Cantala Choir Annual General Meeting

Edited Minutes – October 11, 2023 Board of Directors present:

John Gregory, Maria Halavrezos, Mary Kainer, Luisa Kurtz, Josh Reusing, Anu Singla & Nancy Singla (Choral Director)

1. Welcome - John welcomed members to the Annual General Meeting, thanking Maria for her years of service and welcoming Luisa Kurtz to the first of hopefully many annual meetings.

2. Motion to approve the agenda (MH/JG), Carried.

3. Motion to approve the AGM minutes of September 27, 2022 (MK/JG), Carried.

4. Approval of 2022/23 Financials year ending June (AS/JR), Carried. Have until the end of December to submit to the CRA. Josh questioned the donations - Armstrong Foundation provided $5000 of the total. A few individuals as well as members of the church community donate. Budgets for accompanists are adequate. We manage to run surpluses each year.

5. President’s message 2023 AGM – John Gregory

For our Toronto based choir, singing at Roy Thompson Hall represents a poignant high-profile showcase attended by more than 400 people. Lots of compliments and new photography. Congratulations to Choral Director Nancy Singla and the choir. Additionally, the choir has performed two seasonal concerts in the last year: in December 2022 and a spring 2023 concert. We have seen new members expressing an interest in joining Cantala which is a sign of health. Nevertheless, we need to ensure we continue to listen to members. Cantala continues to be in a good financial state. We extend our thanks to Maria Halavrezos for her service over many years on the Board of Cantala and formerly as a member of the choir. We welcomed Luisa Kurtz to the Cantala Choir Board this year. We are excited about sharing our passion of music into the future, including a potential Carnegie Hall debut in the spring of 2025.

Finally, thank you to the Choral Director, Board members, choir members, funders, donors, and families for their continued passion for Cantala. John reminded the Board that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting are made public by posting them to our website.

6. Choral Director’s Report - Nancy reported that the choir managed to hold its own. Everyone has returned to the choir except those who have moved away which is a sign of success. It was a small choir of 16 full of spirit with strength in the group. Everyone left the choir last spring with a wonderful feeling.

7. Election of Board members for 2023/24 - Maria has indicated that she is not continuing on the board. Moved to appoint and elect John, Anu, Josh, Luisa, and Mary to the Board of Directors (MK/JR). Carried.

8. Election of Officers - John willing to serve as President, Anu is willing to continue as Treasurer although Josh will assist Nancy in developing budgets, Mary will continue to serve as Secretary. (LK/JR), Carried. Nancy stated her appreciation for all our work and support.

9. Other Business - Board expressed their appreciation to Nancy for her excellent work. We formally thanked Nancy, choir members, board, and our important donors for contributing to our continued success. Luisa thanked the Board for inviting her to her first membership on a Board and is looking forward to the year ahead. We agreed to check with our major donor to see if they want their name public.

10.Motion to adjourn the Annual General Meeting (JG/LK), Carried.

Board of Directors

John Gregory, President

Mary Kainer, Secretary

Anu Singla, Treasurer

Josh Reusing

Luiza Kurtz

Goals and Initiatives

To provide an equitable, inclusive and diverse choral opportunity

Strengthen the Cantala brand, recognized for high calibre choral music

Run bi-annual concerts/ Live stream concerts on YouTube

Build attendance at bi-annual concerts

Extend our the social media presence
Share our love of choral music with our community

Documenting choir success through high-quality recordings

Support Canadian composers

Increase choral membership

Engage Alumni

Ongoing recruitment of board members

Take the choir beyond Toronto to collaborate with other choirs

Seek out collaborative music projects with other choirs

Engage foundations for support

Secure grants to fund new projects