Celtic Flute School of New Zealand, Incorporated
Nelson Centre of Musical Arts, 48 Nile Street, Nelson
12:45 pm, 2nd June, 2019
AGENDA
- Apologies
- Previous minutes- Ceol Aneas AGM Minutes 2018 (PDF)
- Matters arising
- New business
- Chairperson’s report
- Treasurer’s report
- Accounts
- Proposed Rule changes
- Resignation / nomination / election of officers
- Chair – Doug Makinson
- Treasurer / finance officer – Lynne Wilkins
- Secretary- Kara Dawson
- Resignation / election of committee
- General business
Chairperson’s report – 2018
I first attended Ceol Aneas as a student in 2004, the year Lúnasa came to Nelson. That year Ceol Aneas joined forces with the pipers and 120 students filled the classes to capacity. Things had come a long way in the five years since an idea hatched in a Wellington session created the Celtic Flute School of New Zealand. I am very happy to see some of the same folks who were involved in that first year are still involved in Ceol Aneas 20 years on. Since the Lúnasa year we have had smaller enrolments, but the quality of tutors and the reputation of the festival grows each year.
During my years as a student at Ceol Aneas I’ve studied bouzouki, guitar, and for the last several years, mandolin. I have found Ceol Aneas to be a great source of inspiration and motivation for me personally and I sincerely hope that you have found it valuable also.
After every Ceol Aneas weekend the committee gets together and thinks about what worked and what didn’t, and what we could improve. Over the years we have added and removed classes, added afternoon workshops, and constantly tinkered with the sessions. We tried something new this year by providing tunes that will be used in the banjo/mandolin and whistle classes to students a couple of months in advance. We did this in response to feedback from some students that they would like to see less emphasis placed on learning new tunes in class, and more emphasis on other aspects of playing. It will be interesting to talk with students and tutors to see how this approach affected their experience.
The committee received a generous grant from the Hugo Charitable Trust to use for student scholarships. The grant came quite late, but even though the time was short, the committee decided to go ahead and announce the availability of scholarships for this year. We received applications from a number of good candidates, and were pleased to offer one “full expenses” scholarship and three full tuition scholarships this year. We have funding to continue offering scholarships for the next two years, and hope to find sufficient funding to make scholarships a part of Ceol Aneas every year. If you are interested in making a contribution remember that we are now a charitable organisation, and donations are tax deductible.
I have been the chairperson of Ceol Aneas for the last five years, and I’m pleased to announce that this is my last year in that role. It has been a pleasure working with the committee, and I have enjoyed my time as chairperson. I look forward to continuing to be involved with Ceol Aneas, and will be happy to remain on the committee, helping out where I can. The organisation was in fine shape when I came into it, and I am happy to say that it is in fine shape today. The committee puts in many hours to plan the festival, and I want to recognise the time they freely contribute. I can assure you that we will continue to create a better festival, and stronger organisation year on year.
Ted Cizadlo
Chairperson, Ceol Aneas
