Trustees Report 2024/25
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, Nicholas Way
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)
Much has happened since our last AGM and it is nearly a year since the sad passing of Susan Croall, our cherished accompanist and dear friend whose unwavering dedication was the heart and soul of Swansea Philharmonic Choir. She is greatly missed and our forthcoming concert rightly honours her legacy, celebrating six decades of musical devotion. Last November, we performed Verdi’s Requiem at the Brangwyn Hall, 150 years after its premiere in Milan in 1874. It served as a fitting tribute to Susan, and everyone’s efforts truly honoured her memory. I’m deeply grateful to the Choir for their dedication throughout what was a challenging term.
Despite Storm Bert, we welcomed a significant audience of over 650, many of whom expressed their appreciation with a well-deserved standing ovation. In January, we welcomed Chris Samuel as our new accompanist. Known to many already, we are fortunate to benefit from his extensive experience spanning over 30 years in music education as well as accompanying choirs and soloists. In April, at the Brangwyn, we performed Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass and Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor. Following the triumph of the Verdi, audience numbers were disappointing although those who attended were appreciative of our efforts. The soloists were superb and the British Sinfonietta were on top form. We were delighted to have been sent good wishes from Ola Gjeilo himself for our concert. In June, at Swansea Minster, we performed Sir Karl Jenkins’ ‘Stabat Mater’ and a selection of other reflective choral works. The Minster provided a perfect setting for the occasion, with its acoustics and atmosphere enhancing the emotional depth of the music. We were especially honoured to receive a message from Sir Karl Jenkins himself, wishing us a “successful, moving and inspiring evening.” Last term, we proudly celebrated 10 years of Jonathan Roger’s leadership as our Conductor and Musical Director. Finally, a huge thank you to everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes, and a special mention to our incredible Choir Committee - your dedication and support make all the difference. As we continue to grow, welcome new choristers, and raise the bar in our choral singing, we need more passionate individuals to step into committee roles. This is your chance to shape the future of our Choir, contribute your talents, and be part of something truly special.
Musical director’s report to the AGM (excerpt)
It has been a year of both significant transition and reflection for the Swansea Philharmonic Choir. Following the very sad passing of Susan Croall, who gave so much to this choir over many years, we welcomed Chris Samuel to the role of accompanist. Chris has already brought great energy, skill and enthusiasm to rehearsals and performances, and we are very fortunate to have him as part of our musical team. Our first concert of the year – Verdi’s Requiem – was a resounding success. The scale of the work, combined with the large number of choristers on stage, created a thrilling and deeply moving performance. The commitment shown by singers throughout the term was exemplary, and the result was a concert of real musical and emotional power. It was an evening that truly demonstrated what this choir can achieve when everyone is fully engaged and working together towards a shared goal. The spring concert, featuring Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor and Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, proved to be a more mixed experience. Despite some moments of real beauty, the overall performance did not reach the same level of cohesion or confidence as our earlier concert. This was a little disappointing given that we had a fairly long spring term to prepare the repertoire, so perhaps a little complacency was in play. Specifically, it was clear that not all choristers were sufficiently familiar with the music, and this uneven level of preparation had a noticeable impact—not just on the overall musical quality, but on the experience of those who had worked especially hard to be performance-ready. In addition, certain sections of the choir—who have previously delivered such strong and vibrant performances in recent concerts—sounded noticeably fatigued, which unfortunately led to persistent intonation issues and an overall lack of energy. Finally, the low turnout from the audience was disheartening and may well have impacted the quality of the performance. The soloists were tremendous however with special mention going to Nina Bennet and Cressida Sharp, our two wonderful sopranos on that evening. Unfortunately, our summer concert was particularly disappointing. Attendance at rehearsals and on the day itself was lower than earlier in the year, and this was reflected in the performance. Too many choristers appeared underprepared, with several visibly unsure of the music and singing only
intermittently. It’s worth remembering that following the mixed outcomes of the Spring concert, I arranged online rehearsal aids to assist in choristers’ preparation of the music in this rather short summer term. These seemed to make little difference and having looked at the number of ‘views’ some of these videos had, it was clear that lots of people who needed them, chose not to take advantage of them. This “pick and choose” approach to attendance and concert participation is deeply unhelpful and makes planning extremely difficult. This issue is not new. As noted in the 2023 report, maintaining consistent commitment throughout the year is essential if the choir is to perform at the high standard it is capable of achieving. The dwindling enthusiasm for summer concerts – both in terms of numbers and engagement – suggests that the viability of future summer performances should be carefully reconsidered. If the appetite simply isn’t there, we may be better served focusing our efforts on fewer, more polished events that showcase the choir at its best. When preparation, attendance and focus come together, the Choir continues to produce performances of great musical integrity and emotional impact. My thanks go to Chris Samuel, to our committee and officers, and to all choristers who have worked hard and sung with commitment this year. I look forward to building on our strengths as we plan for the year ahead.
Financial Review
Treasurer’s Report to the AGM
Overall the choir is in a reasonably sound position financially. You will see from the balance sheet that the net assets have reduced slightly when compared to the last financial year and now stand at £56,783.50 – this reflects a reduction of £2,924.01. The majority of the assets relate to the cash balance across the 2 bank accounts. The debtor figure is lower as this is simply the gift aid claim for one year – the figure for last year included 2 years of Gift Aid claims and ticket income owed to us from the City & County of Swansea. The payments in advance mainly relate to future concerts, with the costs being deposits for venue hire, for the orchestra, publicity for future concerts 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. There are no creditors this year as all relevant invoices were received and paid within the financial year.
