University of Bristol A Cappella Society Committee Meeting – Sunday 11th December at 3:30pm
Present:
- Dan Mailer – President
- Joe Pickin – Vice President and Suspensions Rep
- Matthew Belsey – Treasurer and Equality Officer
- Tash Orchant – Gigs Co-ordinator and Equality Officer
- Jess Kim – Social Secretary
- Justine Laurain – Musical Admin
- Iain Hallam – Mixed Chorus Rep
- Scott Lechleiter – Brizzlebox Rep
- Mike Blitz – Lower Voices Rep
In Attendance:
- Lauren Garner-Jackson – Secretary
1. Apologies
– Helen Frawley – Publicity Co-ordinator
– Sam Butler – HotTUBBS Rep
– Nicolas Audinet – Academy Rep
– Nathalie Perthuisot – Pitch Fight Rep
– Karen Lillywhite – Upper Voices Rep
2. Previous Meetings Minutes
– Committee begins by discussing the subtleties of Christmas jumpers
– Joe did a terrible French impression of Justine, but 10/10 for trying
– Shade was thrown between Dan and Lauren over the level of detail in the minutes that Joe wrote
3. Treasurer’s Report
– Matthew has paid for the Christmas meal but it hasn’t been updated on the accounts yet
– We’ve got bare moneyzzz
– As far as Lauren is aware, Eleanor hasn’t yet bought associate membership and so categorically needs to before Wednesday’s show
– The TUBBS concert on Tuesday raised £129.70 for an as-of-yet unchosen charity
4. Actions Update
– Jess needs to post in the members group to ask if anyone can offer their house for the Winston afterparty
– Group reps need to send Dan a bio for their groups for Wednesday’s programmes ASAP
5. Group Reps’ Report
5.1 Suspensions
– Busking today was fun with generous Christmas crowds and cute kids (Joe’s words!)
– Their music video is coming out on Thursday!
– They were on BBC Radio Bristol at 5:30am on Saturday
– So many plugs!
5.2 Pitch Fight
– They were going to have a last minute rehearsal today but this can’t happen so intense rehearsals are happening in the next few days
– They are entering VoiceFest
– There is a VFUK deadline of paying entry fees on Friday 16th December and video entries by Friday 13th January – group reps be aware!
5.3 Academy
– They are having a last minute rehearsal now
5.4 HotTUBBS
– Sam isn’t here
– Lauren is going to take this opportunity to remind group reps to try and send someone in their place if they cannot make a meeting
– They are learning choreo next week
– They are having extra rehearsals for the Winston show and VFUK video
– They are filming their VFUK entry video this week
5.5 TUBBS
– They did a gig on Tuesday
– The performance was good but they had a very small audience
– There was a rumour that the first half wasn’t filmed, but it was so all is well
– Nick Jones saved everyone!
5.6 Brizzlebox
– Their first song is complete
– Nick has been busy and missed some rehearsals so they’re having more rehearsals
– They want to add at least one new member next term
6. Apparel
– Groups need to order their own t shirts etc through Shirt Tails to get the offer
– They should send their orders to them and say they are part of the A Cappella Society
7. Intra-society cohesion
– There is a fair amount of division in the Society between the auditioned and unauditioned groups
– This perhaps reflects in committee, with each group vying for its best possible position, rather than working together
– There could be a better sense of cohesion within committee and the Society to support each group
– It might be something to think about over the holidays
– It is, however, also quite tricky since there are still teething issues resulting from the merger last year
– It would be good to see members from other groups at individual group performances
– Group reps represent both their groups and the Society as a whole, so it is important for everyone to support the Society and its various groups within it
– Publicity should be sharing all group events on the Society page
– Should the committee know what goals the Society is moving towards?
– For example, aiming to have 3 groups perform at VFUK
– This is tricky to set as it comes down to the groups themselves – they cannot be forced into entering for example
8. Upcoming Events
8.1 Christmas Show
– The camera must be charged and have enough battery and memory!
– Dan might potentially have Rachael’s camera too, but he hasn’t asked her yet
– Dan might be able to ask the STA lighting technician to do some roaming filming when they are not doing anything
– Joe’s tired
– Everyone change their profile pics and plug plug plug!
– A video editing workshop next term might be good
– If there is room in the theatre, people not performing in the first half could watch the second half and vice versa
– No one can watch from the wings
– It might be possible to stream the concert on facebook or put a live stream in a dressing room
– It is decided to have a live stream with no prior warning from the facebook page
– Mike is happy to lend his laptop
– Committee can tell the members about it on the day so they can watch it on their phones/laptops in the dressing rooms
– Iain could stick a paypal link in the video description for people to ‘donate to the costs of the live stream’ lol
ACTION:
- Dan add Iain as admin of Society fb page
– 50 tickets sold already!
– Tash still needs to find 2 more ushers
ACTION:
- Group reps to ask members about ushers
– Members’ friends could do it and get a free ticket
– Call time is agreed at 6:30pm – EVERYONE should have eaten, be changed and ready to go then!
– It is decided that warm ups should be altogether as a Society
– Performers need to be briefed by STA about health and safety
– TUBBS will have 5 risers so need 6 people on Monday night to help move them to the Union
– Programmes are probably not going to happen as Dan has no time to do them
– Bios are still needed ASAP from group reps however for the compere
8.1.1 Compere speaking times
– Joe has found a compere from Improv (Patrick)
– How many times is he introducing people?
– Should TUBBS choruses have individual introductions?
– Will we ever get to the bottom of how Matthew maintains his luscious golden locks?
– Find out next week at an a cappella show near you!
– Brizzlebox is opening the show
– Patrick will then come on to allow for the Mixed Chorus getting on stage
– Committee agrees that HotTUBBS should have its own introduction
– HotTUBBS do not want the risers but there is loads of space in front of them on the stage
– This will mean the risers can be taken off during the interval, rather than taking up performance time
– There’ll be a backdrop with graphics on with the groups’ names on, like Nor’Easters’ #BONR
– #UOBACSBCS – get it trending!
– There should be an introduction for the second half before Academy to allow for those running up from the bar
– In the second half, time has to be allowed for groups swapping mics
8.1.2 Finale song
– Some feel that there should be a song at the end with all members involved
– This would not be very polished and would perhaps be a bit of a downer to the finale if it was something like Hark The Herald
– There just isn’t enough time now to rehearse it
– A joint song should be added to the gigs checklist for future concerts
ACTION:
- Tash to add whole society song to gigs checklist
8.2 10th Anniversary Concert
– Helen needs to post in the committee group about this since she’s not at the meeting
– There has been some confusion over whether the Society or TUBBS is 10 years old
– This is definitely a discussion to be had next meeting
9. Booking Requests
10. AOB
10.1 TUBBS Concert Feedback
– BUJO what even
– The band manager didn’t tell the band the gig was happening and cancelled very last minute
– The TUBBS reps need to make use of committee members earlier on in the planning process in future
10.2 Videos from Videocamera
– The Ensembles Showcase videos need going on Youtube and the other videos on the camera need distributing to the relevant groups soooooon!
ACTION:
- Dan to post Showcase videos on Youtube
ACTION:
- Dan/Helen to distribute videos on camera to groups
11. Cake Rota
– Justine
12. A Cappella Song Rota
– Scott
– Joe had to leave for a rehearsal but has since informed committee that his song choice was Seize The Day by Westminster Chorus