2025-08-31-accounts - London Welsh Chorale (Coral Cymry Llundain)

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Registered Charity: 1014214

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

INDEX TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

	Page
Reference and administration information	1
Report of the trustees	2-5
Independent examiner’s report	6
Statement of fnancial activities	7
Balance sheet	8
Notes to the fnancial statements	9

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

Charity name London Welsh Chorale – Coral Cymry Llundain

Registered charity number 1014214

Trustees Ruth Brooks Chair Zoe McMillan Deputy Chair Paula Dudley David Lawrence

Principal Address 157–163 Gray’s Inn Road London WC1 8UE Independent Examiner B Kalloushi 6 Linden Road Muswell Hill London N10 3DH

Bankers CAF Bank

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to Charities in England & Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue on operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the provisions of the Trust Deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Structure, Governance and Management

The London Welsh Chorale was founded as a choir in 1983.

As a charitable organisation, the Chorale is governed by a constitution adopted on 30th June 1992, revised in December 2005 and in November 2011.

The Trustees are supported by a committee covering additional roles:

Lynne Tew (Registrar)

Alison Stacey (Concert Manager)

Lindsey Carver (Voice Rep - Soprano)

Anusia Kotowicz (Voice Rep - Alto)

Haydn Jones (Voice Rep Tenor/Bass)

Timothy Roberts (Secretary)

As Musical Director, Dr Edward - Rhys Harry is an ex officio member of the committee.

The activities of the Chorale are determined and agreed by the committee in consultation with the MD. The full membership of the Chorale is able to feed into this process directly via their elected Voice Reps, or in discussion with any other committee member, and any member of the choir is eligible to stand for any role.

Day to day administration of the choir is undertaken by committee members.

The London Welsh Chorale is a member of The National Association of Choirs

The Honorary President - Lord Thomas of Gresford

Honorary Vice Presidents - Paul Mealor

Dr Rhiannon Mathias

Lord Kinnock of Bedwelly

Objectives and Activities

The objects of the Chorale are to benefit the public in such manner as may be charitable as the Chorale in its absolute discretion thinks fit, and in particular, but not so as to limit the generality of the foregoing:

The advancement of the education of the public by promoting artistic activities and performing as part of such activities, particularly performing works composed and/or written by those of Welsh origin and /or in the Welsh language (‘Welsh Works’)
The promotion of the education and training of members of the public in music, particularly in ‘Welsh Works’

The LWC committee have the responsibility of working with MD, Edward-Rhys Harry, in promoting the objects of the choir through the preparation and presentation of regular performances of choral singing.

Membership of the choir is open to new singers with no requirement to audition
The Chorale is committed to keeping Welsh music alive in London and has supported many young professional singers and orchestral players in our concerts.
The Chorale maintains an avowed commitment to Welsh music - traditional, liturgical and contemporary - as a unique strand of its work. Much of this music is sadly neglected and rarely heard today, even within the Principality. The Chorale’s several recordings include the only commercially available recording of a lost work by Joseph Parry, plus a live recording of William Mathias’ great work ‘St Teilo’. The Chorale is firmly committed to performing works by contemporary Welsh composers.

Achievements and Performance

Once again, the choir have continued to perform three major concerts in central London.

At Christmas the Chorale performed a concert of Christmas music ‘Llawenydd i’r Byd’ which included Benjamin Britten’s ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ with harpist Annest Davies and soprano Eiry Price. Other favourites were accompanied by Jenny Trew. This concert was sold out and received a standing ovation from a very appreciative audience.

At the spring concert the Chorale continued with its mission to perform lesser-known pieces by the great composers and featured ‘Psalm 42 ‘Wie der Hirsch Schreit’ (As the Hart Pants) by Mendelssohn and Mozart’s ‘Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento’.

The summer concert ‘Yma ac yn Awr’ (Here and Now) once again focussed on the lighter side of choral music and featured a range of contemporary composers.

Although all three concerts made a financial loss this was a great deal less than previously and audience numbers were much higher overall.

Following the success of last year, the Chorale decided to follow up with a second Festival of Welsh Music in London, particularly as so much had been learned. It was decided that the date should be May 16th and 17th. The format remained largely the same: Friday 16th at The Welsh Church of Central London, Eastcastle Street saw the rounds and final of The London Welsh Young Instrumentalist competition, won by the phenomenal flutist, Isabelle Harris. We were delighted that the prizes were awarded by Martin, Lord Thomas of Gresford, Lord Kinnock of Bewellty and Meurig Bowen, son of our founding conductor, Kenneth Bowen.

The main ‘Night of the Choirs’ featured performances by Cor y Boro, Cor Penllys and Chorate and London Welsh Chorale and was a feast of music in the Welsh language.

On Saturday night at Regent Hall in Bond Street London Welsh Choral were once again joined by Cor Penllys plus Malmesbury Singers, The Harry Ensemble, The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School along with British Sinfonietta, soprano Angharad Davies, tenor Robin Lyn Evans and narrator Gethin Alderman. We were delighted to welcome back Owain Arwel Hughes and particularly delighted that Sir Karl Jenkins took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to conduct a new 4-part arrangement by our own Edward-Rhys Harry of his ‘Hero’s Journey’ Edward also composed a brand new, specially written ‘Jubilate Deo’. The second half consisted of William Mathais wonderful ‘St Teilo’ perfect for mass choirs.

It was slightly disappointing that the audiences for both nights were slightly down and the committee will take this into consideration when planning for future festivals.

