Quotes are key

What makes this press release stand out? Excellent quotes.

Typically, you do not want to start press releases with a quote, but here, we weave them in to add extra sparkle.

Notice two specific things:

1. The quotes are from two different people. Having multiple speakers is more powerful than having several quotes from the same person.
2. The quotes are separated by a paragraph of text — a mini break to explain how expanding the board impacts the organization. You want to avoid, if possible, listing quotes one after another, with the exception of breaking up a long quote by one person (see below).

EXAMPLE:

"Quote," said person A.

Text.

"Quote," said person B.

EXCEPTION:

"Quote," said person A. "Quote."

"Quote," person A added.

Next time you draft a marketing piece for your company, consider adding sparkle through quotes.

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Ambrecht associate newest member of Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra expanded board

Catherine Karayan Wilbur

Catherine Karayan Wilbur, attorney at Ambrecht & Associates law firm in Montecito, recently joined the Board of Directors of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra.

As a planned giving specialist, Ms. Wilbur will act as board secretary and spearhead the new Legacy League Endowment Committee, according to Kevin Marvin, the Chamber Orchestra’s executive director.

“We are excited and honored to welcome Catherine to our board,” Mr. Marvin said. “Her energy and talent in estate planning will certainly benefit our organization.”

Expanding the Board of Directors is part of a larger effort to strengthen and revitalize the chamber orchestra, which has performed well-known classical repertoire and hosted world-class soloists since 1978.

“As a lover of classical music, I am delighted to be able to give back to the community through the arts by my involvement with the chamber orchestra,” Ms. Wilbur said. “I hope this will be a long and beneficial relationship.”

Ms. Wilbur specializes in complex tax and estate planning issues, international estate planning issues, estate and gift tax controversy matters and estate and trust administration matters. Before joining Ambrecht & Associates, she clerked for the Honorable Kathleen Kerrigan at the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C.

A native of Southern California, Ms. Wilbur earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in classics at Washington University in St. Louis. She then went on to earn her Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law and her LL.M. (Masters in Law) in Taxation from New York University School of Law. Ms. Wilbur is admitted to the California State Bar.

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The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra strives to maintain the highest artistic quality possible, produce the finest music heard in Santa Barbara and perform well-known repertoire as well as music written in this century. Conducted by Heiichiro Ohyama, the Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1978 by then-conducting student Jeffrey Evans. Current and past SBCO musicians perform with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Pacific Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony and Santa Barbara Symphony. For more information, visit www.sbco.org.

Being sensitive with labor agreements

Labor and union agreements are news. Even though the media usually prefers a nice, long, drawn-out, seemingly insurmountable negotiation process, labor agreements are newsworthy.

Be cautious here, though — unions are usually quite sensitive about which negotiation and/or agreement information can be shared, while the media wants as many details as possible. To get picked up, share as many details as you can without making the union uncomfortable.

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Published on Noozhawk.

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Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra finalizes labor agreement with musicians in record time

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and the American Federation of Musicians Local 308 have finalized their union labor agreement for the next three concert seasons.

“The board and the musicians were able to negotiate the Collective Bargaining Agreement so quickly because we share the same vision for the future of the orchestra and its importance to the Santa Barbara community,” said Kevin Marvin, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra Executive Director.

Local 308, the labor union for professional musicians located in Santa Barbara, represents the 30 to 40 musicians in the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. The national union comprises 424 Locals representing 85,000 musicians throughout North America.

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, a critically-acclaimed chamber orchestra that has performed well-known classical repertoire and hosted world-class soloists since 1978, kicks off its 2014-2015 concert season with a tango-themed gala event titled “Tapas and Tango” and presented by Chaucer’s Books. The gala starts at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Lobero Theatre. Professional tango dancers Sandor and Parissa, from ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, will perform during the gala. The concert, sponsored by the Walter J. & Holly O. Thompson Foundation, starts at 7:30 p.m. and will feature Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

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The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra strives to maintain the highest artistic quality possible, produce the finest music heard in Santa Barbara and perform well-known repertoire as well as music written in this century. Conducted by Heiichiro Ohyama, the Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1978 by then-conducting student Jeffrey Evans. Current and past SBCO musicians perform with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Pacific Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony and Santa Barbara Symphony. For more information, visit www.sbco.org.