ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2024
A. Reference and Administration Details
The Exeter Festival Chorus is a registered Charity, No 1040565, and is governed by its Constitution. The address of the Secretary is Rangitoto, Littlemead Lane, Exmouth Devon, EX8 3BU
The following were members of the Committee for the year 2023-24:
Jillian Nickels, (Chair re-elected Jan 2024) Trustee
Kate Holt (Treasurer elected Jan 22) Trustee
Bridget Baines (Secretary elected Jan 2023) Trustee
Nigel Crane (Vice Chair, stepped down in September 2023)
Tam Jackson (Elected 25[th] Jan 2024 Vice Chair from 13[th] May 2024)
Nike Hariades (Membership Secretary re-elected Jan 2023) Trustee
Charlie Lane (Artistic Planning elected Jan 2021) Trustee
Judith Drury (Committee Member elected Jan 2021) Trustee
Louise Roberts(Concert Manager elected Jan 2021) Trustee
Caroline Fewkes (Marketing Team elected Jan 2023)
Simon Bates (Scholarship and Outreach elected 25[th] Jan 2024) Trustee
The Musical Director, Andrea Brown, is an ex officio member of the Committee but not a Trustee.
Bankers: CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ; HSBC, 9 St Thomas Centre, Cowick Street, Exeter, EX4 1DD
Independent Examiner: Nicholas Kellagher, Rest Harrow, Green Lane, Exton, EX3 0PW
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B. Structure, Governance and Management
Copies of the Chorus’s Constitution are available from the Honorary Secretary on request. See Section C below for extract concerning the objectives of the Chorus.
Every member of the Chorus’s Committee is a Trustee of the Charity and is elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee meets between six and eight times each year and the Annual General Meeting is held each January.
The Constitution requires that the Committee should comprise no fewer than eight members of the Chorus. There are currently eight members on the Committee, however, the Committee would always welcome new members who may wish to contribute to the Chorus through Committee work.
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Review of major risks (to be reviewed by Chair)
| Risk | Mitigating Actions |
|---|---|
| 1. Loss of Musical director | Seek a replacement as soon as possible |
| 2. Cancellation of concert | Covered by an abandonment clause in insurance policy |
| 3. Financial Loss | Reserves policy in place |
C. Objectives and Activities
The objectives of the Chorus, as set out in the Constitution, are as follows:
“To promote, improve, develop and maintain public education in and appreciation of choral music in all its aspects by the presentation of public choral concerts and by such other ways as the Chorus may from time to time decide.”
D. Achievements and Performance
The new term in September 2023 began with Exeter Festival Chorus taking part in the Exeter Cathedral concert in support of ABF, The Soldiers’ Charity. EFC joined forces once more with St David’s Singers, directed by Mark Perry, in a varied programme for the charity gala.
Our first EFC season concert was ‘Northern Lights’, which was designed to capture the spare and mysterious qualities of a Scandinavian Yuletide. The sell-out concert meant that we had to close online bookings on the day and adapt seating arrangements for a number of tickets sold on the door.
We were very lucky to have the generous services of Chris Wilson who provided the transformational and atmospheric lighting. We enjoyed Peter Adcock’s Arctic Romance by Bo Nilsson and the Divertimento StringEnsemble provided accompaniment for Mårten Jansson’s Missa Popularis among other works. The surround sound achieved in the Ola Gjeilo Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium) was wonderful. The range of works, (Gjeilo’s Unicornis Captivator; Jan Sandström, Arvo Pärt, Gustav Nordqvist’s Jul, Jul, Strålande Jul) with an a capella finale of Ēriks Ešenvalds’ Stars, made the evening such a memorable EFC occasion and the Glögg enjoyed in the interval topped the Scandinavian festive feel.
Exeter Festival Chorus rang in the New Year with our annual choral workshop day led by Andrea in the Mint Church. The day was a sell-out, because of the popularity of the work being studied (Bach’s B minor Mass) and, of course, the reputation we have as a choir under Andrea Brown’s meticulous and passionate musical direction. The work was performed at Baroque pitch (as indeed was the summer concert) with Peter Adcock meeting the demands of playing for a full choir and accompanying the soloists in the cameo performance, whilst transposing at the keyboard from its orchestral pitch. Amanda Dodds and Kate Kelly, with the proficient and experienced EFC team, made sure the day ran smoothly and successfully. Our young soloists
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were secured from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and they added their skilful and stirring performances to the day.
