At the DM in Chur: René Roshardt bids farewell to the EOV Board after 21 years
EOV Treasurer René Roshardt stepped down at the AGM in Chur in June after 21 years in office and was made an honorary member for his many years of substantial commitment. Joel Mähne was newly elected to the Board. The delegates unanimously approved all items on the agenda.
The Swiss Federal Orchestra Association can look back on an extremely successful Assembly of Delegates on June 8 in Chur with more than 100 participants. In attendance were 81 delegates from 52 orchestras, honorary members, the EOV Board and a dozen guests from partner associations, a representative of the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) and members of the host orchestra Chur. Official apologies were received from 38 orchestras.
After a beautiful musical prelude by the Chur Orchestra under the direction of Hugo Bollschweiler and lunch together, the statutory business was discussed. The minutes of the 2023 AGM in Sarnen, the President's 2023 annual report, the 2023 annual accounts and the budget for 2024 were unanimously approved by the delegates.
Last year, the EOV Board initiated new network meetings for youth orchestra boards and has already held two very successful events in Bern and Zurich. Soon there will also be meetings for all EOV orchestra boards. Another
The focus was also on expanding the range of partner courses: two new providers of high-quality orchestra and chamber music courses were acquired as partners. Members of EOV orchestras can take part in these courses at a reduced rate.
The membership fees and the flat-rate fees for the Schweizer Musikzeitung (SMZ) remain unchanged, while the SUISA fees were increased slightly to compensate for inflation.
Network meeting for board members and evaluation of library use
President Johannes Reinhard explained the focal points of the association's work in the current 2024 financial year, including an evaluation of the
use of the music library in order to subsequently position the offer in the digital age, the continuation of the above-mentioned network meetings for board members and the support of the orchestras in implementing the new data protection law in their own association (see below). In addition, contacts with the grassroots are to be further intensified, networking between orchestras and cooperation with other Swiss music associations (particularly with regard to the joint media presence) expanded.
The tribute and farewell to EOV Treasurer René Roshardt, who left the EOV Board after 21 years in office, took up a lot of space.
René is leaving. René has had a decisive influence on the last two EOV decades and was made an honorary member for his substantial commitment to the association. "It would go beyond the scope of this article to list all his achievements," said Vice President Bernadette Wiederkehr in her laudatory speech. "René was a prudent treasurer who took his work very seriously and managed the association's assets carefully." He was also the main person responsible for the performance agreements with the BAK and managed numerous special projects, such as the trip of an EOV project orchestra to the EOFed Festival in Tallinn (Estonia) in 2012. René received a photo book, lovingly designed by Bernadette, in which numerous EOV companions share anecdotes in words and pictures about their collaboration with René.
Niccolà Schaub new in the finance department
Niccolà Schaub, who was previously responsible for digital matters such as the website and newsletter on the EOV Board, will take over the vacant Finance department. Joel Mähne, born in 1998 and resident in Bern, was elected unanimously and with applause as a new member of the Board for digital communication. We look forward to working with Joel, who studied theater studies and business administration and is also president of the orchestra giovane project orchestra. All previous Board members and Johannes Reinhard as President were unanimously confirmed in office.
The afternoon program continued with the workshop on data protection in the association and the parallel guided tour of Chur. The successful Graubünden delegates' meeting ended with a cozy aperitif offered by the EOV and informal discussions in the KostBar restaurant.
The next Assembly of Delegates will take place in Solothurn, probably on April 26, 2025, and will be hosted by the Solothurn City Orchestra in collaboration with the Solothurn Regional Youth Symphony Orchestra (RJSO). More detailed information will follow after the summer vacation.
Privacy policy: New services now available on EOV website
The experienced lawyer and data protection specialist Klaus Krohmann has In a workshop tailored to the EOV, the participants were informed about the new Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA), which came into force on September 1, 2023, and explained what precautions orchestral associations must take to ensure data security and the rights of their members in accordance with the new law. It also showed how orchestral associations can draw up their own privacy policy step by step.
All member orchestras can now download Krohmann's presentation with the most important key words on the DPA and revised sample statutes, which take into account the requirements of the new Data Protection Act, as well as a sample data protection declaration from the EOV website. Our association lawyer Lena Ruoss will be happy to provide further information.
