## Annual Report Wallingford Chameleon Arts 

Year ended 31 December 2025 


## 1. **Status** 

Wallingford Chameleon Arts, registered charity no. 1021045, is an unincorporated association governed by a Memorandum of Association dated 6 May 1993. It promotes a series of concerts in Wallingford, Oxfordshire under the name “Wallingford Chamber Music” 

The contact address for the association is The Firs, Reading Road, Wallingford OX10 9DT. 

## 2. **Trustees** 

During the year, the Trustees of the Association were: Laurence Attewill (Chairman) 

Jeremy Boughton Elinor Carter (Secretary) 

Julia Cottee 

Amanda Hines – resigned 29 June 2025 Carol  Heaton – resigned 26 September 2025 Roger Morgan – resigned 12 April 2025 Kate Spence (Treasurer) Daphne Rowbottom – appointed 3 March 2025 

Anthony Coombs – appointed 27 June 2025 

Additional or replacement Trustees are elected by the existing Trustees. Amanda Hines remains on the management committee. 

## 3. **Charitable Purposes and Public Benefit** 

The primary activity of the Association is the promotion of public education in and appreciation of music by the presentation of public concerts of a high quality. These concerts are open to any member of the public; an admission charge is made, but the Trustees endeavour to set this at an affordable level 


Wallingford Chamber Music is presented by Wallingford Chameleon Arts, a registered charity (no. 1021045) 

info@wcm.org.uk  | **wcm.org.uk** 

Registered office: The Firs, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 9DT 



representing the minimum necessary to cover the costs of operation and to maintain  prudent  reserves.  Wallingford  Chamber  Music  also  provides  free admission  to  under-25s.  The  artists  employed  include  young  professional musicians, giving  them  a  valuable  opportunity  to  develop  their careers. In making decisions during the year, the Trustees have had regard to the public benefit guidance issued by the Charity Commission. 



## 4. **Activities during the year** 

2025 marked the 40[th] Anniversary Year of Wallingford Chameleon Arts. To mark this occasion, the trustees agreed to use accumulated reserves to facilitate a season  of  eleven  (usually  nine)  concerts,  showcasing  local  performers  and composers, and incorporating unusual elements such as Jazz, larger ensembles, staging, and a matinée concert. 

Concert attendance was: 

|Date|Performance|Attendanc<br>e|Of which,<br>U25|Gross<br>Sales|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|10-<br>May|Sacconi Quartet|118|2|£2,105|
|24-<br>May|D'Attellis and Alexander|92|2|£1,707|
|07-Jun|Band of Music|122|5|£2,147|
|28-Jun|Sollar String Quartet|107|2|£1,885|
|12-Jul|Wiggin, Wass & D’Attellis|120|5|£2,212|
|26-Jul|Ainsley & Whitehead|133|-|£2,542|
|16-Aug|Consone Sextet|134|4|£2,347|
|24-Aug|Fleur Stevenson Jazz Band|117|4|£2,163|
|06-Sep|Pavlova Winds & Butt|133|2|£2,550|
|20-Sep|London Bridge Piano Trio|112|2|£2,030|
|04-Oct|Thames Consort|150|6|£2,728|
|||1,338|34|£24,416|



This represented a 38% increase in attendance and 35% increase in ticket sale income  from  2024.   Under-25  attendance  rose  by  54%.  This  season’s customers rose to 321, of whom 136 were new in 2025. 

## 5. **Financial Report** 

The aim of the Trustees is normally to break even each year, and budgets and ticket prices are set with that objective, however the decision was taken to deliberately reduce reserves by £10,775 in 2025 to fund the expensive 40[th] Anniversary season.  In the event, increased sales, scaled-back staging plans 

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**Wallingford Chameleon Arts  |** Annual Report for 2025                                                                            Page **|** 



and increased miscellaneous donations led to the reserves only being depleted by £1,520. 

The  continued  support  of  the  Friends,  together  with  generous  audience donations, were major elements in the total income. 

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**Wallingford Chameleon Arts  |** Annual Report for 2025                                                                            Page **|** 



## 5.1. **Income** 

|For the year|2025 £|2024 £|
|---|---|---|
|Gross ticket sales|24,416|18,080|
|Sponsorship|1,000|2,600|
|Programme sales|1,270|1,077|
|Audience donations|1,884|1,023|
|Friends' annual subscriptions|2,834|2,290|
|Gift Aid: PY|29|787|
|CY|1,305|1,228|
|Other miscellaneous income|900|41|
|Bank interest|906|241|
||34,544|27,367|