General account
Moving on to the general account, you will see a surplus of income over expenditure of £6,428.64, which is broadly in line with last year. We continue to make every effort to keep expenditure under control but there have been some inevitable inflationary increases. We have also incurred some additional one-off costs this year for first aid training and supplies. You will note that the gift aid claim will be submitted for £1,762.65, which is a reasonable contribution to the overall surplus.
Concerts Account
Moving on to the concerts account, you will see an overall loss of £11,709.91, which is an increase on the concert losses we experienced last year. We are very grateful for the continued support of the Gower Society in covering the costs of the programmes for the November and April concerts and to Gower College and Peter Lynn and Partners for their sponsorship for the Verdi concert. As I have mentioned in previous years, the losses have been offset by the surplus on the general account. Income from the Friends Scheme and a proportion of our subscriptions
have to be utilised to support the concert expenditure, which 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. The figures do demonstrate how important it is that we try to sell as many tickets as we can for each concert in order that our losses are minimised. We have some larger concerts coming up, with associated increased costs – it can be seen from the Verdi concert that selling a higher number of tickets minimises the loss and makes the concert a more enjoyable experience for us as choristers, with a larger audience to perform to. Alongside this, the committee are continually reviewing our expenditure to ensure that we are getting value for money from the decisions that we make.
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 2025
| 2024/2025 | 2023/2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assets | ||||
| Cash atBank - Lloyds | £41,145.41 - | £40,505.68 | ||
| Cash at bank -CCLA | £12,376.44 / | £11,824.35 | ||
| Debtors Payment in advance (general) |
£1,762.65 /,; £29.10 / |
£4,594.16 £0.00 |
||
| Payment inadvance (Concerts) | £1,469.90 / | £4,596.84 | ||
| Total Assets | £56,783.50 | £61,521.03 | ||
| Less Liabilities | Prepaid Income | £0.00 | £200.00 | |
| _ | Creditors | £0.00 | £1,613.52 | |
| a | Total Liabilities | £0.00 | £1,813.52 | |
| Net Assets | £56,783.50 | £59,707.51 | ||
| Represented by | ||||
| Concert Contingency Fund | £11,000.00 | £11,000.00 | ||
| General Reserve | £45,783.50 | £48,707.51 | ||
| Total | £56,783.50 | £59,707.51 | ||
| General Reserve | ||||
| Reserves b/f | £48,707.51 ~ | £49,213.61 | ||
| Surplus on General a/c | £6,428.64 ~ | £6,699.32 | ||
| Loss on Concerts a/c | -£11,709.91 - | -£9,499.05 | ||
| Surplus on Social a/c | £2,357.26 — | £2,293.63 | ||
| = | General Reserve | £45,783.50 | £48,707.51 |
_
a
The accounts have been reviewed and verified as correct by Gareth Westlake CPFA
Swansea Philharmonic Choir
General Account for the year ended 31st July 2025
||income
|C—C—C‘—‘“‘SCSCSCSCSCSCS2024/2025
| 2023/2024|income
|C—C—C‘—‘“‘SCSCSCSCSCSCS2024/2025
| 2023/2024|
|---|---|---|
|||GiftAid-prioryearadjustment |
28.21]|
|||[Music-BachStJohn
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572.000)
[Music-Rutter/Parry
|
|
0,142.00)
[Music-VariousSummer
24
|
|
979.50)
[Music-VerdiRequiem
|
495.00]
[Music-Sunrise &CMinorMass |
2,384.00
[Music-Jenkins&®ESM
|
240.00]
22/23 repaymentnotclaimed
|
0.00
6.30|
||Totalincome
[|2,677.95]
20,115.28)
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|||Equipment8}
Training
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22823]
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4 6.00]|
|~||[Music-BachStJohn
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|
845
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2,257.98)
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24
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|
(98.47
Music-VerdiRequiem
|
592.87]
[Music
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|
,475.60]
Music-Jenkins&®ESM_—
|
451.00]|
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|
|
130.00
uniforms
9.00
Websitecosts
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898.04]|
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Swansea Philharmonic Choir
Social Account for the year ended 31st July 2025
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|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|pO|2024/2025|2023/2024|
|100|Club|£1,226.50|£1,125.00|
|Resale|of|Books|etc.|£108.06|£215.92|
|£768.00|£576.50|
|Refreshments|(inc.|AGM)|£309.35|£356.21|
|Sale|of goods|£2.50|£20.00|
|TotalincomeCTCNAA]|£2,293.63|
|ExpenditureCT|
|Supplies|£57.15]|
|Total expenditure|£57.15|||£0.00)|
|Surplus/(Deficit)|£2,357.26| ———-£2,293.63]|
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| | CHARITY COMMISSION | Independent examiner's
| FOR ENGLAND AND WALES report on the accounts
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Section A
Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees ; . ; Swansea Philharmonic Choir
On accounts for the year | 31% July 2025 Charity no | 1044347 ended (if any) Set out on pages | 1 to 4 | report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/ 07 / 2025. Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in basis of report accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). | 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, | have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. : Independent | have completed my examination. | have no concerns and have come across no other examiner's statement 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.
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Name: | Gareth Westlake
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Relevant professional |CPFA qualification(s) or body (if any):
Address: | 26 Ffordd y Groes Bridgend CF31 5EQ
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
IER
1
Oct 2018
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.
IER
2
Oct 2018