Hi all,
 
I hope the summer is treating you better than the treatment the HPSO is getting. I'd first like to extend our sympathies regarding those who have passed this July, some rather suddenly, including -- Reuven Peri, husband of our 1st violinist Zipora Peri; our long-time cellist Barney Cohen; my wife's older sister Valarie Goldapp. We will miss them.

I'm afraid the news is also rather "mixed" for the HPSO itself, and we've been working on solutions to keep us going, but at the moment we're still somewhat "in limbo". At the end of this message I have included some critical poll questions and would ask that every member, and I mean everybody, please respond as quickly as you can so we can factor your responses into our solutions.

So the issue: In June, HP "suddenly" noticed that we are not an all-HP orchestra and re-classified us as an "outside group" rather than an HP club. Sooner or later we were probably going to go this route anyway as, for one, the Oak Room auditorium and the building it's in is slated for demolition in about two years or so, and we had doubts about shifting to the Corporate Auditorium in Palo Alto (more than one reason). I expected that we had those few years to convert the HPSO into a community orchestra - better done at our own schedule - but things don't always work out the way you expect them to, and HP "handed us our hat" with only months to get us going.

There is only one issue about being an "outside group" to HP that is actually causing us a problem: We would have to use the rooms (Oak Room) exactly "as is" - we would not even be allowed to move the chairs! Fine if we were holding meetings, but not possible for an orchestra. To be very clear, it's not a question of putting things back the way we found them; they don't want to take any chance whatsoever on non-employees getting hurt, so no furniture moving is allowed.

Along with that we would be required to get a typical liability insurance bond for the group, which is not a problem. I have located a good agent who could issue one practically on the spot for a very good price (this agent already is used by several of the local community orchestras). Also, at some point we'd need to change our name away from Hewlett-Packard. Going fully to a non-profit 501(c)(3) orchestra is yet another level that we would prefer to not think about right now ;-)

After we were told of the change of HPSO status, I had a long friendly conversation with the HP representative who deals with the HP room management in late June. The upshot was that I requested a temporary "stay of execution" through the Fall, so that we would have more reasonable time to re-group, but she had to have that approved at higher level and passed the information to another manager.

I've checked several times since then but there is still no answer (the manager is very busy, blah blah...) I don't have high hopes of getting a positive response, but either way, over the next month or through early next year, we need to reinvent ourselves as a community orchestra.

So... I've been looking around at potential venues. We have the issue about timpani storage which is a significant problem, but otherwise the questions are how much would it cost if at all, is the location convenient, etc. etc. Our most critical problem is finding rehearsal space over our extended period. We can still perform at Foothill Presbyterian Church, and it may not be too difficult to find a few more venues for performances.

I am working with Foothill Presbyterian to see if they could host us for rehearsals. So far I am getting very good vibes from them, but they are not the most convenient location (!) and we would have to switch to Tuesday nights for rehearsals - hence some poll questions below. They are having a church Board meeting on Aug. 6, where we will hear more. If this worked out I would still consider this a temporary solution given the awkward commute.

Looking for better, I am also trying to worm my way into a church in Cupertino, but this is still at the beginning stages. I haven't contacted the Cupertino school system yet to see what might be possible with them. I've also been thinking about and nosing around a few other venues but so far no winners. Aside from the fact that we are already Cupertino based, more or less, Cupertino doesn't currently have a community orchestra within its confines.

So... here are the poll questions - please go here to answer the survey: All of the questions assume we would no longer be at HP starting this Fall, and start with "Would you be willing to continue with the "HPSO" if...":
 
1. it's no longer associated with Hewlett-Packard?
 
2. the rehearsal location was Foothill Presbyterian Church (NE San Jose) where we currently have one concert?
   A. Temporarily
   B. Permanently
 
3. we switched rehearsal nights to Tuesday?
 
4. we switched rehearsal nights to Thursday?

Understand that we are trying right now for the minimum perturbation just to keep us going, but longer term we would be probably looking at all of the usual issues associated with community orchestras.

There's a box in the poll where you can add any comments you feel pertinent, or you can write me directly if you prefer.

-Herb