The ACSO board and staff send support and sympathy to all our members who have cancelled or postponed concerts and other programming. As COVID-19 continues to spread, orchestras and musicians are anticipating financial loss. We join the League of America Orchestras in urging our members to tell Congress that orchestras and musicians need access to federal COVID-19 economic relief! 

March 14, 2020: Paid Leave Provisions Included in Bipartisan Federal COVID-19 Relief Package

We are thrilled to welcome Ben Kutner as our new Membership and Development Manager.
  
Ben has a background in classical music administration and music composition. Originally from New York, he founded the New Parnassus Ensemble there and served as its artistic director and chief administrator. His own music has been performed across the U.S. and he has written about classical music for various publications.
 
Ben said, "Since moving to California, I've found the classical music scene to be open to new approaches, committed to contemporary music, and dedicated to increasing the diversity in our field. It's exciting to be here."

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced $27.3 million in grants as part of its first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2020.

“Grants from the NEA truly support ACSO's vision of a California classical music landscape that is vibrant, healthy, diverse, and connected to the communities it serves. The NEA is truly the lifeblood of the arts in our country,” said ACSO Executive Director Sarah Weber.

Eight ACSO organizational members were awarded grants in the Art Works category, the NEA’s largest funding category that supports projects in 13 artistic disciplines and fields ranging from arts education to visual arts. One ACSO organization member was awarded a grant in the Challenge America category.

We are excited to share the latest developments and changes in the professional lives of our members. This edition covers announcements made July through September 2019. If you want to share the administrative, board, or staff member happenings at your organization, send announcements to [email protected]. 
   

INDIVIDUALS

Aubrey Bergauer has stepped down from her role as Executive Director of the California Symphony. She plans to to deploy her revenue-generating and audience-building strategies in greater service to the field as an advisor and consultant to other arts organizations.
    
The Santa Rosa Symphony, as it enters its 92nd season, announced four new appointments to its board of directors. They are Garth Bixler, Pam Chanter, Barb Spangler and Mark Wardlaw. New board officers are as follows: Al Seidenfeld, Chairman of the Board; Corinne Byrd, Vice-Chairman; Sean Pryden, Treasurer; Linda Castiglioni, Secretary; and Jamei Haswell, Immediate Past Chairman.
    
The Las Vegas Philharmonic announced that Christina Castellanos has been appointed as Principal Flute.  A member of the orchestra since 2001, Castellanos joined the LVP when she was a senior at UNLV.  Castellanos has played with opera legends Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, and Renee Fleming. Castellanos is currently principal flute for both the Salt Lake Symphony and the Nevada POPS and plays flute and piccolo as the first call substitute for Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, Ballet West, Orchestra at Temple Square for The Tabernacle Choir and the Boise Philharmonic. 
    
Marin Symphony Association announced that with its expansion of Pops programming, Stuart Chafetz has been appointed to the new position of Principal Pops Conductor of the Marin Symphony. Chafetz also serves as the Principal Pops Conductor of the Columbus Symphony and is increasingly in demand with orchestras across the continent. This season he will be on the podium in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Naples, Philly Pops, and Pittsburgh. 

At the ACSO Annual Meeting held at the 2019 Annual Conference in Monterey on August 8, ACSO welcomed four new board members, re-elected a board member, elected officers for 2019/20, and said farewell to several outgoing board members. New board members include:

Loribeth Gregory-Beck currently serves as the Director of Education & Community Engagement at the Santa Barbara Symphony, where she oversees programs and cultivates community partnerships. With experience as a teacher, arts administrator, and in business management, Loribeth brings a breadth of knowledge and practice to her work in education. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she led the Young Composer Programs (Composer Fellowship Program, National Composers Intensive) and projects for the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), through which she worked with prominent artists in the classical music industry, such as Andrew Norman, Gabriela Ortiz, Tania León, and the International Contemporary Ensemble, and prepared students for performances at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and Ojai Music Festival. In addition to her work in music education, Loribeth has presented original research papers at conferences for the Society for Ethnomusicology and the Association for Asian American Studies. Loribeth earned an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from University of California, Riverside, where she was a lecturer, and a B.A. in Music, magna cum laude, and a minor in Anthropology from Webster University. 

The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) announced today that the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is the recipient of the 2019 Kris Sinclair Leadership Award for its successful implementation of a new strategic direction, which has led to impressive growth in concert attendance and community engagement over the past three years.
   
This award is named in honor of Kris Sinclair, ACSO’s longtime former executive director, and is given to an ACSO Organizational Member that demonstrates recent and measurable leadership initiatives by its staff and/or board in one or more of the following areas: finance, governance, staff development, audience development, education, or community engagement.
   
“The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is a great example of how orchestras that have been in operation for decades can still continue to evolve and grow and provide relevant and meaningful art experiences for their diverse audiences,” said Sarah Weber, executive director of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras. “In the last few years, the leadership of the orchestra has programmed innovative concerts, provided music education for thousands of at-risk youth, and increased community awareness and ticket sales through expanded media coverage. They did hard work to make a plan for improvement, and that plan is yielding amazing results."
   
