Hugh’s Room Live is grateful for your support
One Year In! On the strength of community support and the formation of a not for profit board of directors, Hugh’s Room Live re-launched on April 22 last year. Over 500 people donated more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to cover our start up costs, and since the doors re-opened we have presented 192 shows!
Across the year we have partnered with many including: The City of Toronto, JAZZ.FM91, Alliance Francaise, Lula Arts and Music, Small World Music, Koerner Hall, Massey Hall, Folk Music Ontario, WAVEfm, Toronto Blues Society, Bureau de Quebec a Toronto, Jazz Performance and Educators, Ashkenaz, Humber College, Batuki Music Society, Song Studio, Michael Wrycraft, Richard Flohil, Ross Robinson, Pages Unbound and many agents, managers and artists.
Thank you for supporting live music!
Join us on April 28th to help celebrate our One Year In!
Brian Iler, Chair of our Board says,
“One year in. A lot to celebrate. Starting with the immense support we’ve received from the hundreds of musicians who have enriched our lives with their talent. We celebrate, too, the wonderful team who book and promote our concerts, our staff who do such a great job welcoming and nourishing us, and the host of dedicated and devoted volunteers on our board of directors and committees. Most importantly, we would not be here without the support of our community – those who, in the very early days, chose to donate the money we needed to open, and those who choose to spend their evenings with us.”
Our heartfelt thanks goes out to our donors and supporters. We see this support as a strong and gratifying signal that we are in sync with the community. We all want to see this unique listening room remain vibrant and alive in our city. For those who are just hearing about the club’s struggle, here’s a bit of background
HUGH’S ROOM LIVE TURNS CORNER, VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
10-26-2017
We want to share some very good news with you.
At our Board of Directors meeting last night, our treasurer, Brian Litvin, presented financial statements for Hugh’s Room Live operations to the end of September. They revealed that, with all the ups and downs since we embarked upon this project last January, we are almost precisely where we forecast we would be last February.
We were all delighted.
November should be our first month in the black!
Starting up a brand-new non-profit organization, building on the successes of the prior 15 years, isn’t easy. But the early support of over 600 of you, donating almost $150,000 when our success was by no means assured, made that possible. In addition, the Board of Directors, all volunteers, met weekly during the early months, provided the leadership the project required.
Incorporated as a non-charitable non-profit organization, we are establishing a second, charitable, organization which will assume responsibility for the live music, with the existing organization responsible for the property and the food and beverage operation.
Our Music Programmer, Derek Andrews, has done a marvellous job of booking great artists. Have a look at the upcoming schedule here. Our success is dependent upon your coming out for our shows, and telling your friends.
We’re pretty much finished with start-up challenges.
Our challenge now is to transform Hugh’s Room Live into a permanent community asset that develops, encourages and supports live music, and musicians, in our City.
We are looking for volunteers to join several advisory committees to help us meet that challenge.
If you have skills and/or experience that you think would be helpful to one of our committees, please send me a note at biler@ilercampbell.com.
The Board will appoint committee members from amongst those interested. Each committee will include at least one Board member.
Here are the advisory committees:
- Responsible for reviewing and reporting to the Board on the financial performance of Hugh’s Room Live, refining our Business Plan and developing financial projections. Board member and Treasurer Brian Litvin will chair this committee.
- Music Programming. Responsible for advising the Music Programmer and the Board on all aspects of our music programming. In conjunction with the Communications and Marketing committee, developing new programs and outreach in support of the communities Hugh’s Room Live serves. Board members Jennifer Collins and Grit Laskin co‑chair this committee.
- Communications and Marketing: Responsible for advising the Board and our communications and marketing staff on how to more effectively reach our audiences, and, with the Music Programming Committee, developing new programs and outreach in support of the communities Hugh’s Room Live serves. Board member Barbara Jesson will chair this committee.
- Property and Food and Beverage: Responsible for advising the Board and management on all aspects of our food and beverage operation, and the management of our physical space. We rely heavily on our food and beverage sales for our financial viability. Board Members Howard Gladstone and Rob Young will co‑chair this committee.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Brian Iler, Chair, on behalf of the Board of Directors