At the workshop, as well as our usual EFC singer recruitment drive, after a successful collaboration with Exeter Philharmonic Choir (when we were offered free places to perform in their March concert), EFC promoted a first free summer term for new Lower Voices who could meet the standards of the choir. This was initiated on the workshop day and the singers who took that up performed in our summer concert- Bach Mass in B Minor in Exeter Cathedral.
Exeter Festival Chorus was sought out via Andrea to sing in Carlos Acosta and Laura Rodriguez’s dance production in Theatre Royal, Plymouth, at the end of February. A small group of EFC singers took part in rehearsals and two performances. The singers performed Mårten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium, which was a prestigious coup for us, with Andrea conducting both evenings.
‘Of Music and Invention’ was an ambitious Spring concert programme performed in St. Peter’s Church, Tiverton and sponsored by Heathcoat Fabrics Ltd.It featured music spanning over 1000 years, from Hildegard von Bingen, Purcell, Lotti, Pearsall, Jan Sandström and Jessica Curry. ‘Of Music and Invention’ had a main focus on Cecilia McDowall’s Da Vinci Requiem and Eric Whitacre’s innovative and emotive virtuoso piece Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine. This challenging programming covered a broad spectrum of music, with demanding vocal techniques skilfully obtained from the choir by Andrea.
In preparation for the summer concert, a new venture this year was an appeal through Just Giving (thanks to Paul Rosser who set up the project and to everyone else in the ‘external funding’ group who did so much towards its launch) which raised £1,647. The use of this platform was a new departure for us and represents another method to appeal for funds from our supporters who feel that they want to contribute in this way. It was very much a project to facilitate EFC to maintain the high standards we enjoy; stage bold and high-quality concerts which are often costly to undertake; continue to develop our repertoire; use top musicians and hugely benefit audiences and EFC members themselves. We also had continuing generous contributions from The Bryan Foster Charitable Trust as well as loyal individual patrons and the further expansion of innovative financial focuses is set to be developed into the future as much as we can.
The Bach Mass in B minor attracted a large audience in Exeter Cathedral. The evening started with a spoken tribute to Nigel Perrin, who led EFC for over 20 years as MD.He imparted a transformation built on the original premise and ambitions for the choir and he passionately championed EFC whilst bringing us a new audience and an excellent reputation.
The complexity of the scoring and the length of the work, which requires pace and stamina, is demanding for choral singers. Our five soloists were Elizabeth Drury, Bethany Partridge, John Upperton, Timothy Dickinson and Benjamin Irvine-Capel (alto) and we had the always excellent Devon Baroque. This combination of musical forces meant that Andrea’s vision for the work was perfectly realised. Andrea’s clarity and expressiveness of conducting made the experience of singing Bach’s
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work inspiring. We were also successful in attracting an additional seven guest lower voices for the summer concert who were recruited from our Lower Voice publicity. Exeter Festival Chorus is, of course, still committed to growing its reputation among audiences, continuing with ambitious repertoire and attracting the finest choral singers in our area. The committee works very hard to achieve this and EFC also relies on our essential central membership non-committee roles: Voice Reps; Librarian team; social occasions and catering teams; ticketing and marketing; EFC annual workshop teams; social media and input on the crucial external finance which are the keystone to our success.
Our striving for vocal balance in the choir is an ongoing focus for us and this year we have been working to establish links with Exeter University in the expectation that we recruit and support young singers by developing the EFC scholarship system, with an inbuilt financial and tuition element initiated, which is in current development by Simon Bates.
Our focus on musical development means that we continue to offer opportunities for EFC singers to perform solo and in small groups.
Our spotlight on charitable causes each concert raises substantial donations – our last concert raised £611.85 for FORCE.
We are also committed to continue and further engage links with young people in Devon, as evident in this season’s collaboration with Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra and pupils from schools in Exeter.
Our reserves at the end of the financial year showed a surplus of £5,152, leaving our accumulated fund holding at £36,956
Jill Nickels Exeter Festival Chorus Chair
E. PUBLIC BENEFIT
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties.
