Community Arts Support Grant
ACHF Arts Access
Great River Chorale is committed to providing choral experiences of the highest quality to the central Minnesota community, and implementing a plan for healthy development and growth of the organization. An award of Community Arts Support from the Central Minnesota Arts board would be a tremendous asset towards these efforts. The following outcomes are expected to be achieved in the next year with support from these funds: A partnership with the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra for the performance of two major choral-orchestral works; Continued collaboration with two local choral or other arts ensembles for our annual holiday concert; Collaboration with at least one local arts ensemble for a spring concert; Implementation of outreach programming which brings the choral experience to targeted groups in our community that may not have access otherwise; Membership retention from season 2012-13 into 2013-14; Recruitment of quality singers to achieve an ideal 50-60 singer membership in 2013-2014; Increase of member involvement in promotion, ticket sales, and fund raising; Development of a Great River Chorale Handbook; Increase of revenue from ticket sales at annual holiday concert and spring concert; Increase of revenue from fundraising efforts, including ad sales and donor cultivation; Development of a revamped, comprehensive website, and increased use of social media platforms. Great River Chorale will continue to expose its members and the larger community to music of varying styles, eras, genres, and cultures to broaden their awareness and education across the artistic spectrum.Great River Chorale is thrilled to have been invited to become artistic partners with the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra for the purpose of performing large choral-orchestral masterworks on a seasonal basis. The artistic directors of both organizations have agreed upon repertoire for two collaborations for the 2013-14 concert season. This exciting partnership will increase community awareness of Great River Chorale and enhance the ensemble's reputation as an artistic leader in Central Minnesota, thereby increasing audiences and revenue for Great River Chorale concerts (independent of those with the orchestra). We will evaluate this through ticket sales and revenue, and asking our audiences if they attended either choral-orchestral concert on a survey. Great River Chorale relies heavily on and will continue to seek verbal and written feedback from program participants for program evaluation. We measure our success through feedback from performers, artistic directors and audience members. Recently, we began to use electronic evaluation methods with our membership and collaborating group members to gauge personal artistic growth and educational merit from participation in our programming, creating a record of measurable data. Great River Chorale regularly includes a survey/questionnaire in concert programs. We will continue to seek measurable, constructive feedback from our audience to ensure that the programming we provide is serving the intended purpose. Also, we’ll continue to record how attendees learn about our concerts, if they are new attendees or have followed Great River Chorale previously, and if they find the pricing affordable. This will help us to know if our marketing efforts are successful, that we are reaching the broader community as we hope to, and that our pricing is competitive with other local cultural opportunities. In part, Great River Chorale measures the value and worth of its collaborative programs through the continued interest we receive from collaborators. We will know we have been successful in our collaborations with other area ensembles through their continued participation in our collaborative programs, as well as continued invitations to participate in their programs. Our first outreach effort is scheduled in February 2013 at the Saint Benedict’s Senior Community. We will record the event (audio and video) and solicit feedback from community members, family members and caregivers to evaluate the effectiveness and worth of the programming for that particular audience. We will also request feedback from Great River Chorale members to determine their perceived value of outreach programming. Future outreach programming will be determined by perceived need in the Central Minnesota community, and evaluated through written and verbal feedback from participants. Great River Chorale looks forward to developing new organizational documents like a choir handbook to increase member identity with our mission, vision and goals, and contribute to a healthy artistic environment. Choir members will know what they can expect from the organization and the expectations of each individual for the continued success of the ensemble. We will evaluate the worth of this document by surveying our membership. We plan to emphasize member volunteerism in the coming season, which will include the formation of committees to assist with advanced ticket sales, fund raising campaigns, and promotional efforts. Success in member growth and engagement will be measured by member retention for our next season, an increase in membership after the audition process (while holding to a standard of “quality versus quantity”), and member participation in volunteer efforts. The development of a more comprehensive website and broadened use of social media like Facebook will increase the effectiveness of communication with a larger community, attract new audience members, and thus, increase revenue. Success in this area will be measured by ticket revenue and audience feedback, the obtainment of a new web platform that is more user friendly, and the redesign of our website. Also, our Facebook page will promote concerts, collaborations, outreach events as well as share pictures and musical clips when available. These two web areas will also be used for member recruitment purposes.
