Schedule
All workshop times/locations are subject to change. Please consult the conference program when you arrive in Atlanta for a final schedule.
| Thursday Oct. 10th | Friday Oct. 11th | Saturday Oct. 12th | Sunday Oct. 13th |
Thursday
| 5:00pm | ||
| Best In Show | Great Room Prefunction | 5:00pm - 7:00pm |
| 6:00pm | ||
| GALA Leadership Symposium Reception | Sun Terrace | 6:00pm - 8:00pm |
| 6:30pm | ||
| Best in Show Presentations | Great Room Prefunction | 6:30pm - 7:00pm |
Friday
| 9:00am | ||
| Board Hangout | Great Room A | 9:00am - 9:45am |
| Artistic Director Hangout | Great Room B | 9:00am - 9:45am |
| Artistic Director Hangout | Great Room C | 9:00am - 9:45am |
| Youth Chorus Hangout | Studio 1 | 9:00am - 9:45am |
| Manager Hangout | Studio 2 | 9:00am - 9:45am |
| 10:00am | ||
| Concert Marketing Plan | Great Room C | 10:00am - 10:45pm |
| Perfect Pitch 1 | Great Room B | 10:00am - 12:00pm |
| Youth Chorus Brainstorm | Studio 1 | 10:00am - 10:45am |
| TTBB Repertoire Session | Workroom | 10:00am - 12:00pm |
| Music for Run-Outs and Audience Participation | Great Room A | 10:00am - 12:00pm |
| 11:00am | ||
| Consensus Validation - A New Tool for Teams | Great Room C | 11:00am - 12:00pm |
| GALA Operations Survey Results | Studio 1 | 11:00am - 12:00pm |
| Ask Eve | Studio 2 | 11:00am - 12:00pm |
| 12:45pm | ||
| Lunch Roundtables | Great Room B and Sun Terrace | 12:45pm |
| 2:00pm | ||
| The Board Meeting of Your Dreams is Not a Nightmare I | Great Room A | 2:00pm - 3:15pm |
| SATB Repertoire | Great Room C | 2:00pm - 3:15pm |
| Basic Video Production for Communications | Great Room B | 2:00pm - 3:15pm |
| SSAA Repertoire | Studio I | 2:00pm - 3:15pm |
| The Joys and Challenges of Working with Youth | Studio 2 | 2:00pm - 3:15pm |
| Music for Run-Outs and Audience Participation II | Workroom | 2:00pm - 3:15pm |
| 3:30pm | ||
| The Entrepreneurial Organization | Great Room C | 3:30am - 4:45pm |
| Transgender Voices | Great Room A | 3:30pm - 4:45pm |
| Choral Arranging for Choirs | Great Room B | 3:30pm - 4:45pm |
| Copyright, License, The Web - Oh My! | Workroom | 3:30pm - 4:45pm |
| Ask Eve | Studio 2 | 3:30pm - 4:45pm |
Saturday
| 9:00am | ||
| Copyright, License, The Web - Oh My! | Great Room A | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| OUTreach | Great Room B | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| Basic Video Production for Communications | Workroom | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| New Tools and Ideas to Build Your Audience | Great Room C | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| Kathy Kingston Unleashed | Studio 2 | 9:00am - 12:00pm |
| 10:30am | ||
| Managing High Maintenance Members | Great Room C | 10:30am - 12:00pm |
| Get OFF Those Risers! | Great Room A | 10:30am - 12:00pm |
| Festival Liason Training | Great Room B | 10:30am - 12:00pm |
| GALA 411 Advisor Consultations | Studio 1 | 10:30am - 12:00pm |
| Mission Based Programming | Workroom | 10:30am - 12:00pm |
| 1:30pm | ||
| Executive Director - Open Agenda | Great Room C | 1:30pm - 4:00pm |
| Artistic Directors - Open Agenda | Great Room A | 1:30pm - 3:45pm |
| The Board Meeting of Your Dreams is Not a Nightmare | Great Room B | 1:30pm - 3:00pm |
| GALA 411 Advisor Consultations | Studio 1 | 1:30pm - 4:30pm |
| Perfect Pitch | Workroom | 1:30pm - 4:30pm |
| 3:15pm | ||
| Sustainability Best Practices | Great Room B | 3:15pm - 3:45pm |
| 5:15pm | ||
