Initial Interest Gathering at Canter's Deli
Los Angeles Area Alumni Association
Event details.
Location: Canter's Deli, Los Angeles, CA.
Present: Christopher Thaxter (CT), organizer; Jos Purvis (JP), taking minutes; Will Schimmeyer (WS).
Gathering opened with general greetings, handshakes, introductions, etc.
Discussions around Province and Area Sinfonian Sites
All felt we should establish a site for the L.A. alumni chapter—perhaps a wiki/forum, links to
other chapter sites, resources, etc. Brief discussion was held about the scope for such a site (and for
this group), and it was felt that perhaps this should be an L.A.-focused group, allowing other regions
(Orange County, San Diego, Inland Empire) to form their own groups with separate meetings.
The province has established a general province site (thegoldenlyre.org), which we may start by piggybacking off of, but
creating our own subsite. Province also has a general listserv for discussion, which includes all active
members in the province; general sense of the group was that the L.A.-area alumni group should explore a
separate list just for its members.
Action Items
- JP will look into establishing website for group for alumni.
- CT will look into establishing Yahoo! group.
Discussions around Collegiate Chapters and Colonies
Current collegiate active chapters: Redlands, Fullerton, San Diego State. Currently topping the list
of projects for the province is a colony at Long Beach. List notably excludes several major music programs
in the area, including CSUN, USC, UCLA. All three had chapters at one time, and all went inactive during
the 1980s. WS, currently attending CSUN Master's program, has talked with a few faculty about re-opening
chapter there and has spotted several potential first probationary members. Although the faculty roster
appears (per CT's discussion with them a few years ago) to include several Sinfonians, CSUN is a heavy
commuter school, so convincing students to stay on campus for activities could be tricky.
Action Items
- WS will look into possibility of CSUN colony, talking with faculty about reactivating the dormant chapter there.
Discussions about Future Meetings
Sunday was deemed to be the least busy day of the week, likely to attract the greatest number of people.
Although some will be unable to attend if the meeting is held on the same day every time, it was felt this
would be true for any day chosen, and the benefits of having the meeting on a consistent day seemed to
outweigh the potential issues. Afternoons, particularly mid-afternoon, were felt to be a good time in order
to split the difference between Sunday morning church (or late rising, for those with Saturday night gigs)
and Sunday dinner, which is often a family time. There was some discussion around which Sunday to choose
each month, and agreement was reached to try the second Sunday of the month (the first Sunday often being
adjacent to holidays that would mean travel).
This led to the selection of a time six weeks hence (to allow for advertising), the second Sunday in July.
Finally, the issue of location was raised, and while homes were a potential idea for the future, a coffeeshop
or restaurant was felt to be a good compromise between the business of the group and its social leanings.
Coffeeshops were felt to be better than restaurants due to lack of time pressure (restaurants like to turn
tables quickly), so the issue was settled for the next meeting.
Action Items
- CT will locate a suitable coffeeshop and append it to the meeting announcements when they are sent out.
- CT will send out announcements for next meeting.
Ideas for the Group's Future
Finally, some ideas were discussed for future good works for this group. Some ideas presented:
- A fund to sponsor collegiate members for travel to the national gatherings (which tend to be held on the East coast).
- A fund to raise money for instruments for local schools.
Adjournment: Gathering was called to a close by 6 pm.
Next meeting: The next meeting will be held Sunday, 10 July, at 4 pm, location TBA.
