The Sedoctaves: Constitution
I. The name of this organization is The Sedoctaves. The group will go by the name, The Sedoctaves, at all times. The organization is not affiliated with any parent organization. The Sedoctaves can be contacted at thesedoctaves@gmail.com. The website for The Sedoctaves is www.thesedoctaves.com. II. The primary purpose of The Sedoctaves is to provide quality a cappella entertainment to students at the University of Florida and other music-lovers in the Gainesville area. Secondary objectives include participating in a cappella competitions and recording albums. The group represents the spirit and creativity of singers at UF and achieves its goals through the dedicated rehearsal and performance of original a cappella arrangements. III. Upon approval by the Center for Student Activities and Involvement, The Sedoctaves, shall be a registered student organization at the University of Florida. The Sedoctaves shall comply with all local, state and federal laws, as well as all University of Florida regulations, policies, and procedures. Such compliance includes but is not limited to the University’s regulations related to Non-Discrimination, Hazing, Commercial Activity, and Student Leader Eligibility. IV. In compliance with the University of Florida Non-Discrimination Policy (Regulation 6C1-1.006), The Sedoctaves will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations, and veteran status as protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act. V. Membership in this organization is open to enrolled students at the University of Florida. Non-students, spouses, faculty, and staff may be associate members; however, they may not vote or hold office. All members and associate members are free to leave and disassociate without fear of retribution, retaliation or harassment. VI. Officers The elected officers will consist of the Executive Board and the General Board. The members of the Executive Board will serve in office for two consecutive semesters. Since they are elected in November, at the end of the Fall semester, their term in office is from the beginning of the following Spring semester until the end of the following Fall semester. The members of the General Board will serve in office for one semester, they will be elected in September for the Fall semester again in November for the Spring semester.
A. Executive Board The Executive Board is expected to meet together at least once a week. The E-board is responsible for organizing rehearsals and events, and making sure that everyone in the group is notified of all rehearsals and events. The E-board’s purpose is to make sure the group’s semester goals are met. E-Board members are expected to serve their full terms as described in the elections portion below. President The president maintains contact between group members and primarily manages all group e-mail accounts. She regularly delegates to and checks in with the Executive and General Board members and assists the business manager with her duties. She also oversees all board meetings. Like the other board members, the president keeps a log of all projects, contacts, and resources to be filled at the end of the year. She also is responsible for updating the calendar on a regular basis in order for members to prepare for events, rehearsals, and due dates. She is in charge of The Sedoctaves’ booking account, with the assistance of the music director and the vice president, and is the primary liaison between with The Sedoctaves and outside clients and associates. Vice President/Treasurer The vice president performs the president’s duties if she is unable to fulfill them. The president may also delegate certain responsibilities to the VP as needed. She takes attendance at all rehearsals and performances, keeps track of tardies and enforces the attendance policy. She is responsible for keeping a performance log and a solo/understudy log of The Sedoctaves’ current set list. Like all board members, the VP keeps a log of all projects, contacts and resources to be filed at the end of the year. She assists the executive board with organizing all files at the school year’s end. The vice president also acts as the group’s treasurer. She is in charge of managing the group’s money and the group’s expenditures. The executive board will compose a budget each semester, and the VP is responsible for making sure that the group stays within the budget. She must see that all debts are paid off and keep a log of all the money collected throughout the semester, such as dues, donations and payments from performances. She will inform the rest of the executive board of all money deposits and withdrawals at executive board meetings. Music Director The music director runs rehearsals and makes announcements regarding the group’s repertoire. She also oversees the duties of assistant music director and dance captain, elects section leaders and/or piece arrangers to teach parts as needed and chooses parts. She is the primary arranger of music and is available to help others who show an interest in arranging. The music director has the final say on all song selection and, if necessary, decides who may/may not perform music based on musicality. She also works with the president and VP on all business matters and performance opportunities. Like the other board members, the music director keeps a log of all projects, contacts, and resources to be filed at the end of the year. She assists the executive board with organizing all files at the school year’s end. B. General Board All general board members will be required to meet with the executive board once per month (subject to change).
