New Dominion Chorale

Long Range Strategic Plan

2023-2026

Overview:

New Dominion Chorale has distinguished itself amid the crowded choral music scene in the Washington area. Our non-audition policy enables us to offer singers of all backgrounds from across our community the opportunity to sing choral masterworks at a high-performance level with professional orchestras and soloists. We operate as a singers’ cooperative without paid staff. Instead, singers volunteer to perform all the activities necessary to run the organization. We are proud to perform a wide variety of choral and instrumental music for our audiences. In addition to the great master works, we have presented works by composers new and old, as well as original works by our own Artistic Director. 

 

Mission:

To advance the musical arts in general, and the choral arts in particular, and to provide enjoyment through choral arts to both our singers and our audience.

Commitment to Diversity:

New Dominion Chorale strives to make quality musical experiences available and accessible to all throughout the community, regardless of age, ability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, or citizenship status. We actively seek racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity in our membership, the professional artists we engage, audiences, and our board of directors.

Core Values:

·       Artistic excellence
·       Education and lifelong musical learning for singers and audiences
·       Participation and engagement across our community
·       Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access
·       Passion for our music and our mission
·       Camaraderie and fun

Goals and Objectives:

Goal 1: Artistic Excellence

Provide high-quality musical experiences to diverse audiences.

Objectives:

1. Have an accomplished artistic director/conductor to lead NDC and a skilled accompanist.
2. Offer a repertoire of classical favorites along with works by new or less familiar composers from a variety of backgrounds.
3. Engage proficient professional soloists and instrumental musicians through an open and inclusive process.
4. Use an acoustically excellent, attractive, and comfortable performance space with convenient and accessible parking.

Goal 2: Community Outreach

Encourage members to share the joy of vocal music with a broad cross-section of the community.

Objectives:

1. Provide free performances with audience participation to retirement and elder care facilities in diverse neighborhoods throughout the surrounding area, as circumstances permit.
2. Offer opportunities to young singers and musicians to participate in rehearsals and performances.
3. Expand audiences through collaboration, including joint concerts and appearances, with choruses, choirs, choral ensembles, and other musical groups in the community.
4. Expand audiences through cooperation with community organizations (e.g., retirement communities, schools and colleges, churches and synagogues, service clubs) in presenting concerts and advertising.
   
5. Establish moderate concert ticket prices and provide a number of free or low-cost tickets to promote concert attendance and reduce economic barriers to attendance.
6. Maintain a presence at local events (e.g., county fairs, farmers’ markets, music festivals) to raise the visibility of the Chorale with prospective singers and concert attendees.
7. Use electronic media, including social media, to advertise concerts and facilitate outreach to the community as broadly and cost-effectively as possible. Use social media to reach new audience members and singers.
8. Make use of current technology to maintain, update, and improve our website, including by: providing performance excerpts; enhancing electronic transactions (e.g., collecting dues and selling concert tickets); building an email contact list; and adding other features as deemed necessary and desirable.

Goal 3: A Thriving Membership  

Ensure continued musical excellence by maintaining a sufficient number and diversity of voices and by supporting members’ musical growth.

Objectives:

1. Actively recruit and welcome new members from throughout the community.
2. Maintain an open, no-audition admissions policy to reduce barriers and facilitate access for everyone in our community.
3. Perform challenging choral works and provide coaching, learning tools, and other experiences to promote musical growth.
4. Support members’ participation by seeking accessible rehearsal and performance venues. Consider transportation, physical, and scheduling limitations when planning outreach, committee, and concert activities.
5. Build a sense of community and shared purpose by providing orientation for new members and encouraging opportunities for social interactions among all members.
6. Develop and maintain connections to alumni.

Goal 4: Active Participation in Managing the Chorale

Maintain the unique viability of NDC as a singers’ cooperative managed by members.

Objectives:

1. Maintain a Board of Directors, elected by the members to a three-year term, to focus on strategic direction and provide oversight and accountability for the organization.  The Board actively monitors NDC’s financial and programmatic performance.
2. Identify and regularly update tasks that members can perform to maintain the efficient operation of NDC.
3. Maintain standing committees of members to perform essential ongoing functions. Establish special committees of members, as needed, for special projects. 
4. Identify and recruit NDC members with skills and interests appropriate for staffing committees and performing at-large tasks or projects.
5. Ensure that at least one member of the NDC Board will act as a liaison with each committee, so that the Board can be informed of and, where necessary, guide the committee’s activities.
6. Ensure that Board members and others emphasize, in new members’ orientation processes and periodically to all NDC members, the goal of maintaining NDC’s status as a singers’ cooperative, managed by members.
7. Encourage members’ engagement in NDC management through regular communications; personal contacts from the Board, Committee members, and section leaders; and solicitation of members’ input on key NDC policies and practices. 

Goal 5: Financial Sustainability

Maintain NDC’s fiscal integrity.

Objectives:

1. Develop realistic and timely annual budgets.
2. Provide the NDC Board monthly with comprehensive updated financial reports, including budgeted vs. actual numbers, income and expenses, and cash flow statements.
3. Maintain an operating reserve fund equal to a minimum of 25% of NDC’s annual operating expenses.
4. Identify and obtain funds from multiple sources.
5. Identify and utilize cost-effective sources and methods for purchasing products and services.