## 5.2. **Expenditure** 

|For the year|2025 £|2024 £|
|---|---|---|
|Concert artist fees and expenditure|23,740|17,062|
|Performing Rights Society royalties|786|716|
|Venue hire, licensing and preparation|4,391|1,901|
|Printing programmes|1,280|1,004|
|Refreshments|595|376|
|Payment processing fees|936|627|
|Provision of Friends' events, ofset by contributions|317|71|
|Making Music fee and insurance|468|-|
|Website redesign|800|700|
|Website hosting and domain fees|111|257|
|Publicity: design|250|400|
|printing|591|1,223|
|email marketing|284|97|
|Meeting expenses|15|-|
|Educational outreach projects|1,500|-|
||36,064|24,434|



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**Wallingford Chameleon Arts  |** Annual Report for 2025                                                                            Page **|** 



Walllngford Chameleon Arts | Annual Report for 2025
Page |

## 5.3. **Financial summary, including Assets and Liabilities** 

|As at 31 December|2025 £|2024 £|
|---|---|---|
|Current Assets|||
|Cash foat|70|<br>70|
|Bank accounts: current|938|13,462|
|savings|12,500|20,436|
|fxed term deposit|21,000|-|
|Prepayments|739|709|
|Accrued income|1,441|1,228|
|Wine stocks|138|25|
||36,826|35,930|
|Current Liabilities|||
|Creditors|-1,356|-45|
|Deferred income|-1,105|-|
|Net Current Assets|34,365|35,885|
||||
|Cash reserves brought forward|35,885|32,952|
|Income for the year|34,544|27,367|
|Expenditure for the year|-36,064|-24,434|
|Reserves|34,365|35,885|



The net operating expenditure for the year was £1,618 (2024: income £2,933). Ticket  sales  from  the  concert  season  were  up  by  35.0%  from  2024  and audience attendance up by 38.1% (under-25s by 54.5%), although the 2025 season did include two extra concerts. 

Current assets include prepayments for software licences which extend into 2026,  and  Making  Music  fees  and  insurance  for  2025.  Accrued  income  is represented by the 2024 Gift Aid claim from HMRC and deferred income is represented by sponsorship for the 2026 season. 

Current liabilities include an uninvoiced artist fee for 2025, PRS royalties due, monies held on account to be refunded and vouchers for customer overpayment.  The  Trustees  believe  that  there  are  no  other  outstanding liabilities. 

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**Wallingford Chameleon Arts  |** Annual Report for 2025                                                                            Page **|** 



## 5.4 **Policy on Reserves** 

The policy of the Trustees has been to retain as reserves funds equivalent to at least half of the expected expenditure for the year.  Excess reserves have been invested in high-interest-bearing accounts. 

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**Wallingford Chameleon Arts  |** Annual Report for 2025                                                                            Page **|** 



## 5.5 **Payments to Trustees** 

Apart from reimbursement of actual costs incurred by Trustees on behalf of the Association, two Trustees, Jeremy Boughton and Elinor Carter, received a single payment from the Charity during the year. These were fees for professional services as Musical Director and vocal soloist, respectively, for the Thames Consort event, which was approved by the other Trustees at the AGM. 

## 5.6 **Independent Examiner's Report** 

"I have examined the Income and Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet of the Wallingford Chameleon Arts (also known as Wallingford Chamber Music) for the year ended 31st December 2025 and confirm that they accurately reflect the financial records for the period under review and the assets and liabilities at the Balance Sheet date." - Graham Hobbins, 28th February 2026. 

## 6. **Friends of Wallingford Chamber Music** 

The Charity is dependent on the annual donations made by the Friends to support its activities, together with Gift Aid recovered from HMRC on these donations,  and  is  grateful  to  its  Friends  for  their  continuing  support.  The number of Friends rose to 59 from last year's 55.  Benefits to Friends during the year were as follows: 

- A 14-day priority booking window for concert ticket sales. 

- A preseason reception, held on 12 April. 

- A garden party, held on 5 July. 

## 7. **Subsidies** 

A donation of £500 was received from Grundon Business Waste Management as sponsorship for the 2025 season. 

Donations  from  an  individual  to  sponsor  one  concert  in  the  season  was received, totalling £500, plus Gift Aid recovery from HMRC. 

## 8. **General meetings and changes in Officers** 

The Annual General Meeting for 2024 was held on 3 March 2025, at which the Annual Report for 2024 was formally adopted and the Accounts for 2024 (which had been endorsed by the Independent Examiner of Accounts) were formally received, and the Officers and Committee for 2025 elected. 

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**Wallingford Chameleon Arts  |** Annual Report for 2025                                                                            Page **|** 



Daphne Rowbottom was appointed as Trustee. 

Graham Hobbins was re-appointed as the Independent Examiner of Accounts for 2025. 

Subsequently, Roger Morgan stood down as Trustee on 12 April 2025, Anthony Coombs was appointed as Trustee on 27 June 2025, Amanda Hines stood down as Trustee on 29 June 2025 and Carol Heaton stood down as Trustee on 26 September 2025. 

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**Wallingford Chameleon Arts  |** Annual Report for 2025                                                                            Page **|**