A composite case study, presented here for your edification.<\/p>\n
Subject: Sinfonia Suburbia<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Maestro Woods-<\/p>\n I do hope it is okay that I am writing to\u00a0 you directly, rather than to your agent. My name is Elizabeth Herzschmertz (please call me Lib), and I am the new manager of the Sinfonia Suburbia. I\u2019m writing to you because our long time music director, Maestro Will Dropschlagen has had to step down in order to devote his full energies to his teaching position at the University of East Suburbia.\u00a0 We\u2019re now having to fill this year\u2019s concert season with guest conductors.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve heard wonderful things about your work from a number of our musicians who have worked for you in the Philharmonia Commutica. I know it\u2019s terribly late notice, but would you by any chance be available on the 1st of October for a concert at Tinnitus Hall? The originally scheduled repertoire would be Messiaen\u2019s Turangalila with Marc-Andre Hamelin and Mahler\u2019s Seventh Symphony.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not available on the 1st of October, perhaps you could suggest another date out of the seven alternates on the attached spreadsheet?<\/p>\n In addition to whatever your standard fee is, we\u2019d pay for one first class round trip plane ticket and four nights in the West Suburbia Hilton.<\/p>\n We would be so excited to have you conduct our little orchestra!<\/p>\n Thanks tons<\/p>\n Lib xx<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subject: RE: Sinfonia Suburbia<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Maestro Woods<\/p>\n Thank you for coming back to us so quickly. I\u2019m sorry to hear you can\u2019t do the October 1st date, but we understand that your debut at Convent Garden must be a very important event for you. I\u2019ve never heard opera outdoors before- it must be really nice to play music in a garden setting.\u00a0 Is the convent still active? I went to Catholic School for 3 years when my family lived in Alabama.\u00a0 I hope it\u2019s not too cold in October in London- my husband tells me that Tristen and Isabel is a very long piece.<\/p>\n It\u2019s great you can do all of the other seven dates.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got an artistic planning committee meeting next week, so I\u2019ll get back to you with a confirmed date by next Wednesday at the very, very latest.<\/p>\n Hugs from West Suburbia<\/p>\n Lib x<\/p>\n PS- I\u2019m really embarrassed about this, but I guess I didn\u2019t realize that Cardiff isn\u2019t in America. My board chair asked me to ask you if you would be okay to fly coach when you come? I wouldn\u2019t even ask, but we hadn\u2019t budgeted for any travel for conductors next year since Maestro Dropschlagen lives in East Suburbia. Thx.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subect: RE RE Sinfonia Suburbia<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Ken<\/p>\n I\u2019m sorry not to have written sooner- I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s been three weeks since our artistic committee meeting!<\/p>\n Are you still available for our February 29th concert? The program would be<\/p>\n Shostakovich- Symphony no. 9<\/p>\n Rachmaninoff- Piano Concerto no. 2 with Evgeny Kissin<\/p>\n Stravinsky- Rite of Spring<\/p>\n Also- I hate to bother you with this, but could you send along a CV I can pass around to members of our board?<\/p>\n One last thing! Please feel free to say no, but would you be willing to do a home stay while you\u2019re in town?<\/p>\n All best wishes<\/p>\n Elizabeth<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subect: RE RE RE Sinfonia Suburbia<\/strong><\/p>\n Hi Ken<\/p>\n Thanks for checking in. I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s been six weeks since you confirmed your availability for Feb 29th.<\/p>\n I\u2019m afraid I have to let you in on an embarrassing problem- our board chair invited Ka Ching, the new assistant conductor at the Philharmonica Metropolitana , to conduct the February 29 concert without realizing I\u2019d already invited you. I know we asked you first and you\u2019ve been holding the date for us for six weeks now, but Ka Ching\u2019s agent also represents a couple of our soloists and we\u2019re concerned they might withdraw if we withdrew the engagement from him.<\/p>\n Did I ask you if you can do October 1st? I\u2019ve got you listed as available for the other seven dates this year, but those have all been filled since we last spoke.<\/p>\n Warm regards<\/p>\n Elizabeth H<\/p>\n PS- A number of musicians in the orchestra have popped in the offices this week to ask if you\u2019d be interested in the Music Director position. We\u2019d certainly like to avoid a public search if we can avoid it. Can you look at the attached draft job description and let me know if you would be interested. With the players so excited to work with you, maybe we could simply make October 1st a celebration of your appointment? Let me know if there\u2019s any thing I can do to make the position appealing!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Subect: RE RE RE RE Sinfonia Suburbia<\/strong><\/p>\n Hi KEn<\/p>\n Whoops- I forgot about your opera in the monastery thing in October. Good idea to swap dates with Ka Ching. His agent tells me he is free on October 1st.<\/p>\n Thank you<\/p>\n Elizabeth Herzschmertz<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Subect: RE RE\u00a0 RE RE RE Sinfonia Suburbia<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Maestro Woods-<\/p>\n Thanks for getting in touch. I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s been five weeks since your email! We\u2019ve all been very busy getting the brochure together for this year. I\u2019m very sorry to inform you that Maestro Ka Ching is unable to swap to October 1st with you. Although his agent had told us he was free that day, Ka Ching feels that there is not enough time for him to learn the Messiaen before October 1, especially as he has never conducted any Mahler before.<\/p>\n I\u2019m really sorry it\u2019s not going to work for this year, but all the other subscription dates have been filled. We could offer you the March repeat of our Lollipops program we\u2019re doing with our student conducting assistant in February because he\u2019s taking midterms that week, but I\u2019m afraid it only pays $500.<\/p>\n We all feel very bad about the mix up with dates, so we\u2019d like to offer you first choice of dates next season. \u00a0I\u2019ve attached a list of provisional dates at Tinnitus Hall. Please let me know your preferred date and an alternate- not that you\u2019ll need it! You\u2019ve earned first dibs!<\/p>\n All best<\/p>\n Elizabeth J Herzschmertz<\/p>\n Manager<\/p>\n Sinfonia Suburbia<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subect: RE RE RE RE RE RE Sinfonia Suburbia<\/strong><\/p>\n Hello Kenneth<\/p>\n Wow- I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s already January. Thank you for your message back in August confirming your availability for Sept 25 and March 1st next season. We\u2019re really excited to work with you. Can you hold Sept 25th for us, please? We don\u2019t want to wait any longer than absolutely necessary for you to work with our great musicians.