Frequently Asked Questions

We've spoken to several people at length about our plans for Canticum Novum. There seems to be consistency in the questions they raise and the direction of discussion. Here are some of their oft-asked questions and our answers.

“There are a lot of classical music groups in Santa Fe . Is there really a need for another?”

It's true, there are a lot! We've both performed with many of these groups and heard nearly all of them in concert. But there's a niche in Santa Fe (a great niche) that is NOT filled: a professional group that specializes in choral-orchestral music. We see Canticum Novum's niche primarily as performing masses, requiems, motets, passions, oratorios, cantatas and even opera choruses, all of which are set for chorus and orchestra. There's not a group in Santa Fe that offers this exciting fare other than on an occasional basis.

Secondly, our niche will be chamber orchestral works and a cappella choral works. While there are other groups that perform this music, we're convinced that our original and innovative programming will not “duplicate existing services.

“Is there anything else that will further set you apart from existing groups?”

Most definitely. We have three concepts that are unique to Canticum Novum.

First is our Young Artists Program. In the early days we engaged many young instrumentalists. We did this for an obvious reason: they were fine and dedicated musicians, and we could pay them less than an adult! They often played second chair next to their teachers, guaranteeing their preparation. As we worked with these fine young people, we realized what an asset they were to the community and to any musical group. They and their parents had worked and sacrificed greatly to provide them a superb musical education. We were lucky to have them for their last year or two of high school. Canticum Novum will assist these young people by giving them a chance to experience a professional setting during rehearsal and performance. In their future careers they will be held to very exacting standards of preparation, musicality, technique and style. Any head-start we give them will be to their distinct advantage.
These young musicians will be integral to our organization, whether as instrumentalists, soloists, choristers or conductors. This demonstration of young, local talent will be an exciting feature of Canticum Novum.

Second, we're very impressed with the variety and depth of local musical talent. Santa Fe seems to be a magnet for creative people. The presence of the Santa Fe Opera, the Chamber Music Festival, the Desert Chorale, Pro Musica and MANY other fine organizations --all in a small town setting-- supports this constant migration. Yet many Santa Fe professional music groups import much of their talent. This ensures the best names and resumes, but has two serious drawbacks: it is very costly, but more importantly, it inhibits support and development of local talent. Furthermore, these people have no long-term connection to Santa Fe , which diminishes the artistic “capital” within our community.
Canticum Novum is dedicated to promoting local talent. Not that we won't import people now and again to meet the public's musical expectations, but our programming will be driven by the particular and rich talents of our community.

The third unique aspect is to give something back to our community other than music. For instance, the Santuario is in need of physical upgrades: seating, lighting and restrooms, to name a few. It is our intention to assist the Santuario (and others), as we are able, in making improvements through fundraising efforts of Canticum Novum.

“The professional organization you envision is going to have to raise money beyond just selling tickets. What are your plans?”

Our primary fundraising initiative is what we call 10@$1,000 . We're looking for 10 sustaining donors of $1,000 each for a total of $10,000. By sustaining we mean that if there's a $2,000 loss on the first concert, each will contribute another $200 to bring our bank account back to $10,000. These sustaining pledges will let us plan our first season in its entirety. This will allow us to attract a top concertmaster, instrumentalists, soloists and choristers, as well as contract for hall and music rental and the like. Having finances in place for the whole first season gives us the ability to offer local musicians attractive long-term contracts.
Another feature of Canticum Novum is what we call event-based management. Many professional music groups are started and operated by artistic people, sorely lacking in financial and management skills. They hire a full-time manager and staff, rent office space, and pay rent and utilities. We find much of this overhead unnecessary for an arts group that only gives several concerts a year. John has operated a successful building trades company in Santa Fe for 25 years and assures you that Canticum Novum will be operated according to sound business principles with financial conservatism paramount.

“Still, there's lots of competition for arts dollars and you're going to be the new kid on the block. Just how do you plan to attract the large audiences you'll need to avoid substantial deficits?”

Excellent question-and one to which we've given a lot of thought!

The simple answer would be to purchase a lot of print and media advertising for the concerts. But this just isn't good business. Our plan for “jump-starting” Canticum Novum is three-fold:

First is “star-power.” We're currently negotiating with a well-known artist to play a Mozart piano concerto for our first concert. He's a great performer, has local contacts and name-recognition, and knows what our budget is and will, hopefully, base his fee accordingly. Presenting well-known artists is a sure way to dramatically increase ticket sales, and is especially effective if it can be done in conjunction with a benefit, such as for the Santuario as mentioned above.

Secondly, we're going to sell this organization to influential people: newspaper and media editors, important local performers, producers, teachers and conductors, and assorted cognoscenti. There's always a lot of excitement generated when a new organization is started, and people want to be associated with it if it's special and important.

Thirdly we intend to use the Internet. There is no better or more efficient way to promote an arts organization than on the Internet. We've recently contracted with a national Internet service that will help us with concert promotion. They keep and manage email lists as well as sending email to prospective ticket buyers and contributors. They also analyze each mailing to determine its effectiveness. The cost per recipient per mailing is just pennies and we'll be targeting only receptive individuals. Please be assured this is not “spam.” We'll collect names from local musicians, organizations and concertgoers. Each time an email is sent recipients will clearly be able to “opt-out” of future correspondence. The cost for this service is $1,200 for 24,000 emails. If we do more, the cost per message goes down.

Once our website is complete (July 2004), concert announcements can be emailed 30, 15, 5 and even 1 day before the event. The email will link back to our website where potential ticket buyers can review the program, read critical and historical information, see photos of artists and rehearsal, even hear an audio link to preview the music of the concert! They can conveniently purchase tickets on-line. Another nice feature of this website is to be able to offer special, last minute price discounts for unsold tickets. The key to making email work for us is to develop a large list of regular concertgoers-and believe us, we're hard at it! You and your friends can help by forwarding email lists to us of music-loving friends.


“OK, guys, I'm interested in helping out. What's next?”

We'd like to meet with you. We've been hosting small gatherings at our homes with potential sustaining donors and others. Please call John at work at 471-4221 or toll free at 1-800-658-5939 and we'll set a mutually convenient time. You can meet us and ask all the questions you want.

Thank you for your interest in Canticum Novum.