General Board meetings will be on Thursdays from 6:30-7 pm on the first Thursday of the month in the Music Building.
They are expected to bring ideas, regarding their positions, that will benefit the group and to enact the processes necessary to meet the goals of their positions. They are expected to be active in the group’s progress and to act out responsibilities given to them by the executive board. They are not expected to vote on all decisions, but more so to observe and learn. They will be asked to vote certain matters. General board members are expected to serve their full terms, as described in the elections portion below.
Business Manager The business manager is responsible for booking performances but must discuss all performance opportunities with the E-Board before pursuing booking. She acts as a liaison between the president/music director and performance contacts. She also works with the music director in determining the necessary technical equipment for performances and is responsible for securing said equipment. She is punctual in her responses to potential performance contacts. In addition, the business manager works with the Web editor/advertising chairperson on publicizing performances and auditions. Like the other board members, the business manager keeps a log of all projects, contacts, and resources to be filed at the end of the year. Web Editor The Web editor maintains the group Web site, www.thesedoctaves.com. She works with the executive board members and the business manager to create fliers and/or Facebook/Myspace events and generate attention for performances and auditions. The Web editor should have artistic skill and knowledge of computers, but it is not necessary. She must communicate with the E-board before she updates the sites. She is responsible for filing passwords and other important online information. Social Chair The social chair plans social events exclusively for the group and for the public. She creates e-mail and/or Facebook announcements regarding events and forwards them to the president for distribution. She is also responsible for planning group retreats. She must discuss these retreats with the executive board before making any announcements to group members to ensure that there are not any future performance opportunities, etc. conflicting with her event. The social chair may assist the business manager with bookings at the discretion of the executive board. Like the other board members, the social chair keeps a log of all projects, contacts, and resources to be filed at the end of the year. Historian The historian is responsible for updating The Sedoctaves’ scrap book and filing all important paper documents as well as pictures. She must make sure that a group picture is taken at the beginning of every year and that certificates, ticket stubs, brochures, flyers and other paper materials are all saved. She will also work with the Web editor to make sure that all materials are uniform. Dance Captain
The dance captain is responsible for helping the music director with movement and standing arrangements for performances. She will work in tandem with the music director and is given responsibilities to be completed by a due date.
Assistant Music Director The assistant music director is the only G-board member who is NOT elected by the entire group. All Sedoctaves interested in the position of AMD will submit applications, following the same deadlines as G-board members. She will be APPOINTED by the music director during the music director's second semester as MD (Fall semester.) She must be a freshman, sophomore, or junior planning to return to the group the following year. All of her responsibilities are assigned at the discretion of the music director. Her duties may include assisting the music director with arranging, leading certain rehearsals and performances, and guiding sections. She must also be able to read sheet music and play the piano. She is welcome to attend and observe certain executive board meetings and responsibilities (up to the discretion of the E-board).
The assistant music director will be up for evaluation after her term as assistant music director is complete, and she will be inducted as the music director the following spring semster.
C. Resignation or Removal If the president leaves the group due to resignation, removal, or another reason, the vice president will assume the responsibilities of the president. If the music director or vice president leaves the group due to resignation, removal, or another reason, the remaining executive board is responsible for holding elections to elect the missing member of the Executive Board as soon as possible. There should be three executive board members at all times during a semester. If a member of the General Board leaves the group due to resignation, removal, or another reason, the executive board is responsible for holding elections to elect the missing member of the general board. If the general board is missing members, it can temporarily function. The responsibilities of the missing member may be temporarily assigned to another member. The Executive Board should hold elections as soon as possible to elect the missing member of the general board. Resignation-Any member that willingly resigns from office must give at least two weeks notice to the E-board. Removal-Any board member can be removed from office by the following method. In order to have a board member removed from office before the end of the term, a written petition must be submitted and signed by at least one-third of the group’s active members to a member of the E-board. The board member in question must then be notified, and must prepare to verbally respond to the written request at the next meeting. The board member in question then has the opportunity to make changes and improve according to the written requests of the other members, within a time period of three weeks. If the board member has not improved in that set time period, then the board member in question may be subject to removal. Removal of a board member requires a two-thirds majority vote in favor of the board members removal. D. Elections All members are eligible to run for General Board office. Members who have been in the group for one year or more are eligible to run for Executive Board office. All Sedoctaves interested in running for a board member position MUST supply a sheet outlining their qualifications via e-mail to the Sedoctaves e-mail account before elections and give a short speech summarizing said qualifications to group members at the election. A majority vote by secret paper ballot/e-mail ballot will determine the newly elected board members. The Executive Board members are elected by the whole group and remain in office for two consecutive semesters. Elections for president and vice president positions will be held at the end of fall semester in November; newly elected members will hold office during the subsequent spring and fall semesters. The previous Executive Board members will make themselves available to assist the new president and vice president.