<\/p>\n Just one thing- the board have decided on having a search season of music director candidates next year. It\u2019s just a formality, because so many of our musicians are so keen to work with you, but could you send an updated CV and a letter of interest so we can officially designate you an applicant for the position?<\/p>\n Elizabeth\u00a0 J Herzschmerz<\/p>\n Executive and Artistic Director<\/p>\n Sinfonia Suburia<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subject: MUSIC DIRECTOR APPLICATION INCOMPLETE<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Applicant<\/p>\n Thank you for your interest in the position of Music Director at the Sinfonia Suburbia. We are delighted at the level of interest in this position- to date we have received over 300 applications from all over the world.<\/p>\n Our records show your application is incomplete. Please review the application checklist below and submit the outstanding materials within 72 hours<\/p>\n Materials should be uploaded via ftps to the secure file transfer link at sinfoniasuburbia.org.<\/p>\n Please do not respond to this email or phone the office, as we cannot address individual applicant questions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Subject: Application Complete<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Applicant-<\/p>\n Thank you for your interest in Sinfonia Suburbia. Our search committee is now vetting applications and will choose the candidates who best meet the needs of the Sinfonia, it\u2019s audience, patrons and community<\/p>\n Please do not respond to this email.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Subject: RE September 25<\/strong><\/p>\n Hey Ken!<\/p>\n Thanks for your messages. I know you\u2019ve been holding September 25th for 9 months now- I\u2019m sorry it is taking so long to confirm the date.<\/p>\n I know you\u2019ve had other offers for that date, and I feel like I owe you an answer, but because of this whole “search” thing,\u00a0 I\u2019m not in a position to “officially” confirm, but I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t be a problem. I really hope you can hold the date just a little longer. September 25th is the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of West Suburbia, and we would like this to be a celebration concert featuring Mahler\u2019s Symphony of 1000.<\/p>\n If you can hold the date just a little longer, that would be great!<\/p>\n Thanks<\/p>\n Lib x<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subject: MUSIC DIRECTOR APPLICATION STATUS<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Mr Woods<\/p>\n The members of the committee are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as one of ten semi-finalists for the position of Music Director of Sinfonia Suburbia.<\/p>\n In order to assess your interest and qualifications further, the committee would like you to answer the following questions:<\/p>\n 1-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are your strengths and weaknesses?<\/p>\n 2-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How do you feel about using local soloists?<\/p>\n 3-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Would you be willing to relocate to West Suburbia?<\/p>\n 4-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How would you feel about Sinfonia Suburbia offering a season dedicated entirely to film scores?<\/p>\n Please upload your answers to our server by this Friday at 5 PM<\/p>\n Pending receipt of your answers, members of the search committee will be calling your references on Tuesday the 7th between 6 and 7 PM EST.<\/p>\n Applicants are advised that we are unable to respond to messages sent to this email address.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subject: Application complete<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Applicant<\/p>\n Your application for the position of Music Director is now complete. Your references will be called on Tuesday the 7th between 6 and 7 PM on the numbers you provided in your application. Please advise referees to be available during this time- it is not possible to reschedule reference calls.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Subject: Music Director Application Status<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Applicant<\/p>\n The Sinfonia Suburbia has narrowed its field of candidate for our music directorship from ten to five. Your application is no longer under consideration.\u00a0 The members of the committee have worked meticulously to identify the candidates who are best qualified to lead the Sinfonia going forward, and it was determined that you were not among the best qualified.<\/p>\n We are sorry, but because of the large number of applications, we are unable to provide feedback on the reasons for our decision. Please do not respond to this email or call the office.<\/p>\n Sinfonia Suburbia Search Committee<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Subject- Reference Calls<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Mr Wood<\/p>\n I received your email asking why your references were not called at the scheduled time on Tuesday the 7th. I\u2019m sorry it\u2019s taken over six months to write back.\u00a0 Apparently at the committee meeting the night before the calls were to be made, someone on the committee flagged up that you were based in the UK part of the year, and we felt that this meant you would not be a good fit for our orchestra.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sorry if any of your referees were inconvenienced. Please feel free to pass on our regrets to Mr Saltking for making him miss his son\u2019s little league tournament, and to Mr Haltink for driving into the office from home to wait for our call. It was very considerate of him to allow an extra two hours in case something had gone wrong.<\/p>\n Elizabeth J Herzschmertz MMc DPD LPDc<\/p>\n Senior Managing and Executive Artistic and Administrative Director<\/p>\n Sinfonia Suburbia<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Subject: Support a Super Season with the SS!<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Music Lover<\/p>\n 2011-12 is shaping up to be a real Super Season for the Sinfonia Suburbia under the baton of our new Music Director David Dazzle-Herzschmertz. David is just 23 years old and has just come back from a great summer studying at Aspen.\u00a0 This is going to be the best season ever for the SS- a Super Season! Support the SS today and get a a one year membership to Club SS, including a subscription to our Friends of the SS Newsletter.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see you in Tinnitus Hall on September 25th!<\/p>\n Donate today and show your love for the SS!<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n