AcousticMusicScene.com Creator Runs for Folk Alliance International Board

Folk Alliance International members are casting votes this month for one or more — up to five — individuals to serve on the nonprofit organization’s board of directors. Among the candidates is Michael Kornfeld, editor and publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com. Currently in his third term on the board of FAI’s largest regional affiliate and the president of a volunteer-run nonprofit presenting organization on Long Island (NY), Kornfeld advocates broader representation of FAI’s constituencies on its governing board.

”In my view, the regions are the backbone of Folk Alliance International, and the regional boards should have direct representation on the board of their parent organization,” says Kornfeld. “I have stepped forward to run now as someone who has been a leader in FAI’s largest regional affiliate – Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) — and who has played a key role in boosting awareness of the organization, attendance at its annual conference, and in launching its successful one-day mini-conferences. A past vice president of NERFA, Kornfeld also has been an active participant at Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) conferences for the past three years (as a panelist, speaker, mentor, and guerilla showcase host). Through AcousticMusicScene.com and its associated Facebook and LinkedIn groups, among others, he also promotes other regional conferences, the international conference and other FAI endeavors.

Kornfeld also believes that all-volunteer, nonprofit presenting organizations are an important constituent group within Folk Alliance International that have been under-represented on the organization’s board of directors. “As president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington, an FAI member organization that presents two concert series a month, hosts monthly folk jams, and co-presents an annual day-long folk festival that I coordinate in partnership with the Huntington Arts Council, I would bring valuable insights and perspectives to the FAI board,” he asserts. Kornfeld also is a former board member of Tribes Hill, a Hudson Valley (NY)-based organization that seeks to unite the music community.

Under the banner of AcousticMusicScene.com, Kornfeld organizes and hosts song-swap-style artist showcases at music conferences and festivals. An award-winning communications and public relations strategist, he counts a number of independent recording artists among his clients. A past president of two professional associations in his field, he also is a frequent speaker on PR and communications topics at music conferences. He will be among the workshop speakers/panelists at the People’s Music Network Winter Gathering in New York City next January and the Singer Songwriter Cape May conference in the New Jersey seaside resort community next March.

Online balloting for the Folk Alliance International board, which is open only to voting members of the organization in good standing, began on Dec. 1. “Although I know, like and respect several of the other candidates, I hope that some FAI members will be inclined to ‘bullet’ vote for me only since this will enhance my chances of being among the five with the highest vote counts,” says Kornfeld.

Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) aims to foster and promote multicultural, traditional and contemporary folk music, while strengthening and advancing organizational and individual initiatives in folk music, dance and related performing arts through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and field development. Graham Nash will keynote is 26th annual international conference, which is slated for February 19-23, 2014, in Kansas City, MO. Each of the organization’s five regional affiliates – Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West), NERFA, SERFA, and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) also host conferences during the year that feature artist showcases, jams and open mics, workshops and panel discussions, mentoring sessions, and plenty of opportunities for networking and building community.