Trustees Report 2023/24
Charity Name : Swansea Philharmonic Choir
Registration Number : 1044347
Address : 2 Golwg y Mynydd, Craig Cefn Parc, Swansea, SA6 5RF
Trustee Names : Hazel Phillips, Ruth Ridge, Rachel Hook, Catrin Alun
Structure & Management
The day to day management of the choir is undertaken by the elected committee. To ensure that members’ views are taken to the Committee, all Committee members shall attend regularly. If unable to attend a meeting, a Committee member must send an apology giving a reason for absence, and may submit comments on agenda items to the Secretary before the meeting. The Committee shall conduct itself in an engaging and inclusive manner with members as a whole by seeking constructive input from members and providing responses to questions raised by members in a reasonable time preferably at the next rehearsal after a Committee meeting.
The Choir has a Music Sub-committee which puts forward its proposals for the forthcoming year(s) to the main committee in time for budget decisions to be made. The Choir may set up other ad hoc sub-committees, work groups or task and finish groups as required (each to contain at least one committee member). Each sub-committee / group must report back to the main committee with written recommendations.
The constitution states that the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer shall be the Trustees. The positions are filled via nomination at the AGM and a vote by the members of the choir.
Objects of the Choir
The objects of the Choir are:
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To advance, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music by any means the trustees see fit, including through the presentation of public concerts and recitals and performing choral works in a wide variety of styles.
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To further such charitable purposes as the trustees in their absolute discretion shall think fit, but in particular through the making of grants and donations.
Achievements & Performance
Chair’s Report to the AGM (excerpt)
Let’s start with our Christmas concert - it was an absolute delight to sing such a marvellous festive programme at the Brangwyn with the superb British Sinfonietta and our soloists. The audience were tremendously appreciative of our efforts and their reaction was our reward for a job well done.
At our spring concert at the Brangwyn, we celebrated the 300th anniversary of Bach’s St John Passion and the Choir rose to the challenge of performing the work in German. Once again we were accompanied by the British Sinfonietta and 6 top-class soloists, including the wonderful Gareth Tresedar as the Evangelist. Two audience members were so moved, they e-mailed our Membership Secretary, Alison Weare, with their thoughts following the concert: “The Choir were an absolute triumph - consistent from start to finish. When the chorus opened the evening with those first notes, it was clear that the evening would be one to remember. The phrasing, uniformity and discipline, enunciation and colour of tone made attending the evening an absolute delight. Having the opportunity to be there was a privilege and for that we owe you our thanks. It goes without saying that the conducting of Jonathan Rogers was masterful and an absolute exemplar of his craft.”
In June, we held our summer concert. Despite competing with glorious sunshine, almost 200 people attended All Saints’ Church, Oystermouth, at an earlier start time of 18:00. It was a pleasure to hear Huw Tregelles Williams accompanying us on the organ and to see Susan receiving deserved public recognition for her talents. Also, a special mention to our soloists for their fine performances. All four have taken part in our Swansea Philharmonic Choir scholarship scheme which supports young people with choral singing.
At the beginning of this term, the Choir launched its first e-newsletter as a way of keeping our supporters up-to-date. This is an exciting development in the Choir’s publicity alongside its website, presence on social media and advertising in local publications.