The assistant music director who has been training under the music director for the Fall semester will be evaluated by the group, and provided the group is happy with her actions, she will be inducted as MD for the following spring and fall semesters.
The General Board members are elected at the beginning of Fall semester in September, and at the end of the Fall semester in November for the Spring semester. At re-elections, previous board members may re-run for any position. Assistant Music Director will be elected at the end of Fall Semester in November along with re-elections, but will not necessarily be the Music Director for the following Fall.
**All E-board and G-board members can re-run for a position after they have fufilled their term. However the maximum terms any E-board member can serve is 2 terms.**
VIII. Faculty Advisor The faculty advisor shall serve as a resource person and provide advisory support for the officers and members of the organization. The executive board should communicate with the faculty advisor on a regular basis, and make an effort to keep the faculty advisor involved in the group’s events and performances. If the faculty advisor can no longer fulfill his or her responsibilities, then the executive board must have a meeting to elect another faculty advisor. The faculty advisor must work in the school of music at the University of Florida. The executive board will vote on the faculty advisor as soon as possible, two of the three executive board members must be in agreement. Current faculty advisor is Brenda Smith. IX. Finances All members will pay dues according to the group’s needs for a given year or semester. Dues will be determined by the executive board at the start of their executive term, but put into practice at the beginning of the Fall-Spring school year. The maximum dues per semester will be $25. Members may also be expected to pay for certain things out of pocket, such as T-shirts, CDs, registration for competitions, etc. The Sedoctaves will accept payment for certain performances, these costs may be allotted to pay for any competitive events the group plans throughout the semester, such as traveling costs, registration costs, etc. The money may also be allotted to paying for any projects the group may plan throughout the semester, such as recording a CD, making T-shirts, etc. All finances and bank accounts are to be handled jointly by the president and vice president. One or both names may appear on the account. All money collection and expenditures should be approved by the entire executive board. X. Dissolution of Organization In the event this organization dissolves, all monies left in the treasury, after outstanding debts and claims have been paid, shall be donated to a charity chosen by the executive board at the start of their executive term. XI. Amendments to the Constitution The constitution may be amended at any point during the school year. The amendments must be approved by a two-thirds vote by the entire group, at any meeting, as long as the amendment was proposed at the prior meeting. All amendments are subject to approval by the Center for Student Activities and Involvement. XII. Attendance Policy A. Absences – Rehearsals Members of The Sedoctaves are expected to attend all rehearsals. The purpose of new member rehearsals is to teach new members old repertoire; they will be held at the discretion of the music director. Only new members and the music director are required to attend, but, the MD may require old members that have musicality issues to attend these meetings as well. All members must attend all other rehearsals. The rehearsal schedule is as follows Sundays New members 6:00pm – 7:00pm All members 7:00pm – 9:00pm Thursdays All members 7:00pm – 9:00pm If a member is unable to attend, her absence will be deemed either excused or unexcused. Both excused and unexcused absences must be reported to the vice president at least one week prior to the practice to be missed. Absences for academic or religious reasons should be turned in to the Vice President at the start of every semester (or upon receiving academic and UF calendars). Absences are excused for the following reasons: Academics – exam reviews and exams Serious illness – illness has caused you to miss class or see a doctor, you are highly contagious, or it is painful/impossible to sing Family emergencies Religious holidays – as documented on the UF calendar Medical appointments – at least two weeks notice must be given Meetings – only emergency, mandatory meetings for other extracurricular groups as recognized by UF Proof for excused absences must be provided. Absences of any other kind are unexcused. If a member feels her unexcused absence should be excused for a reason not listed above, the executive board will deliberate and make a final decision regarding said absence. Each member is allowed 3 unexcused absences. If a member has 3 unexcused absences, the member will become inactive. If a member has an unexcused absence before a performance, she will not be able to perform, at the discretion of the executive board. After two unexcused absences, a warning email will be sent to the member. After three unexcused absences, the offending member will become inactive for the semester. Membership will resume the following semester (after a meeting with the executive board and a re-audition process) and the offending member will be responsible for making up missed material. If the third unexcused