[CAUT] University based regional seminars

[Paul T Williams]

Ed and Israel,

We at UNL are blessed with the perfect situation.  Our music building is 
directly across the street from a new Embassy Suites that loves to have 
conventions.  We have plenty of classrooms including a smaller recital 
hall within the building.  The hotel has large rooms for 
gatherings,dinners,booths, etc. As far as timing goes, we were thinking of 
having ours during Spring Break and have been asked to host for 2010.  The 
hardest part is getting the director of the school of music to respond to 
our request!  Once that is acheived, I don't forsee any problems, since 
staff is all still here for the most part during that week anyway and we 
can hire a building monitor for the evenings as the school does during 
regular semesters. Being a smaller region, we also won't be dealing with 
several hundred people...more like 100 at the most.

The selling point I am trying to get across to the director is that this 
would promote the university in a positive light, the pianos will come out 
in better shape and the downtown section here will get economic aid during 
a time that 25,000 students leave town. The airport is 10 minutes away and 
you can walk to the train depot! Are there any downsides to this?  we'll 
find out!  :>)

Paul





"Ed  Sutton" <ed440 at mindspring.com> 
Sent by: caut-bounces at ptg.org
10/15/2007 09:05 PM
Please respond to
Ed  Sutton <ed440 at mindspring.com>; Please respond to
College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>


To
"College and University Technicians" <caut at ptg.org>
cc

Subject
Re: [CAUT] University based regional seminars






Israel-

I understand the potential difficulties, especially in a large region like 

California.
I can't help hoping somebody is in the middle of a perfect situation in 
one 
of the smaller regions.
I'll bet the chances of getting your expenses paid are better if you say 
you're attending a
seminar at XYZ University!

Ed
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Israel Stein " <custos3 at comcast.net>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 9:15 PM
Subject: [CAUT] University based regional seminars


> On Monday, October 15, 2007 5:17:44 PM Ed Sutton wrote:
>
>>It seems that several of the regional seminars are having trouble making 

>>the
>>tradition "hotel-based" seminars pay their way.
>>A university based seminar, held perhaps on the week-end of Fall break 
>>might
>>be able to offer new ways to learn.  All those practice rooms could be 
>>used
>>for extended hands-on repair,regulation and tuning classes, maybe 
leaving
>>the school better off for the deal.
>>Ed Sutton
>
> It's a mixed bag, Ed. Several years ago I taught at a California State 
> convention organized by the Sacramento Valley chapter and held on the 
> campus of Sacramento State University. Peter Clark (with about 6 
> assistants) taught a three-day hands-on tuning seminar based in the 
music 
> building that took advantage of the availability of teaching studios and 

> practice room - and that was an unbelievable success. There were 
students 
> practicing tuning in practice rooms and going over what the learned deep 

> into the night...
>
> On the other hand, university staff and facilities are not geared to 
> hosting trade conventions - so, many classes were delayed, shifted to 
> different locations at the last moment and otherwise impacted because 
> facilities were double-booked, or staff was not available to deal with 
> unanticipated complications, or staff just wasn't there when they were 
> supposed to be in order to open rooms. Some students in my two-day class 

> missed sessions because of such circumstances.
>
> Walking from building to building between classes took up an awful lot 
of 
> time. And since there was no suitable housing on campus (who wants to go 

> to a convention and sleep in a dorm amidst 20-year olds with raging 
> hormones)  we stayed in several motels in the area - which meant that 
> there was no central area for post-class socializing and receptions.
>
> A campus might be a good venue for a specialized seminar aimed at a few 
> dozen people. Like the Peter Clark seminar as a stand-alone event. For 
an 
> entire convention - way too many downsides...
>
> I used to attend summer workshops at Amherst College in Massachusetts - 
> and they actively solicited conventions and seminars. Still, dealing 
with 
> the college staff and administration was always an ordeal. Hotels are 
> geared to deal with conventions and their staff is trained to deliver 
> service. Universities simply do not have the right mindset. I am afraid 
> that a convention with complex needs such as the PTG is simply beyond 
the 
> capabilities of most campuses.
>
> Israel Stein 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20071016/0ac8f44d/attachment.html