Lenneke Bure: The sound of music, p. 2

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< unteer and I have always enjoyed volunteering and found it very rewarding," she said. In 1992, Bure was asked to become a board member with the Eastern Ontario Concert Orchestra. Eventually, she became ticket convenor, vice-president of the board and, in 1997, its president. When her term ended in 1999, she stepped into the vacant general manager's position. "It was always hard to find someone to work for a couple of hours a day for a small honourarium and with irregular hours," Bure said. One of general manager's primary responsibilities is to ensure that everything is ready on the day of the concert and the program books are accurate and up-to-date. She is committed to the Quinte Symphony as are the musicians. "There is a core of 38 musicians who are there for every concert and every rehearsal Sunday night at Bridge Street United Church," she said. There are more than 40 musicians in the orchestra and they come from throughout the Quinte area as well as Kingston. Members range in age from 12 to 80. "That's really nice because that is w7hat a community orchestra is all about. There is an opportunity for people of all ages to play in an orchestra." Bure said the orchestra's goal is to present four concerts a year for the enjoyment and education of area residents at ticket prices that are affordable. She said the orchestra has come a long way since its founding in 1960 by Stephen Choma. He wras also its first conductor. (Kingston's Gordon Craig has been the conductor for the past 12 years). "The orchestra has grown in many ways," she said. "We have doubled our audience in the past eight years and the workload has grown with it. There is definitely more hours involved in the general manager's position than before I started." She said the Trillium Foundation grant will enable the orchestra to hire a parttime general manager and allow her to focus on other duties, like fundraising. "Thirty per cent of our budget is through ticket revenue and the remainder has to be raised through sponsors, fundraising events and private donations...! want to make the orchestra prosper. You can't add a fifth concert without having the funding in place." Bure said more money would be needed to expand its existing education into area elementary schools. "We want to introduce more students to string instruments (violin, viola and cello) because string instruments are the backbone of the orchestra. We really would like to have young people in our orchestra."

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