STATEMENT OF MISSION
The Society
for Seventeenth-Century Music was established in Chicago, Illinois,
November 7, 1991, for the purpose of promoting the study and performance
of music and related arts of the seventeenth century. The
Society for Seventeenth-Century Music will pursue its objectives 1)
by sponsoring conferences, festivals, workshops, seminars, study sessions,
and other activities which from time to time may be appropriate, 2)
through publication, 3) by facilitating communication among individual
scholars and performers, and 4) by encouraging communication among existing
and future organizations devoted to the study and performance of specific
aspects of seventeenth-century music and related arts.
ARTICLE
ONE
The Society
1. The name
of the Society shall be "The Society for Seventeenth-Century Music."
2. The legal
address of the Society will be the business address of the Treasurer.
ARTICLE
TWO
Membership
1. Membership
in the Society for Seventeenth-Century Music is obtained by payment
of annual dues to the Treasurer of the Society.
2. The schedule
of dues shall be set by the Governing Board and approved by the membership
of the Society. Dues shall be collected for the purpose of publishing
and mailing the Newsletter, mailing of communications to members, payment
of expenses supporting the activities of the Society, and other expenses
deemed appropriate by the Governing Board of the Society and in accordance
with Article Four of the Articles of Association of the Society for
Seventeenth-Century Music.
3 A. There
shall be five categories of membership in the Society: Institutional,
Individual, Retired, Student and Honorary.
B. Honorary members shall be elected by unanimous vote of the Governing
Board. They shall be scholars and performers who have made outstanding
contributions to the study and presentation of seventeenth-century music
and shall be exempt from paying membership dues.
Any member
of the Society in good standing may recommend a candidate for honorary
membership to the Nominating Committee, who will determine suitable
candidates and assemble dossiers to be forwarded to the Governing Board
for consideration.
ARTICLE
THREE
Meetings
1. The annual
business meeting of the Society for Seventeenth-Century Music shall
be held either in conjunction with the annual conference of the Society, or at a time and place designated by the President
of the Society. Written notice of the annual meeting, or of any special
meeting, shall be sent to the members a minimum of thirty (30) days
in advance of the meeting.
2. Unless otherwise
specified in these By-Laws, a motion shall be considered passed with
a majority vote of those members present at any regular or special meeting.
ARTICLE
FOUR
Governing Board
IV.1. The Society
for Seventeenth-Century Music shall be managed by a Governing Board
consisting of four officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and
Treasurer, and Member-at-Large, plus a President-elect in alternate years and a representative from each constituent specialty group
within the Society recognized by the Governing Board. The officers shall
be elected by the membership of the Society (see Article Six). The American
Heinrich Schütz Society shall be recognized as a charter specialty
group with a representative on the Governing Board. Any other specialty
group that may wish to form itself within the Society may petition for
representation on the Governing Board. In response to such a petition,
the Governing Board shall determine if the specialty group is sufficiently
well defined and well represented among the membership of the Society
to warrant adding its representative to the Governing Board. Each specialty
group recognized by the Governing Board shall nominate its representative
to the Governing Board in its own manner and shall determine the length
of service of that representative on the Governing Board.
IV.2. The term
of office for the Society's officers shall be defined as follows:
IV.2.A. Until the spring conference in 2015, the term of office shall be three (3) years, and all officers shall serve concurrent terms.
IV.2.B. Thereafter the officers shall serve overlapping terms, defined as follows:
IV.2.B.(1) The President shall serve a term of three (3) years, comprising one (1) year as President-elect and two (2) years as President.
IV.2.B.(2) The Vice-President shall serve a term of two (2) years, coinciding with the President's two years as President.
IV.2.B.(3) The Member-at-Large shall serve a term of two (2) years, overlapping the terms of two Presidents.
IV.2.B.(4) The Secretary, Treasurer, and American Heinrich Schütz Society Representative shall serve overlapping terms of three (3) years each.
IV.2.C. A transitional period, from 2014 to 2017, shall be defined as follows:
The first President-elect and first Member-at-Large shall take office in April 2014. Their successors shall take office in April 2016. The Vice-President and Treasurer shall take office in April 2015. The Secretary shall take office for a one-year term in April 2015, and may be re-elected to a full three-year term in April 2016. The American Heinrich Schütz Society Representative shall take office for a two-year term in April 2015, and may be re-elected to a full three-year term in April 2017. Unless otherwise stated, terms of office shall be defined as in clause B, above.
IV.2.D. In the
event of an unexpected vacancy, the remaining officers shall share the
duties of the vacant office until a special election can be held to
fill the vacancy. Such special election shall be called by the highest
ranking officer remaining, in the order given in paragraph 1, above.