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F. Financial Review
FY 23/24 was another excellent year for Exeter Festival Chorus resulting in surplus of £5,152
General operating income and costs are in good shape:
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General income came in £4k higher than budget.
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Income from Membership came in at £16.2K, £1K higher than budget and an increase on £2K from the prior year due to the increase in Subscriptions for FY 23/24.
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Gift Aid exceeded the budget by £800.
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Our fundraising efforts raised over £2k with an expanding array of initiatives including coffee, raffles, table sales, silver clay workshops and the sale of cards as well as post-concert parties. Sincere thanks go to Kate Kelly, Carol and Nigel Hewitt, Nike Westman, Tam Jackson, Lucina Swain and Caroline Fewkes for leading these activities and to the team who support them.
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Loans from our music library increased again this year generating £388. Thanks to Janet Bowdler and Susan Gameson for their hard work in managing our library.
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Income from Friends and Patrons was on the budget at £985.
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We continue to benefit from higher interest rates with bank interest yielding £600.
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General costs came in lower than budgeted by £4k, mainly due to lower than budgeted conductor costs.
Three concerts made profit in 23/24:
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Our collaboration with ABF at the start of the year made a profit of £415.
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Northern Lights made a profit of £1k. This was due to very successful ticket sales of £4.7k plus receipt of £977 in sponsorship from Run by Singers for the purchase of Missa Popularis. Some members also purchased their own scores for the Missa Popularis. Both these initiatives helped to offset the high music purchase costs for this concert.
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The January workshop made a profit of £721 which was lower than the budget by £95
Three concerts were loss-making:
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The Lower Voices Workshop made a loss of £401. The committee has decided to discontinue this workshop in future and return its focus to growing our main January workshop.
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Our Spring concert in Tiverton – Of Music and Invention – made a loss of £851against a budgeted loss of £328. Income was higher than the budget by £1k due to high ticket sales at £1.9k, sponsorship from Heathcoat Fabrics of
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£1.5k and this concert’s allocation of the music hire income of £1.3k. However, costs came in £1.6k higher than the budget due to soloists’ fees, the unbudgeted cost of hiring a piano, and high music costs of £1.2k.
- Our July concert –the Bach B Minor mass at Exeter Cathedral– lost just £2.5k against a budgeted loss of £6k. Income was £4.6k higher than budget at £15.7k. This was comprised of £12k in ticket and programme sales, £1.5k in sponsorship from the Bryan Foster Trust, and £2.1k in donations from Ros Beetham and from the Just Giving campaign. Costs came in at £18k, which was £1k higher than the budget. The orchestra cost was £2.5k higher than budgeted. Savings were made against other cost lines such as publicity, catering and programmes which offset this overspend.
Special acknowledgement must go to Paul Rosser and Charlie Lane for their work in establishing the External Finance subcommittee. This subcommittee is dedicated to raising external finance for EFC through sponsorships, trusts and crowdfunding initiatives such as the Just Giving campaign for the Bach B Minor Mass Concert. Their efforts, along with the support of others on the subcommittee, have generated a total of £3,489 this year.
We are also grateful for the ongoing support of our generous Friends, Patrons and The Bryan Foster Charitable Trust. Their total contribution this year was £2,485
The Choir’s cash balances as at 31[st] August 2024 stand at £35,467
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EXETER FESTIVAL CHORUS G. Financial Statements Exeter Festival Chorus Accounts 2023-2024 Statement of Financial Activities Year Ending 31st August 2024 Financial activities 202Y24 202Y23 Incoming resources Concert income - b"ckets, prraMmeS etc Member subsGnptions Sponsorship, fnends. patrons and other donations Fundraising Gift Aid Affiliate income Bank Interest other income 22,315 19, 178 23,523 15.882 5, 594 2.04T 3.854 1, 148 610 388 9,680 1,603 4. 183 889 251 210 Total incoming resources 55.134 56,221 Resources expended Concert costs - performers ConGert Gosts - venue, musiG, publiGIty, staging etG Rehearsal costs General publicity Insurance & Making Music subscription Postage: stationery & other general costs Bank Charges 18,044 21,646 13.252 15,534 565 655 1,882 12,466 16.217 485 634 1, 788 60 Total resources expended 49,982 53,296 Total Surplus / (Deficit) 5,152 2,925
Signed :
04/12/2024
Name: Jillian Nickels - Chair of trustees on behalf of the trustees Approved by the trustees on
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H. Statement of Cashflow
Exeter Festival Chorus has no investing or financing activities
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I. Notes to the Financial Statements
1. Basis of accounting
The financial statements have been prepared on an accruals basis in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) effective from January 2015.