| Reception/Auction | Great Room | 5:15pm - 6:45pm |
| 7:15pm | ||
| Concert: Finding Your Own Light | Peachtree Road United Methodist | 7:15pm - 8:15pm |
Sunday
| 9:00am | ||
| The Entrepreneurial Organization | Studio 2 | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| Raking in the Dough: Creating an Unearned Revenue Plan | Great Room C | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| iSing, iDance, iPad | Workroom | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| Rehearsal Crowdsourcing | Studio 1 | 9:00am - 10:15am |
| 10:30am | ||
| Youth Chorus Hangout | Studio 1 | 10:30am - 11:15am |
| Manager Hangout | Studio 2 | 10:30am - 11:15am |
| Board Hangout | Sun Terrace | 10:30am - 11:15am |
| Artistic Director Hangout | Workroom | 10:30am - 11:15am |
| 11:30am | ||
| Brunch | Great Room | 11:30am - 12:30pm |
Session Topics - GALA Leadership Symposium - Atlanta, Oct 2013
Best in Show
Jeff Heine, Facilitator
Have a great story to tell about your Chorus from the past year? A clever and successful marketing campaign? Tools to help your singers promote a concert? An outreach performance that captivated singers and audiences? A new website? Social media successes on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? Share your story with Symposium delegates at the Best in Show! Each chorus will have table space to display your story. Be creative! Audio, visuals, costumes, photos, and handouts are all encouraged. At 6:30 pm each chorus will have five minutes to share your best idea with everyone in attendance.
GALA Leadership Symposium Reception
Open the Symposium with a cocktail overlooking famed Peachtree Road! Greet colleagues and take the opportunity to meet those attending their first GALA Leadership Symposium. A cash bar will be available.
GALA Hangout
Eve Campbell, Jeff Heine, Susan Haugh, Bob Mensel : Facilitators
Networking is one of the most valuable elements of GALA events so here is your chance to hang with your peers. Hangouts are designated for Board Members, Managers (volunteer or paid), Artistic Directors and Youth Choruses. Hosted by our new GALA 411 Advisors the Friday morning Hangout offers an introduction to the Symposium weekend and the Sunday Hangout is a final chance to share ideas and wrap up the weekend together.
Perfect Pitch
Kathy Kingston, Presenter
Finding the right story to "sell" your chorus mission is key in recruiting singers, chorus leadership and soliciting individual donations, grants and sponsors. Participants will have the opportunity to practice their chorus pitch and receive coaching from a professional fundraiser. Delegates attending this session should arrive with a list of the points they would expect to cover in pitching their chorus. This session is offered twice - once on Friday and once on Saturday.
Youth Chorus Brainstorm
Susan Haugh, Facilitator
Join youth chorus delegates to share ideas, brainstorm how youth choirs can work together and support emerging youth choruses.
Repertoire Reading Sessions
Cathy Roma, SSAA facilitator
Robert Glor, SATB facilitator
Kevin Robison, TTBB facilitator
Join your colleagues to share programming ideas and sing through repertoire submitted by Artistic Directors. Bring along your top 5-6 repertoire recommendations to share.
Ask Eve
Eve Campbell, Presenter
Eve has been working with GALA Choruses on board development issues for over 20 years. Schedule an individual consultation with Eve to discuss your chorus board issues.
