Unsplash

Wow... the flurry and the culmination of all that planning and lead up to our second concert in the series is all over. Guests have returned back interstate and all that remains is to tidy up the loose ends of administration and finances. We had a turn out that was about 4 times what we expected, and so we actually made a good deal of money that will give us a nice buffer for the rest of the year.... and we got nice photos, and decent review, and also great feedback from the audience. So, everything went better than expected in all respects!

Honestly, I'm a bit blown away by the level of support that we have had... given that we are less than a year old! But we are definitely landing on our feet, and that makes me quite hopeful that we can find firmer footing in the years to come.

But now that that project is done, I'm playing for other ensembles again... but I have to already start planning ahead for the next two concerts. One is a smaller project that is nearer in time, I have a month to get everything settled for that... just programming, rehearsing and that is all. All the other stuff is handled by the organisation that is hosting us, so that is a big relief!

However, the next main concert in the series is only a couple of months away... and I have to start getting my arse in gear for that. Settling programming, getting ticketing and marketing under way... rehearsal scheduling, travel and accommodation planning... yes, all the fun stuff again. At least I have learnt a lot over these last two concerts... and I have a good chunk of the infrastructure in place now so that I don't have to start from scratch!

... and then, I have to already start plans for 2024! We have been asked to join a collaboration with another group, and they will hire us to play with them. They are about 8 years down the track, and have better funding and support than us... and our two areas of specialisation complement each other, so that is quite fortunate!

There are festivals to write to, we have some interest from two of them already... and then I plan to have a similar series of 4 main concerts, but augmented with a schools programme, and a larger community style concert as well. Its ambitious, but this is what I'm going to pitch to the arts funding body... and if it doesn't work, then we will muddle through anyway! As with this year, I will plan it so that we don't need the extra funding, but if it comes through... then it is a great bonus that allows us a bit of buffer space and flexibility!

... and that leads to the things that are more pressing. The grant writing and our upcoming restructure to a company of some sort... well, that is more difficult. The grant writing should be pretty straightforward... but the restructure is a bit more difficult, but as I'm scanning through the process... well, it doesn't seem to difficult, but it is all worded in that usual legalese opaque sort of way!

So, that will be my coming month and a bit... seeking letters of support and interest from a wide array of musicians and organisations. I'm still a bit overwhelmed by our early unexpected success... and I'm still a bit daunted by the task of setting it up all up, but I think that I've got this... or at the very least, I'm going to give it a real shot as I do think that we can be a decent addition to the local music and arts scene here!

... but part of me also wishes that I could just leave this all alone and just play music... but if I can manage to get this up and running, well... that will be a bigger impact than what I could just do on my own.

I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x

Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
WooX: The centralised version of WooFi. Stake WOO for fee-free trades and free withdrawals!
GMX.io: Decentralised perpetual futures trading on Arbitrum!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.