Musical director’s report to the AGM (excerpt)
Autumn 2023 was a busy term as we prepared a substantial programme of music for our winter concert. Named ‘ A Christmas Celebration’ we tackled Rutter’s ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Gloria’, Vaughan Williams’ ‘Fantasia on Christmas Carols’, Finzi’s ‘In Terra Pax’ and Parry’s ‘Blest Pair of Sirens for good measure! A lot of notes to cover but the result was a fantastic concert with a substantial orchestra in attendance. Our soloists were the excellent Meinir Wyn Roberts (Soprano) and Steffan Lloyd Owen (Bass) who had sung with us the previous year. In the Spring term we tackled Bach’s incredible ‘St John Passion’ celebrating 300 years since its first performance. Ably assisted yet again by the British Sinfonietta, our soloists included Emily Long, Kieron Connor-Valentine and Gareth Edmunds. A special mention to James Geidt who assumed the role of ‘Pilate’ and Dan D’Souza who was ultimately our ‘3rd Christ’! Also of course to friend of the choir Gareth Treseder who gave a jaw-dropping performance in the role of the ‘Evangelist’. To perform this work in German was questioned by many, but I hope lots of you will agree that performing this fantastic work in its original language was the correct decision. Our performance was dramatic, committed and very moving and is a concert that I, for one, will remember fondly for many years. In our summer concert, the programme featured a variety of ‘Music for the Spirit and Soul’. It was lovely to return to All Saints’ Oystermouth where we always have a hospitable welcome and the sound is well balanced. The concert was a lovely one to direct as we explored some new repertoire and the audience reaction was universally positive. We were supported with solo items from some of our ‘Scholars’ and it is fantastic to see our scholarship programme grow from year to year, as we expose the choir to younger people in the region. It is of course
important to state on record my enormous thanks to our accompanist Susan Croall in her absence, for her dedication and commitment to the role.
Financial Review
Treasurer’s Report to the AGM
The overall financial position of the choir at the end of the 2023/24 financial year is broadly the same as last year, with total net assets of £59,707.51. Of this, £52,330.03 relates to the cash balance across the two bank accounts. The debtor figure has increased when compared to last year – this now includes 2 years’ worth of anticipated gift aid claims and the income from ticket sales for the March concert via the Grand Theatre. The gift aid claim for 22/23 was submitted but had to be resubmitted, due to issues over the named contact but this has yet to be paid. The final account relating to March concert has been received from the Brangwyn Hall but the invoice has not, hence the need to account for the income as a debtor. The payments in advance all relate to future concerts – deposits for the Brangwyn Hall, for the orchestra to secure their services and payments for the hire of music, made early so that we pay the current price rather than a potentially inflated price in the future. The creditor relates to the March concert and monies owed for the hire of the Brangwyn, PRS costs and advertising.
General account
Moving on to the general account, you will see a surplus of income over expenditure of £6,699.32. A few points to note:
· Under donations, the choir gratefully benefitted from a legacy of £500 from the estate of former chorister, Sylvia Twigg and a donation of £350 from Penclawdd Choral Society following its demise.
· We have seen a slight increase in the interest received from our CCLA account due to the interest rate increases.
· Whilst every effort is made to control expenditure as much as possible, there have been some inevitable inflationary increases.
Concerts Account
Moving on to the concerts account, the picture isn’t quite as rosy, with an overall loss of £9,499.05, which is a fairly significant increase on the losses seen last year. However, it should be noted that we had the benefit of the £2,500 fee from Jubilee/Memorial concert last year. This position has been offset by the surplus on the general account and is one that we must accept will happen if we want to continue performing large works in a venue such as the Brangwyn Hall with professional soloists and an orchestra of the standard of the British Sinfonietta. As a committee, we are constantly seeking ways to minimise any losses and were fortunate to secure a further grant from the Gower Society to cover the cost of the programmes for the December concert – we are very grateful for their continued support. For the first time in a number of years, we have started to include adverts in the programmes so if you know of any local businesses who would like to support us in this way, please let us know. Sponsorship for the concerts is also being sought, however this does not detract from the need to sell tickets for our concerts, both to give the choir a decent income and give us as choristers a good audience to perform to.
Social Fund
The fundraising total is once again fantastic and we need to thank all of those involved for their hard work in achieving this total, which makes a significant contribution to the financial position of the choir.
There are no funds held as a custodian trustee.