Music for Run-Outs and Audience Participation
Elise Witt, Presenter
Drawing from her love of diverse melodies and rhythms Elise leads a session of group singing and vocal improvisation, teaching in a style so easy that, before you know it, the room is singing in harmony! Play with melody, rhythm, language, harmony, vocal production, and soul connection. Get the gritty, technical, sensual sense of how the voice can draw powerfully on vocal wisdom from many cultures. All songs are broken down into easily learnable parts and can be tools for impromptu and run-out setting for your chorus as well as ways to engage your audience as singers.
Consensus Validation - A New Tool for Teams
Mindy Taylor, Presenter
"Consensus Validation" is one of the strongest and most effective techniques a choir or board can use for problem-solving and making decisions. A key tool in the process is testing and polling the group during the conversation process. This session demonstrates techniques for deciding when a consensus process can strengthen a planning process and how to make consensus building strong and effective.
GALA Operations Survey Results
Robin Godfrey, Presenter
Over the summer GALA launched a comprehensive operations and compensation survey. Join us for an overview of the results and a description of the complete report.
Run out for a quick lunch and then join one of the roundtables. The discussion topics will be as follows:
Satellite Choruses - Bill Loper, Artistic Director - Harmony: A Colorado Chorale
Share new ideas for collaborating and supporting new choruses in your region.
Google Apps - Craig Coogan, Executive Director - Boston Gay Men’s Chorus
Learn about some exciting new Google applications that are available for non-profit organizations.
Straight Singers in Gay Choruses - Jane Ramseyer Miller, Artistic Director - One Voice Mixed Chorus
Exploring the joys and challenges of becoming a more diverse LGBTA community
Welcome GALA Newbies! - Bob Mensel, Jeff Heine, Eve Campbell - GALA 411 Advisors
Join our 411 Advisors for a lunch-time introduction to the programs and services of GALA Choruses and meet some other newbies: Artistic Directors, Board Members and Chorus Managers.
Creating your own Big Gay Sing - Charlie Beale
Several choruses have been interested in performing a Big Gay Sing in their own cities. Join Charlie Beale to discuss tips for organizing a Big Gay Sing.
Transgender Voice Transitions - Jeremiah Selvey, Artistic Director - Oakland East Bay GMC
Join this conversation about tips for working with FTM changing voices.
Sporting Two Hats - John C. Quillin, Managing Artistic Director - Charlotte Gay Men’s Chorus
Join colleagues who serve as both Artistic Director and Chorus Manager
Hiring a Chorus Manager - Steve Smith, Executive Director - Revels
Veteran chorus manager Steve Smith will facilitate a conversation for choruses curious about when and how to hire their first paid manager.
GALA Board and Committee Service - Bev Alter and Joann Usher - GALA Board Members
Interested in serving on a GALA committee or exploring GALA Board service? Join existing board members to discuss the opportunities available.
Networking in the Choral World - Craig Gregory - ACDA and Mitch Menchaca - Chorus America
Stop by this roundtable to meet Craig and Mitch and discuss collaborations between ACDA, Chorus America and GALA member choruses.
Chorus Accounting and Finance – Ron Brunk, CPA – GALA Board Treasurer
The GALA Choruses Treasurer, a CPA who has been the accountant for one of our member choruses for the past 7 years, hosts a roundtable to discuss bookkeeping, accounting, investment and other financial reporting issues encountered by member choruses, including the topic of auditing chorus financial records.
Fundraising Auction Tips – Kathy Kingston – Kingston Auction Company
Need some pointers to improve the proceeds from your fundraising auction. Join Kathy Kingston for a discussion of her proven tips and techniques.
The Board Meeting of Your Dreams is Not a Nightmare
Mindy Taylor and Eve Campbell, Presenters
Are your board meetings engaging, interesting and productive? Join a mock Board meeting which will demonstrate both good and bad Board practices and offer tips for keeping board members engaged, dashboard reporting, encouraging productive conversation and decision-making, and identifying appropriate topics for board conversation. This session is offered twice - once on Friday and once on Saturday.