The most valuable outcomes Great River Chorale achieved during the 2012-2013 season were in organizational development. The board, business manager and artistic director aimed to develop a clear identity for Great River Chorale, then establish and implement a plan for the healthy growth and development of the organization. With the help of a consultant we developed new mission, values, and vision statements and drafted a strategic plan for the next five years. By the end of the fiscal year we approved a strategic plan, recruited one new non-singer board member, created a member handbook, and rolled out a new website. In an effort to increase revenue, we established pricing and created a sell-sheet for concert sponsorship and advertising opportunities for the upcoming season. We created a new fundraising initiative to be rolled out in 2013-2014, where individuals or businesses can sponsor a singer for a concert season for a set price and have their name printed in the program with the singer's name. In addition to establishing ways to increase funds from sources other than member dues, ticket sales and grant awards, we went through our budget and identified areas where costs could be cut. All this was achieved thanks to many long hours put in by the organization’s leaders and the support of the Central Minnesota Arts Board and SunUp Foundation. Great River Chorale was thrilled to continue to provide choral experiences of the highest quality to the central Minnesota community in 2012-2013. In an effort to connect with a broader range of the central Minnesota community, last season we focused on producing themed concerts that would attract whole families. With broadened marketing efforts and capped pricing for families with more than two children per household, we found our themed concerts to be successful to this end. We produced two collaborative, family friendly concerts: A Child’s Christmas, in collaboration with the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota and the St. Cloud State University Preparatory Program’s Cantabile Girls’ Choir; and The Great American Sing, in collaboration with the Kennedy Colts Sixth Grade Honor Choir from the Kennedy Community School in St Joseph and the Mustang Choir from the Meadowvale Elementary School in Elk River. Surveys and personal interviews showed that the audience found the offerings to be high quality performances and a great value. Many appreciated the child-friendliness of our two public productions. An improved ticketing system helped us record that several larger families took advantage of the capped pricing and enjoyed the performances together. Great River Chorale was also named the principal choral partner of the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra for the 2013-2014 season--a direct result of two collaborations with that organization in the fall of 2012. Great River Chorale began working towards increasing our exposure and name recognition throughout central Minnesota and greater Minnesota and sought radio airplay and radio interviews to this end. We were rewarded when segments from our holiday concert and our spring offering were featured in December 2012 and May 2013 on the Minnesota Public Radio program, Regional Spotlight. This achievement resulted in Great River Chorale’s inclusion on Minnesota Public Radio’s Taste of the Holidays, Volume 4, a compilation CD including holiday music performed by Minnesotan musicians. The CD was distributed to Minnesota Public Radio donors and available for purchase through the radio station late in 2013. This was fantastic exposure for the group and helped Great River Chorale differentiate itself from other local choral organizations. We were also pleased to cultivate a relationship with local radio station WJON, AM1240. We were invited to interview and perform live on air with Pete and Doug in the Morning in May of 2013, which increased community awareness of Great River Chorale. Listeners who were given free tickets did show up to our spring performance. This experience increased exposure helped to broaden our audience while increasing the community’s recognition of the group. Great River Chorale was intent on expanding outreach efforts during the 2012-2013 season, bringing choral music to members of the community who might not otherwise have access. To this end, we offered a free outreach concert to the residents, families and caregivers of residents in The Special Care Unit at Saint Benedict’s Senior Community in St Cloud. The demand for this concert was so great that, at the request of Saint Benedict's Senior Community Staff, Great River Chorale added a second performance that day for residents of the larger Saint Benedict's Senior Community. Bringing the performance to them gave residents direct access to a choral experience of the highest quality. Residents, family members and caregivers were incredibly appreciative and touched by the World War II era songs and were eager participants in the music making. Great River Chorale members also felt tremendous satisfaction from the performance.
Other, local or private