RSO Musicians

Our neighbors in Norfolk have put together a very effective PR campaign. It has a memorable catch phrase:”Hampton Roads’ Major League Team!”. It has a very simple, two fold, message… literally; the quality of their worth to the community, and their immediate, very tangible goals. It utilizes both the old media, pamphlets, and the new media, a dedicated website.

So what, that’s what professional Orchestras do, right? Only it wasn’t the management of the VSO that masterminded this campaign; it was the musicians themselves. As preparation for an upcoming collective bargaining endeavor, the musicians conceived, developed, and executed a very successful PR campaign designed to serve their immediate needs, complement the overall VSO PR strategy and establish a permanent, public voice for the musicians.

Here’s the musician’s website.

See this Polyphonic.org article for an inside look at this initiative.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a short comparison of Richmond and Nashville’s Concert Hall projects.

TimesDispatch.com | Nashville’s plan for symphony hit right notes

Mayor Wilder’s committee for the Performing Arts has released another interim report. It includes a proposal to form a private corporation, the Grace Street Center Corp., whose directors are chosen by the City and the VAPAF. According to the report, up to $12M in tax credits might then be available to the corporation which would not be available to the non-profit VAPAF.

The Times-Dispatch has an article.