Raking in the Dough: Creating an Unearned Revenue Plan
Robin Godfrey, Presenter
Participants will work in groups to develop a contributed revenue plan for the year based on a given set of assumptions. Will you place more emphasis on grants or individual donations? Will you bet it all on a fundraising event? Each group will then have an opportunity to present the plan they have developed.
The Joys and Challenges of Working with Youth
Susan Haugh, facilitator
Thinking of starting a youth chorus in your community? The dynamics can be unique and challenging. Join Susan Haugh who started Dreams of Hope in 2003 and now has an organization that is strong and growing. Participants will discuss what it takes to begin a successful youth chorus and how to keep it sustainable.
Choral Arranging for Choirs
Tim Sarsany, Presenter
Need to adapt a choral work or song for your choir? Sometimes it is the only way to get to do the songs you want! Join Tim for tips on arranging music to fit your chorus including creating arrangements from scratch, but also re-voicing existing arrangements for SATB to TTBB, TTBB to SATB or SSA, etc. Steps for obtaining copyright permission will also be addressed. Bring your questions for Tim and he will help you get started arranging for your choir lickety-split!
Get off those Risers!
Eric Lane Barnes, Presenter
Why stay on the risers when you have an entire stage to work with? Join Eric to explore the advantages and pitfalls of programming music off the risers, choralography, integrating media and video elements and other visual elements. How do we keep our artistry strong while introducing new visual elements in to our programming?
Managing High Maintenance Members
Dr. Michael Ramsey, Presenter
Have you ever struggled to deal with a: problematic patron, salacious singer, bothersome board member, scurrilous staff, violent volunteers, or demanding donors? Join Dr. Michael Ramsey, Child, Adolescent, Young Adult, and Adult Psychiatrist for an introductory discussion about appropriate boundaries, communication techniques, anger management, and general tips for working with difficult individuals. This group may eventually lead to a series of sessions that can delve into the finer points of communication and HR issues that will help your chorus grow and be more productive.
Rehearsal Crowdsourcing
Ben Riggs, Facilitator
Join your GALA conductor colleagues to share our collective wisdom on rehearsal related issues: bridging diverse musical skill levels, dealing with unbalanced sections, singer breaks that turn into social marathons, integrating memorization into rehearsal time, creative options for sectionals…. The floor is yours. Bring your rehearsal problems and your wisdom.
Copyright, License, The Web - Oh My!
John Quillin, Presenter
I can't find the composer of the song that Very-Gay Chorus gave me. Can I just use it? I've recorded my concert and would like to sell download recordings. What is a YouTube Broadcast channel and how can I use it to promote my chorus? Join this discussion on copyrights, licensing and the unique opportunities and challenges offered by the internet. This session is offered twice - once on Friday and once on Saturday.
Mission Based Programming: Why We Sing What We Sing
Charlie Beale, Presenter
How does our concert programming relate to our core values, our audience and our context? If political advocacy were our number one priority, could we also generate more donor money, sell more tickets, attract more singers AND increase our musical excellence? How does our mission interact with our artistic content? This provocative and interactive workshop for ADs, managers and board members will ask challenging questions, offer new strategies to help your organization answer them, and help you think differently about your organization's programming and song choices. It will help you to focus ever more tightly on singing well, being entertaining and on speaking the truth. Above all, it will help you identify new ways for your organization to connect with your audience and community, so that your concerts are firmly grounded in the fertile soil of your area's GLBTQ context.
OUTreach
Anthony Cabrera & Jane Ramseyer Miller, Presenters
Need inspiration to take the mission of your chorus beyond the concert hall and into the community? Join us for practical tips on integrating outreach into your programming including planning steps, tips for performing in schools, check-lists for outreach tours, how to capitalize on the energy and interests of your singers, utilizing collaborations to connect your chorus to the wider arts community, and ways to attract foundations and sponsors to your outreach work. Participants will create their own outreach plan based on their chorus' mission and local community.
