space and it is a bit tight for the percussion section. It was felt that with some organisation we could make better use of the space available.

· Gordon asked the question; if we had all the members present would we all fit?

· More space could be created if we did not have the sink. If we did not have the sink then we could have the other available unit which does not need to have change of use, saving us approx. £400.

· Some members were concerned about damaging instruments because they have to get them out of the cases on the floor.

· It was agreed that we should try a rehearsal with a different layout. A working party will set this up for the rehearsal on 18^th November.

· The next two rehearsals on 11th and 18th November will be at Alstons. The rehearsal on 25^th will be at Holy Trinity on the 25th November with a forum and a closed vote. The vote will require a 2/3 majority for to go ahead with the new venue.

95. Publicity

i) Tom and Toby will liaise regarding the printing of the Christmas concert poster.

ii) Simon felt that a mailshot is a more useful advertising tool than posters. He circulated a summary from the feedback forms. It was agreed that the contacts gathered from the feedback forms should be sent a Christmas card advertising our forthcoming events.

iii) Posters for the Spa Pavilion concert in March need to be done asap. Gordon has been asked by Judith Newman (ex-member), whose husband is very ill with cancer, if we could do this as a Charity concert. The committee agreed that we donate all our profits to the cause after costs.

96. Uniform

Angela will go ahead and order the new shirts and bowties.

97. Chairman

i) Trevor thanked the committee for their support in sorting out Alstons as a rehearsal venue.

ii) Trevor felt that the concert at the Spa Pavilion was very successful.

iii) Should we have a “Member of the Year” award and/or a gathering at the AGM?

98. Musical Director

Nothing to report.

99. Secretary

i) Bernard was disappointed with the 31^st July date of the Spa Pavilion concert series due to it being during summer holidays. The committee agreed that we will ensure we have a band for this engagement. Trevor will highlight this with this members and the date will be published in the next newsletter.

ii) We have been invited to play at Christchurch Park bandstand on 18^th July 2009. Angela had already asked Bernard if he was available and the committee agreed that we should do this.

iii) Holy Trinity have asked if we will be doing any concerts there next year other than the anniversary one. The committee agreed to keep this option open.

100. Treasurer

i) We made £389.09 profit at the Spa Pavilion plus £44 for CDs and £16 for programmes.

ii) We have just spent £1400 on a new drum kit and glockenspiel.

101. Membership Secretary

Nothing to report.

102. Librarian

It was agreed that the library should go ahead and move to the Alstons trailer regardless of the decision made on the rehearsal venue.

103. Concert Manager

Russell will be unavailable for Needham Market on 14^th December.

104. Forthcoming Events

Additional dates:

· Thursday 17^th December 2009 – Late Night Shopping, Tower Ramparts.

· Wednesday 24^th February 2010 - AGM

105. Other Events

Nothing to report.

Meeting closed at 9.40pm

Date of Next Meeting:

Tuesday 1^st December 2009

Venue – 75 Chatsworth Drive, Ipswich