October 2012 Executive Summary of Cantus Reports

Finance  
Revenue and expenses on track for the year; line of credit fully drawn with expectation that it will be repaid by end of December.

Executive Director
  • AAM and Rebecca Davis (RDPR) will be in town for October 25 (Cowles) concert and meeting with Cantus as well as Executive Committee
  • RDPR is working with Sirius Radio, NPR and WQXR (New York) on Cantus interviews while the ensemble is on the East Coast in December.  Strong effort on getting “On the Shoulders of Giants” out for review.
  • Invitations for special event celebration with Minnesota Center for Book Arts (Monday, November 26, 7:30 pm at Open Book) will go out on Tuesday.  Tickets are $75/person with proceeds supporting Cantus and MCBA.  Seating is limited to 150 people.  Event is a celebration of the collaboration between Cantus, MCBA and poet Patricia Kirkpatrick.  Music from Cantus, readings and champagne!
  • The purchase of 1221 Nicollet by Westminster presents an opportunity for the Cantus admin staff to rent space in that building and allow singers to continue rehearsing at the church.  Contact with broker (Paul Hyde) has been made; waiting for further information.

Director of Marketing & Finance
  • Audit fieldwork is complete; final audit expected for November;
  • Database: ticketing for new sales; historical data import (tickets and donors) is next;
  • Ticket sales for home concerts tracking or exceeding as projected;
  • “On the Shoulders of Giants” official release date is Tuesday, October 23
  • Lots of new digital support for CD release, including:
    • Recording is setup for sales through Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes (in a special ‘Mastered for iTunes’ format) and other digital distribution (Amazon MP3, etc.)
    • Use of SoundCloud for sharing and future downloading.  SoundCloud is easy to integrate with all of our digital media.
    • Registration with SoundScan to track sales for Nielsen (and Billboard charts).  It’s very possible with our strong sales we will be able to make the Classical chart!
  • Print concert program has gone through a major redesign with much more information about Cantus for audience members. 

Artistic Council and Education Outreach
  • Education:
    • Looking for applicants for our High School Residency program for 2013-2014.
  • Artistic Council
    • Strong touring efforts
    • Programming on track;
    • Recruitment efforts underway