New Tools and Ideas to Build Your Audience
Greg O'Neill, Presenter
Eugene Carr, CEO and founder of Patron Technology, LLC, has recently released a new book entitled “Breaking the Fifth Wall: Rethinking Arts Marketing for the 21st Century.†Greg O'Neill, Sr. Account Executive of Patron Technology, will attend the conference and speak about the research that led to the new book. Topics will include getting the most out of your email marketing, effective use of social media, and the advantages of utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology to benefit your organization.
Kathy Kingston Unleashed
Kathy Kingston, presenter
This is your chance to spend one-on-one time with auction fundraising expert Kathy Kingston. Don't miss this opportunity to work with Kathy on ways to increase your chorus' fundraising prowess.
Festival Liaison Training
Joel Davis, Presenter
This session is intended for both individuals who are likely to serve as their chorus' festival liaison or who are involved in selecting their chorus' festival liaison. Festival liaisons are key people to manage information and help your chorus have a great experience at Festival. In this first annual session leading up to Festival 2016, we'll focus on lessons learned in 2012.
The Entrepreneurial Organization
Jeffrey Nytch, Presenter
At Festival 2012 Jeffrey Nytch shared the core principles of entrepreneurship and how they can be utilized to define your organization's mission. Now Nytch builds on those ideas to develop a strategic plan: How do you define your product? Who is your market/audience, and how do you deliver that product to them? What resources do you have on-hand, and which ones do you need? How can you make your organization more financially sustainable? Nytch brings his experience as a composer, arts administrator, and professor of music entrepreneurship at The University of Colorado-Boulder to create a unique and practical workshop you can take home to your chorus.
GALA 411 Advisor Consultations
Bob Mensel, Eve Campbell, Jeff Heine, Susan Haugh
Schedule individual time with a GALA 411 Advisor on any topic. Get advice on a quick question or discuss scheduling a longer consultation after the Symposium.
Transgender Voices
Reid Vanderburgh, Presenter
Transgender singers play a significant role in our GALA community. This workshop offers tips on working with transgender voices, transitioning voices, use of inclusive gender language and Trans 101 terminology . Reid Vanderburgh was 1986 founding member of the Portland Lesbian Choir and now sings baritone with the Portland Gay Men's Chorus. Reid has been a trans therapist and educator for over ten years and is the author of "Transition and Beyond: Observations on Gender Identity."
Artistic Directors - Open Agenda
Bob Mensel & Jane Ramseyer Miller, facilitators
Join us for an open space, open agenda conversation on whatever topics emerge.
Stop Reinventing the Wheel: Best Practices for Organizational Sustainability
Robin Godfrey, Presenter
Has your chorus had the experience of just getting things going really well and then leadership burns out and it seems like you are starting all over again? A disgruntled volunteer leaves and no one knows what happened to the database of donors? Join us for a discussion of what practices and procedures can help create sustainable administrative systems in choruses primarily run by volunteers.
Basic Video Production for Communications
Paul Kruse, presenter
Join this hands-on crash course in shooting and editing video for non-profit communications. The workshop will focus on shooting and editing basic interviews and events. Paul offers practical tips including how to capture the best sound, image, and performance from your subject. Learn how to plan and execute a video project from start to finish, complete with equipment and software recommendations. Participants are welcome to bring your own video/audio recording and editing equipment for hands-on practice!
i Sing, i Dance, iPad: Mobile Technology for the Conductor, Singer and Composer
Mark Howarth, Presenter
An exploration of ideas and apps that are available to the modern musician with the iPad; focus will be on preparing resources for rehearsal, apps that can be used during rehearsal and apps to assist the lay composer/arranger. Participants are encouraged to bring their iPad and/or smartphone; apps will be shared and explored during the session. Time will be given for sharing your ideas and experiences in using technology as a part of your choir rehearsal.
Preparing a Concert Marketing Plan
Matthew Arnold, Presenter
Social media has provided endless options for concert marketing while print and radio advertising, mailings and posters still may have a role to play. Get updates on the latest tricks of the trade and build a marketing plan for your next chorus concert.