absence occurs at the very end of the semester, the executive board will determine whether or not the offending member will because inactive the following semester. Any more than 5 excused absences will result in the offending member becoming inactive for the rest of the semester. All members are responsible to stay up-to-date if they miss a rehearsal. They must call the Music Director to find out the happenings of the missed rehearsal before the next meeting. B. Absences – Performances All rules for rehearsal absences apply to performance absences. If any group member missed a performance for any reason not listed about without giving the executive board at least one week’s notice, a consequence will be determined by the executive board based on the circumstances surrounding the absence. C. Tardies – Rehearsals All members are allowed a five-minute grace period for arriving late. Do not take advantage of this grace period because if a member is consistently late, they will have to meet with the executive board to determine a reasonable consequence or give a reasonable explanation. If the group is waiting on one member for more than five minutes, the group will stay after practice until those minutes have been redeemed. All members will be required to attend longer rehearsals. Three tardies of 15 minutes or more past the time rehearsal is set to start is equivalent to one unexcused absence. If you must attend meetings for another extracurricular group that cause you to regularly miss twenty or more minutes of rehearsal, you will not be able to remain a member of The Sedoctaves. If you will be late for a rehearsal, you must let the Vice President know at least twenty-four hours in advance. There are no excused and unexcused tardies. All minutes resulting from all tardies will be added to the end of rehearsal. Please do not be late to rehearsal. D. Tardies – Performances All members must arrive at least thirty minutes before the performance time unless specified otherwise. If a member is fifteen or more minutes late, she will be unable to sing at an upcoming performance or will have her solo taken away. Members who are consistently tardy, must meet with the executive board to determine consequences. If several girls are tardy for performances and rehearsal, the executive board will add a specific amount of time to rehearsal the follow week, or an extra rehearsal day within the next two weeks. XIII. Solos A. Solo Policy Each member is allowed two solos per semester. Solos are determined by audition (see Solo Auditions below). The number of group members may exceed the number of available solos, so it is possible not all members will have a solo at any given time. When coming into a new fall semester, previous members may choose to keep or discard their solos. When a member discards a solo, they must notify the E-board before the beginning of each semester. B. Solo Auditions All group members are encouraged to try out for solos. Solo auditions typically occur during regular rehearsal times and will be announced either at the previous rehearsal or via e-mail. At solo auditions, interested group members will be given random bars of the solo music to perform, but every audtionee will perform the same bars. Solo auditions will take place once all group members have learned the background vocals to a song or at the discretion of the Music Director. Solo auditionees may have to sing with a small group or a cappella. All group members, including those who auditioned for the solo, vote on a final soloist by secret paper ballot. An executive board member will count the votes and the two Sedoctaves with the highest votes will re-audition for soloist and understudy. This re-audition may include more of the solo or different parts of the solo. If a member with two solos chooses to audition for another solo, she is only eligible for the role of understudy. If you miss a rehearsal where auditions are held, that is your loss. No special treatment. C. Understudies Because not all members can make every performance, all soloists will have understudies. The singer with the second highest amount of votes in a solo audition will be the solos understudy. Group members who already have solos may also be understudies. If both the understudy and the soloist are absent but the song must be sung, members of the E-board will choose someone to sing the solo. D. Senior Solos Senior solos will be implemented SPRING semester of the seniors’ last year. The music director will only be responsible for arranging songs for any seniors who do not have solos, and those seniors must tell the music director which song she wants before evaluation time on Fall Semester (Nov/Dec; dates will be established throughout the year.) If any other senior wishes to have a senior solo, she may certainly choose a song and get it approved by the music director, but the music director is NOT responsible for arranging the song. She must either arrange the song herself, or have someone else arrange the song. She may certainly ask the MD if she will arrange the piece, but it is not part of the music director's responsibilities. (This is due to the possibility of the MD being overwhelmed with too many senior solos.) If the senior in question has 2 solos already, she must give up one in place of the senior solo, but if she has only 1 solo, she may simply add the senior solo as her second solo. The arrangement must be completed by the beginning of the spring semester.