IV.3. The duties
of the officers shall be defined as follows:
IV.3.A. The President shall supervise all activities of the Society; execute
all instruments on its behalf; execute bank drafts or write checks on
the Society's funds in absence of the Treasurer; maintain close liaison
with the other officers of the Society; maintain close liaison with the chair of the Program Committee and the local organizer for the annual conference; call the annual meeting and
such other meetings of the membership that are deemed necessary; preside
at meetings of the Society; and perform such other duties that are usually
inherent in such office. The President, in consultation with the other
members of the Governing Board, shall appoint individuals to positions
and committees to carry out duties deemed necessary to further the mission
of the Society. Such positions and committees may include, but are not
limited to, the local organizer for annual conferences, the Program
Committee for annual conferences, the Editor of the newsletter, the
Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music,
the Editor-in-Chief of the Web Library of Seventeenth-Century Music,
and the Nominating Committee.
IV.3.B. The Vice
President shall act as President in the absence of the President and perform such other acts as
the President may from time to time direct.
IV.3.C. The Secretary
shall keep minutes of annual meetings and any special meetings and prepare
such minutes for publication in the Newsletter. The Secretary shall
also be responsible for mailings to members; for disseminating information
about the Society; and for preparation and distribution of materials
aimed at attracting new members.
IV.3.D. The Treasurer
shall be responsible for maintaining the financial records and membership
rolls of the Society; for receiving and being accountable for all funds
belonging to the Society; for receiving and being accountable for all
dues of specialty groups within the Society; for paying all authorized
invoices of expenditures incurred by the Society; for registering all
electronic domain names and organizational memberships of the Society;
for rendering annual financial reports to the membership; for responding
to inquiries regarding subscriptions to the newsletter; and for performing
such other acts as the President may from time to time direct. The Treasurer
shall present a report of the past year's income and expenditures at
the annual business meeting of the Society.
E. The Member-at-Large shall perform such duties as the President may from time to time direct.
ARTICLE
FIVE
Official Publications
1. The official
publications of the Society shall include the electronic Journal
of Seventeenth-Century Music, the printed newsletter 17th-Century
Music, and the electronic Web Library of Seventeenth-Century
Music.
2. The Editor-in-Chief
of the Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, the Editor of
the newsletter, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Web Library of Seventeenth-Century
Music shall be appointed or removed by the President in consultation with
the other members of the Governing Board for specified terms of office
not to exceed three years, and shall serve until replaced.
3. The Editor-in-Chief
of the Journal shall appoint or remove, subject to the approval of the
Governing Board, a Review Editor and other assisting editors, who shall serve until replaced.
4. The
Editor-in-Chief of the Web Library of Seventeenth-Century Music may
appoint or remove, subject to the approval of the Governing Board, one or more General Editors of Special Projects,
Associate Editors, technical assistants, who shall serve until replaced.
5. The Editorial
Board of the Journal shall consist of approximately twelve
members appointed by the Editor-in-Chief, subject to the approval of
the Governing Board, for terms not to exceed three years. A member of
the Editorial Board shall be eligible for reappointment. The President
of the Society shall be a member of the Editorial Board ex officio. The Editorial Board shall serve the Editor-in-Chief in an advisory capacity
for the formulation of editorial policy, and the individual members
of the Editorial Board shall be available for the evaluation of manuscripts
submitted for publication in the Journal, or other such duties
as the Editor-in-Chief requests.
6. The Editorial Board of the Web Library shall consist of approximately twelve members appointed by the Editor-in-Chief, subject to the approval of the Governing Board, for terms not to exceed three years. A member of the Editorial Board shall be eligible for reappointment. The President of the Society shall be a member of the Editorial Board ex officio. The Editorial Board shall serve the Editor-in-Chief in an advisory capacity for the formulation of editorial policy, and the individual members of the Editorial Board shall be available for the evaluation of editions submitted for publication in the Web Library, or other such duties as the Editor-in-Chief requests.
7. The Editor-in-Chief
of the Journal and the Editor-in-Chief of the Web Library shall have autonomous authority regarding editorial content and normal
publishing operations. Financial and policy matters shall require consultation
with the Governing Board and approval of the President. The Editor of
the newsletter shall have similar autonomy, consonant with the newsletter's
role as the voice of the Society and its membership.
ARTICLE
SIX
Elections
1. The officers
of the Society shall be elected by the membership.
Candidates for office shall be nominated by a Nominating Committee appointed
by the President in consultation with the other members of the Governing
Board. Ballots shall be prepared by the Chair of the Nominating Committee
and provided to the members by July 25 of the third year of service
of the officers. Completed ballots shall be submitted no later than six weeks before the autumn meeting of the Governing Board, and votes shall be counted by a neutral party. The new officers
shall take office at the annual Spring conference; in the event that
no Spring conference is held, the new officers shall be installed by
April 30.
ARTICLE
SEVEN
Amendments and Limitations
1. These By-Laws
may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present at
any regular or special meeting of the Society.
2. Any amendment
to the By-Laws considered substantive by the Governing Board of the
Society shall be submitted to the membership of the Society for final
approval. A majority vote of those responding shall constitute final
approval.
Revised, November 1996
Amended 21 April 2001
Amended 5 April 2002
Amended 14 November 2003
Amended 3 November 2006
Amended 5 March 2010
Amended 9 April 2011
Amended 20 April 2012