Recruitment remains an issue, although it is very pleasing that we are attracting some very fine new young singers and the age demographic of the choir has changed significantly in the last 3 years. We remain at a steady 40 - 45 members and have welcomed new singers from a range of nationalities who seem to enjoy the challenge of singing with a Welsh choir. One of the biggest impacts on London Welsh Chorale is the popularity of Male Voice singing and the number of young men who choose these choirs rather than one with mixed voices. A reduced membership obviously has impacts on our finances and thus, the music we can programme. But we are working very hard to address these issues. We have started to create a much more methodical and direct approach to using social media and a team is coming together and proving to be effective.

Financial Review

The Chorale opened the year with funds of £12,461

Funds carried forward at 31st August 2025 £8,901

The Chorale’s main source of funds comes from the annual subscription paid by members (£8,517). This is supplemented by ticket sales , weekly raffles and donations made under the Friends and Supporters scheme.

The major expenditure is in putting on three main concerts, which is very costly in central London. Ticket sales do not, generally, cover the cost of concerts, even if ticket sales are good. Payment of the Musical Director (£4,800) and Accompanist (£4,920) are initially covered by membership subscriptions but increasing costs have had an impact on the deficit incurred and recruitment remains at the forefront of the Chorale’s objectives going forward.

The three concerts in 2024/25 all made a loss in terms of ticket sales, as is usually the case, even though at Christmas we had a capacity audience.

The Spring concert, although only involving organ, did use four soloists which added to costs. Ticket sales were particularly disappointing, and we have discussed why this might have been. The choir committee continues to acknowledge the balance which needs to be achieved between being financially sensitive and artistic challenge and the committee works strategically with the MD to ensure this balance when planning future concerts.

Membership subscriptions and donations are eligible for Gift Aid and the treasurer continues to work with the Vice Chair to keep these claims up to date.

We are looking at moving out of central London.

FWMiL 2025

Once again, a huge amount of work was dedicated to raising funds for the festival and this was extremely successful with donations being made, in the main, from individuals who support or have connections with the Chorale. However, this year we applied to a number of charitable trusts and were successful in securing £10,500 to be spread over 3 years. This was achieved through a meeting with Baron Davies of Abersoch and we plan to develop this approach further in the coming years. Although much was improved in terms of publicity and fund raising, we have continued to learn lessons and will use the growing knowledge gained in planning any future festivals.

The success of the festival in financial terms has been very beneficial in supporting the ability of the Chorale to continue with its artistic aims.

Income from Ticket Sales and Donations was £21,424.

Expenditure for venue hire and musicians was £20,730.

Surplus income was £694.

Future Development

Although the Festival of Welsh Music in London was a success both musically and in terms of supporting the work of the London Welsh Chorale, its future will be discussed early in 2026 and decisions made about timings, programme and ways forward with funding.

The Chorale is also looking at the possibility of staging one concert outside of central London. This will be discussed by the committee in January 2026.

Appointment of Independent Examiners

In the year ended 31 August 2025, the Trustees have appointed Bridget Kalloushi, fellow of the ACIE, as independent examiner of the charity. A resolution proposing that Bridget Kalloushi is reappointed as independent examiner of the charity will be put at a General Meeting.

Signed by order of the trustees on 26 June 2026

RUTH BROOKS

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts for the charity for the year ended 31 August 2025, which are set out on pages 7 to 9.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

Accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act;
Or the accounts do not accord with those records; or
The accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Bridget Kalloushi

26 June 2026

Bridget Kalloushi ACIE 6 Linden Road Muswell Hill London N10 3DH

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

INCOME Voluntary income Memberships and subscriptions Donations, fundraising and sponsorship Performance income Sundry income Income from other trading activities Music sales Investment income Bank interest receivable TOTAL INCOME EXPENDITURE Costs of charitable activities Costs in furtherance of charitable objects TOTAL EXPENDITURE NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) AND NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	Notes	Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 8,517 8,895 24,876 - 3,851 25 46,164 49,724 49,724 (3,560) 12,461 8,901	Restricted funds 2025 £ - - - - - - - - - - - -	Total funds 2025 £ 8,517 8,895 24,876 - 3,851 25 46,164 49,724 49,724 (3,560) 12,461 8,901	Total funds 2024 £ 6,106 7,059 21,629 633 2,680 31
	1
					38,138
					39,401
					39,401
					(1,263) 13,724
					12,461

The notes on page 6 form part of these accounts.

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 AUGUST 2025

FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets CURRENT ASSETS Cash at bank and in hand CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year: NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES TOTAL FUNDS OF THE CHARITY Designated funds Unrestricted funds Total funds	Notes	9,601 700		2025 - 8,901	12,461 -		2024 - 12,461


				8,901			12,461
				- 8,901			- 12,461
				8,901			12,461

These financial statements were approved by the members of the committee on 26 June 2026 and signed on their behalf by:

RUTH BROOKS

LONDON WELSH CHORALE – CORAL CYMRY LLUNDAIN

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

1. EXPENDITURE

EXPENDITURE
Music director fee Accompanist fees Concert fees Music hires and purchases Venue hire Printing, postage and stationery Performance fees Rehearsal costs Insurance Accountancy Bank charges Sundry expenses	2025 4,800 4,920 12,989 3,273 1,752 98 20,730 - 148 700 56 258 49,724	2024 5,280 5,547 6,208 4,449 1,450 265 15,634 250 256 - 62 -
		39,401