When Angela Crocker applied for the executive director job of Coquitlam's award-winning Coastal Sound Music Academy, she made three things clear.
First, unlike some other candidates, she lives in the community; second, she knows the organization; and, third, she has the unique ability to work both sides of the brain. "My strengths are unusual as I'm an arts administrator who takes part in the arts scene," she said. "I'm highly analytical as well as creative."
The mix proved right as, this month, Crocker filled the top post that was held - albeit for a short time - by Robyn Stewart, who replaced Dan Mattinson last year.
Crocker sees her new role as a perfect fit, combining her talents as a marketer and digital guru with her and the group's ambitions.
Crocker, who has a bachelor's of arts in communications from SFU, first learned about CSMA in 2002 while she was a Port Moody resident and working at the Playhouse Theatre Company in Vancouver. A life-long chorister who yearned for a creative community outlet, she called up CSMA to see if they had an adult choir section and soon joined as a second soprano.
Since then, she has volunteered with the 23-year-old organization in marketing, strategic planning and fundraising capacities and has been on a board of directors. In the last two years, she said, Crocker has built a plan for its social media presence and intends to do more, especially with videos, blogs and podcasts on sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Her work in marketing and social media is well known in the literary and performing arts worlds: last year, Penguin Books USA published her first book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Social Network; Douglas College also employs her for two seminars in its self-employment program "so I have had this reputation in the community that has nothing to do with Coastal Sound," she said, "and that's a good thing, too."
Crocker also plans to use her promotional and advocacy skills where donors are involved. Currently, 60% of CSMA's budget of $250,000 comes from corporate and individual contributions as well as from grants "and I want to build on that support and deepen our relationships," she said, adding, "I'm clear when we ask for money how much the participants benefit [through bursaries] because if you reduce the financial burden for the family to have a child participate, it lessens the stress and the child prospers and, as a result, the performances get better."
But as she aims to bring a higher profile to the non-profit organization, Crocker also wants to increase the number of choristers with the help of her artistic team, namely, Carrie Tennant and Diana Clark. For example, the Sources choir (for boys and girls, aged four and five) could see another 36 members while the adult choir could add two dozen more, she said.
Clark sees good things with Crocker in charge of CSMA, telling The Tri-City News in an email: "She brings a whole new freshness to Coastal Sound and a whole area of expertise in social media and donor stewardship that is so critical now for arts groups."
CSMA is accepting participants for its mid-season intake. Candidates can drop into any choir this month. To view dates and times for rehearsals, visit CSMA online at coastalsoundmusic.com/join-a-choir/.
A children's choir workshop and Day of the Arts is on Pro-D Day, Friday, Feb. 17, at the Evergreen Cultural Centre. The session, led by composer/conductor/educator Brian Tate, is open to students in Grades 3 to 8 and runs from 9:20 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a concert at 7:30 p.m.
To register at $40 per child, visit www.coastalsoundmusic.com.
