Did you know that Cantala is a registered charity and has a Board of Directors? All charitable organizations in Canada are required to have a Board of Directors to oversee and direct the vision and mission of the organization. In addition to supporting our artistic directors’ vision,  the Board hosts quarterly meetings where financial , choral and general reports about the workings of the choir are presented, discussed and reviewed. An annual general meeting (AGM) is held every fall and a  yearly report is submitted to the Canadian Government every December in order to keep our charitable status in good standing. It is important work. We are excited to announce that we are looking to welcome new members!

This past year  John Gregory,  President,  Anu Singla, Treasurer, and Nancy Singla, Artistic Director reported that we have had a very successful outcome through the pandemic; we are still alive financially and singing!  Now that we are hopefully out of the worst, darkest days of the pandemic we are looking for new board members. We want to wholeheartedly thank our board members who have been with us for many years and that have stayed with us during the pandemic for consistency when we most needed familiar faces and reliability. In particular, Maria Halavremos, who has been in Halifax and serving on our Board for many years from a distance, is now ready to move on next year.  Thank you to Maria for all of her contributions to Cantala and the Board not to mention her singing and musicianship as well over the years. We will dearly miss seeing you on a regular basis on zoom.   We wish you the best in Halifax.  Mary Kainer, Secretary and Josh Reusing continue to support the choir as members of the Board and we are very pleased to have them continue to be able to serve as directors. Thank you to all the board members for all their hard work and thinking that goes into our organization. We are indebted to you for your time and interest in our work.

Are you interested in contributing to the success of Cantala through serving on its Board of Directors? The expectations of being on the Board includes attending a quarterly meeting for 1-1.5 hours on zoom to discuss what is/is not working and how best to support the artistic vision and mission for the future.

Being on the Board of Directors is an exciting and interesting part of the organization.  Every board member offers their own unique ideas and strengths which is incredibly valuable. If you are interested in considering this opportunity please email us at info@cantalachoir.com.

Next year please plan to join us at our AGM via zoom. In the meantime please have a read of our minutes from our 2022 AGM. Cantala is in good hands with the Board and our vision is as strong as ever.

Cantala Choir Annual General Meeting

Edited Minutes – September 27, 2022

Board of Directors present: John Gregory, Maria Halavrezos, Mary Kainer, Josh Reusing, Anu Singla & Nancy Singla (Choral Director).

1. Welcome.

2. Motion to approve the agenda (Mary/John), Carried.

3. Motion to approve the AGM minutes of September 27, 2021 (John/Maria), Carried.

4. Approve of 2021/22 Financials: John thanked Anu for completing and sharing the financials with the Board. Anu said only the Director’s remuneration was added since the last meeting. No further questions. We have until December to complete and file our annual return; Anu to complete.

5. President’s Report: John read the report he had circulated prior to the meeting.

Activities in Ontario are now resembling the pre-pandemic era. We congratulate the Choral Director and members of the choir who continued throughout with remote rehearsals.. The joint outdoor choir activity in May marked a little of a turning point to formally announce to the world that Cantala remained a going concern. New people wishing to sing with the choir have rightly caused us to look at gender and reposition ourselves as more inclusive. This has necessitated tweaks to the Cantala brand and communications. Cantala continues to be in a good financial state, with comparable decreases in both operating expenses and income. 2022/2023 should see as back to a regular (non-COVID) budget. Thank you to all the Choral Director, Board members, choir members, funders, donors, and families for their continued passion for Cantala. We look forward to sharing our passion of music into the future.

6. Choral Director’s Report: Concert will be December 17th, 2 pm at Forest Hill United Church. Four new members have joined. Only advertising has been the blog and the website. One new member “they” liked our new inclusive messaging, so we are reaching a new audience. Have had three rehearsals and it feels great to have such a full group. Doing one long full Canadian work. Second half of program will be duets, soloists. Work in English; no memorizing, singing without masks; everyone having fun. Have new alternative options for costume. Nancy thanked John for making the gender-neutral website and domain.

7. Election of Board members for 2022/23: Moved that John, Anu, Maria, Josh, and Mary be elected as Directors (Mary/Josh), Carried. Maria agreed to continue though encouraged the Board to find someone local next year.

8. Election of Officers: Moved that the following officers be elected: John as President; Anu as Treasurer, Mary as Secretary (Mary/Josh), Carried.

9. Other Business: Maria asked if others attend the AGM? John raised that we might want to announce and ask people if they are interested? John recommended that next June we discuss inviting others to join the Board and possibly inviting others to attend the AGM. Josh asked if that was Nancy’s goal and suggested we have a year to discuss. Anu thought it might be good to have a few more members and recruit next year.

John suggested reaching out to members for next AGM. Nancy asked if we should plant the seed about the need for board members. Anu thought others could be invited to attend a Board meeting. Mary suggested AGM minutes could be posted on the website. This is a regular practice of many non-profits. Agreed that John’s report and AGM minutes will be posted and Nancy will write a blog.

10. Motion to adjourn the Annual General Meeting (John/Josh), Carried.