With the Sinclair Award comes a $5,000 prize, which the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra will use to install new software for ticketing and to train staff to effectively utilize the system.

We have some new faces at ACSO, so we thought this was the perfect time to (re)introduce the team working for your professional service organization. We asked each team member to tell us what they like most about working at ACSO and what kind of music, classical or otherwise, is their favorite. 
  

Sarah Weber, Executive Director Some of you may know Sarah in her previous ACSO role as membership and development manager. She stepped into the executive director role in January and is excited to lead the organization into its 50^th year and beyond. Sarah’s favorite thing about ACSO is the passion that our members bring to their work and the camaraderie and support they bring to each other. Sarah’s favorite classical composer is Vivaldi because his fiery red hair matches his music, making it the most fun to play.
  

The Kris Sinclair Leadership Award is given to an ACSO Organizational Member that demonstrates recent successful leadership initiatives by its staff and/or board in one or more of the following areas: finance, governance, staff development, audience development, education, or community engagement.

This $5,000 award is made possible by the Kris Sinclair Fund for Professional Development, consisting of contributions made in Kris Sinclair's name to support professional development and technical assistance offered by the ACSO. Sinclair was the executive director of the Association for 31 years and provided members with technical assistance, professional development opportunities, and consultation on a myriad of orchestra management topics.

The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Sarah Weber has been selected as the association’s new Executive Director. She began her tenure in that role on January 1, 2019.

For the past two years, Sarah has served as ACSO’s Membership and Development Manager. During that time, she has executed membership renewal campaigns, written successful grant proposals, and secured corporate and individual donations. She has been a partner in program planning, managed the delivery of member services, and played a key part in producing ACSO’s signature annual conference. Her enthusiasm for inviting and growing individual participation, maintaining organizational continuity, and directing energy towards purposeful work and accomplishment will serve ACSO and its membership extraordinarily well as the organization prepares to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.

We send our thoughts and prayers to our members affected by the wildfires in Northern and Southern California. We will update this feed as we learn more from our members. Also, we will share resources with those in need and ways you can help.

Resources for those Affected

ArtsReady
ArtsReady is your cultural organization’s online source for readiness resources, and a web application that can make disaster planning easy.

It is bittersweet to share the news that ACSO executive director Mitch Menchaca has been appointed as the new executive director of arts and culture for the City of Phoenix and will be stepping down from his ACSO post November 30 to assume his new role.

Mitch joined ACSO at a transitional time when Kris Sinclair stepped down after 31-years of service. During his tenure, he worked with the board and staff to start the next era in advancement of the organization and its unique mission. This included moving the office from Sacramento to Los Angeles, finding new revenue streams in LA County, and managing the development process of a new strategic plan. Mitch also upgraded the association’s technology, hired terrific new staff and retained key contractors. He facilitated the continued growth and excellence of ACSO’s program offerings, and he invested time in enhancing the profile on the organization's advocacy efforts.

ACSO joins thousands of arts organizations and communities across the nation to celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month throughout October. National Arts and Humanities Month is coordinated by Americans for the Arts, the national organization working to empower communities with the resources and support necessary to provide access to all of the arts for all of the people. This month-long celebration grew out of National Arts Week, which was started in 1985 by the National Endowment for the Arts and Americans for the Arts.

ACSO welcomes two new board members and elects new officers for 2018/2019. New board members include Steve Friedlander, executive director of the Carmel Bach Festival and Scott Vandrick, chief development officer, Pasadena Symphony Association.

Steve Friedlander is the executive director of the Carmel Bach Festival and was previously the Managing Director of Artistic Operations of the Grand Teton Music Festival with responsibility for the administration of the music program, musician housing, facilities, and education and outreach. Mr. Friedlander joined GTMF as Stage Manager for the 2011 summer season and joined the full-time staff in November 2011 as Director of Artistic Operations. During the 2012 summer season Mr. Friedlander served as Acting Executive Director and Director of Artistic Operations.

The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) announced today that the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory is the recipient of the 2018 Kris Sinclair Leadership Award for its Community Opus Project, a music education program for elementary students.

This award is named after Kris Sinclair who was the executive director of the ACSO for 31 years and is given to an ACSO Organizational Member that demonstrates recent and measurable leadership initiatives by its staff and/or board in one or more of the following areas: finance, governance, staff development, audience development, education, or community engagement.

It is an honor and pleasure to officially welcome you to the 2018 Annual Conference – the first of many events leading up to our 50th Anniversary celebration next year. Look for special programs and activities to take place over the next twelve months as we celebrate this milestone.

We applaud our members from across the state and region for the work you do in your communities, and we are especially grateful that you made the journey to Sacramento to help us kick-off ACSO’s year-long anniversary celebration.

The California Arts Council announced its plans to award $25,500 to ACSO as part of its Statewide and Regional Networks program. The Statewide and Regional Networks program is rooted in the California Arts Council’s commitment to supporting arts service organizations reflective of California’s diverse populations. The program provides general operating grants for arts service organization networks with regional or statewide reach. Arts service organizations serve as networks to provide specialized, practical services for artists, arts organizations, and cultural communities.

ACSO is one of 43 grantees chosen for the Statewide and Regional Networks program. The award was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council.