2. Accounting Policies
Reserves - To achieve its objectives the Chorus needs to promote concerts, programmed up to two years in advance, which could result in financial deficits as a result of receipts failing to meet costs. The Trustees consider that the reserves at each year-end should be at least £20,000. Should this level of reserves not be achieved, the Trustees will arrange future concert programmes with the aim of returning to the required level of reserves.
Incoming Resources - All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the Charity is entitled to the income, its receipt is sufficiently certain and the amounts can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
Resources Expended - All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.
Stock –.Stock consists of a library of music purchased and owned by the Chorus; it is held at the lower of cost and net realisable value. 50% of the cost of new music purchased is charged to the first concert at which the music is performed. The stock of music is depreciated at 10% on a reducing balance basis. This is a change of accounting policy from previous years. Stock is available for hire to other choirs.
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3. Trustees Expenses and Related Party Transactions
The Trustees receive no emoluments and any expense claims must be made within the terms of the Charity’s Trustee Expenses Policy.
There have been no related party transactions in 2023/24.
| Nature of Expense | 2023/24 £ |
2022/23 £ |
|---|---|---|
| Technology costs | 329 | 598 |
| Concert costs | 440 | 0 |
| Charity Donations and fundraising | 238 | 203 |
| Choir development | 32 | |
| Advertisements | 270 | |
| Travel, Subsistence and General costs | 444 | 436 |
| Total amount paid | 1,451 | 1,539 |
| Number of Trustees paid expenses | 6 | 5 |
4. Analysis of Debtors
All debtors fall due within one year
| 31 August 2024 £ |
31 August 2023 £ |
|
|---|---|---|
| Trade debtors | ||
| Prepayments | 833 | 227 |
| Total debtors | 833 | 227 |
5. Analysis of Creditors
All creditors fall due within one year
| 31 August 2024 £ |
31 August 2023 £ |
|
|---|---|---|
| Trade creditors | 871 | 355 |
| Deferred income | 428 | |
| Total creditors | 1299 | 355 |
Deferred income was subscriptions received in advance from three members.
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EXETER FESTIVAL CHORUS EXEfER FESTIVAL CHORUS Independent Examiner's R•port to th• Trust••8 and m•mbern of Exeter Festival Chorus (Charity no: 1040565 I report on the accounts of the Chorus for the year etxled 31.08.2024 R•sp•ctlv• rosponslbllltbu of trusto08 and •xamin•r The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of accounts. The harity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 14412) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act)and that an independent examination needed. It B my responsibilty.. to examine the accounts under seCtn 145 of the 2011 Acl: to follow the procedures laid down in the Gertral Direcljons gNen by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act., and to stste Vther partiojlaf matters have c(¥r* to my atten1K. Basls of Independent •xaminor'¥ 8tst•m•nt= My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examinatson Includes a reVW of the accounting recofds kept by the charty and a companson of the accounts Pfesented wrth those records It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts. and seeking explanations from you as trustees conceming any such mattefs. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eviden that would be required In an aLKlit and consequently no opinion ts given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair view- and the report is Iwnited to those matters set Oul in the ststement bek)w. Indendent examin•rfs statgmenL" In connection with my exarninati, no matter has u)me lo my attents'on: a) which gives me reasonable cause to believe thai in any matefial respect IP requiremenls.. to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act: and io prepare a(xounts which accord wrth ihe accounting records and comply wrth the accounting requirements of th8 2011 Act have nol been or b) to which. in my opinion. attenlion shoukl be drawn in Order to enable a proper understaThJing of Ihe xcounts to be reached. Slgned . Dat• . l/i?J ly Name JNB Ke1her FCA Address. Rest Harrow. Green Larbe. Exton. Devon EX3 OPW 13 13
Declaration
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ Report above. Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees:
Signatures:
Full names: Jillian Mary Nickels Positions: Exeter Festival Chorus Chair Date: 04/12/2024
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