XIV. Auditions
A. New Member Auditions The president and MD attend the first round of auditions to screen the large number of auditionees and determine who will be called back (vice president and assistant music director on invite only). All group members attend callback auditions. Potential new members are determined by a majority group vote after a group discussion. The executive board has the final say on which auditionees become members. All group members are responsible for hanging fliers/spreading the word to publicize auditions. Tabling will be assigned at the discretion of the executive board. B. Evaluations
All members of The Sedoctaves are required to have an evaluation with all 3 members of the E-board at the end of each semester. Members may be asked to sing parts of songs and will discuss their attendance, attitude and commitment to the group over the past semester. Members will be given the chance to evaluate the E-board during these evaluations. This will take place at the end of every semester (December/April).
C. Reauditions - Inactive members All inactive members must audition again the following semester during New Member auditions. This prevents members from being expected to know all the material from their missed semester.
XV. Repertoire The Sedoctaves’ repertoire is determined by the music director. Prior to the new school year or semester, the music director will compile a list of songs. All Sedoctaves may submit ideas for songs for the next semester via email. Group members will be designated Soprano or Alto and placed in sections accordingly. Two members will learn vocal percussion for all songs. If no members volunteer for vocal percussion, they will be selected by the music director. XVI. Tricks of the Sedoctave Trade E-mail Policy
Fun Clause The Sedoctaves cannot function without professionalism and hard work, but they also cannot function without everyone having a great time. Yes, our primary objective is to fulfill the mission statement, but you are in The Sedoctaves because you love to sing, so don’t forget it! If at any point you feel overwhelmed with the music, the schedule, or any group policies in general, please do not hesitate to speak with an executive board member or e-mail your comments to the Snaps/Craps e-mail Account. Snaps/Craps E-mail Account The Snaps/Craps E-mail Account exists to maintain the Fun Clause. If you want to congratulate another member on a job well done, knock a fellow Sedoc for missing too many rehearsals, let the board know how you feel about the solo policy, et al, just type up a comment and submit it to the Sedoctave e-mail account. Your comments can be signed or anonymous. The executive board will read and address every question and concern that is sent. We appreciate honesty, but please be respectful in your comments.
MySpace/Facebook Group/Twitter Invite all of your friends to be in The Sedoctaves Facebook group. Also, direct your friends to the MySpace page (www.myspace.com/thesedoctaves) so they can add us. Always invite all of your Facebook friends to our concerts and performance events.
Any girl can update the Twitter at any time, as long as no profanity or inappropriate/rude comments about any member of the group or of other groups (or people) are posted.
Socials and New Member Retreat
All members should attend socials. They are designed to be fun and give everyone a break from the rigor of rehearsals. Additionally, all members are required to attend the new member retreat at the start of the fall semester as well as an addition social per semester. Misc. Utilize Finale Notepad. This is a great a cappella tool used to learn and arrange music. It’s totally free to download at www.finalemusic.com, and you can isolate your part to help with memorization. It’s also good for soloists to practice with background vocals outside of rehearsal.
*The Executive Board may choose to amend these clauses throughout the course of the semester. *If any girls have suggestions, e-mail them to www.thesedoctaves.gmail.com. |
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Constitution |