Swansea Philharmonic Choir Balance Sheet as at 31st July 2024 202312024 202212023 Cash at Bank- Lloyds Cash at bank- CCLA Petty Cash {Cash in Handl Debtors Payment In advance (Concerts) Total Assets £40,505.68 , £11,824.35 £0.00 £4,594.16" £4,596.84 -.4 £61.521.03 £42,820.77- £11,239.70 £13.33 £1,651.81. £4,779.30 £60,504.91 Less Uabllltles Prepaid Income Credltors Total Uabllities £200.00 . £1.613.52' £1,813.52 £291.30, £291.30 Net A55ets £59 707.51 £60 213.61 Represented by Concert Contln8ency Fund General Reserve £ii,ow.oJ £48,707.51 £59 707.51 £11,0.00 £49,213.61 £60 213.61 Totsl General Reserve Reserves b/f Surplus on General alc Loss on Concerts a/c Surplus on Soclal a/ £49,213.61 £6,699.32 / 9,499.05 . £2,293.63 £42,188.82 £6,662.87. -£2,173.7S £2,535.67. General Reserve £48 707.51 £49 213.61 The accounts have been revlewed and verified a5 correct by Gareth Westlake CPFA 23 loq lig
Swansea Philharmonic Choir General Account for the year ended 31st July 2024 Income 202312024 1.575. 584.65 985.(K) 98.(X) 1,640.(M) 1.577.83 10.805.IXI Annual Dinner CCL4 Bank auarterly Interest Donations/ Bequests Folders resale Friends Gift Aid Subscriptions- Membership Music- Byrd & Bach Music- Carols for Choirs Muslc- European Sacred Music- Faure Requiem Muslc - Laurid5en Lux Aeterna Music - Pucclni Messa di Gloria Music- Jubilee Concert Music- Bach St John Passlon Music- Rutter/Parry Music- Varlous Summer 24 22123 repayment not claimed Unrfomis I,4.c 341.72 95.INJ 63.C 1,580.00 1.651.81 10.675.C 146.LM) 420.50 85. 152.¢XI 632.00 176.00 795.07 572.lxi I,142.1 979.50 66.30 90.(X) 20,1.23 75.TrJ ,288.10 Total In¢ome Expendlture Annual Dlnner Cardreader Fees Equipment Folders General Advertlsln8 Gifts Makin8 Music- Insurance Fees-JR Fees- SC Muslc- Carols for Cholrs Music - Faure Requiem Music - Lauridsen Lux Aeterna Muslc - O Men from the Fields Music - Puccini Messa di Glorla Music - Bach St John Passion Music- RutterlParry Music- Various Summer 24 Quickbooks Subscription Rehearsal Rooms Room Hlre Programmes (June 231 Unrforms General Administrative expenses Organ tuning Hospitality expenses 1,766.70 70.11 1,359.50 98.81 109.49 175.Crf] 176.00 38.1)J 418.00 2,905.IXI 1,870,(M) 23.IX) 543.C 3,256.(Kl 2,065.(Kl 78.60 794.75 90.(NJ 153.7S 545.61 1,257.98 938.47 374.40 2,220.IXJ 331.20 2,125.IXJ 135. 130.00 49.24 117.89 85.49 I.00 40.20 13A15.% Total expendlture 11,625.23 Surplus/lDeficitl 6,699.32 6,662.87
Swansea Philharmonic Choir Social Account for the year ended 31st July 2023 202312024 202212023 Income 100 Club Resale of Books etc. Cake Sale Raffles Refreshments linc. AGM) Sale of goods Total income £1.125.00 £215.92 £0.00 £576.50 £356.21 £20.00 £2.293.63 £1,112.(J) £264.21 £130.00 £659.25 £370.21 £2,535.67 Expendlture Total expendlture £0.00 £0.00 Sur lus/(Deficit) £2 293.63 £2,535.67
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees
Charity Name Swansea Philharmonic Choir
31[st] July 2024 1044347 1 to 4
On accounts for the year ended Charity no (if any)
Set out on pages
(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
Responsibilities and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/ 07 / 2024.
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 Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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 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.
18/09/2024 Gareth Westlake CPFA 26 Ffordd y Groes
Signed: Date: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:
1
Oct 2018
IER
Bridgend
CF31 5EQ
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
2
Oct 2018
IER