**1)a)Annual Report for Eclectic Voices Society for the year ending 31 August 2023** Registered Charity 1052289 Governing Document: CONSTITUTION AS AMENDED 11TH JANUARY 1996 AS AMENDED BY RESOLUTION DATED 27 SEP 2018 Trustees: MR TIMOTHY LOWE MS JULIETTE CHATTERTON (until 19[th] January 2023) MS NADIA WEEKES MR ANDREW WOOD (from 19[th] January 2023) Trustees are appointed by election at Annual General Meeting, or exceptionally at an Extraordinary General Meeting. Contact address for the charity: 8, Rotherwick Road, London, NW11 7DA Bankers CAFCASH LTD Independent Examiner C HEATH 15 HEATH ROW BISHOP'S STORTFORD HERTS ## **OBJECTS** As stated in the Constitution: The objects of the Society shall be: a) to educate the public including the children of local schools in North London by the presentation of as wide a range of music as possible, including specially written works, this music being primarily presented by Eclectic Voices and b) to or towards or for the benefit or furtherance of such charitable purposes or charitable institutions as the Committee in their absolute discretion shall think fit. ## **ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE** The charity is run by a committee, of which the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are elected, as are the voice reps. Other members of the committee are the Musical Director, the Deputy Musical Director (also director of the children’s and youth choirs), representatives from each of the voice parts (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) and others as co-opted at the discretion of the committee. Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are the trustees of the charity. The choir is structured as two parts: - Eclectic Voices adult choir, directed by Scott Stroman, the Musical Director - Highbury Youth Choirs, for children and teenagers, directed by Sarah Wilkinson, codirector Hannah King. ## **RELATED PARTIES** No reportable transactions with related parties occurred during the year. ## **REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES – Adult Choir** The choir changed its rehearsal venue to American International Church in Tottenham Court Road from the start of the year (September 2022) – formerly, the rehearsal venue was Christ Church, Highbury. |Date|Location|Event| |---|---|---| |23 September
2022|St James, Prebend St,
Islington|Event with Antony Fort on the organ, including
Britten’s Rejoice in the, Lamb and Gloriana
Dances, Bach’s Christ Lag in Todesbanden,
Lauridsens O Magnum Mysterium, Bach’s
Choralefrom BWV147| |12 November
2022|St Paul’s, Covent
Garden|Performance_Songs of Life and Liberty_| |24 November
2022|St Paul’s Cathedral|Joined the American International Church choir
and guests to support theThanksgiving Service.| |10 December
2022|Christ Church,
Highbury|Family Christmas concert with Highbury Youth
Choirs| |11 February 2023|American International
Church|_Singers’ Choice_concert, with a selection of
works chosen by members of the choir.| |27 March 2023|Elizabeth Garrett
Anderson school,
Islington|Workshop to share Handel’s Messiah music
with children at the school, with introduction to
classical music and part singing| |2 April 2023|Union Chapel,
Islington|People’s Messiah concert, free to all| |10 June 2023|American International
Church|Songs in the Key of Life – performance of Scott
Stroman’s arrangements of Stevie Wonder
songs, plus music from other composers. With
Iain Ballamy on saxophone and the Guildhall
Jazz Singers.| |29thJune 2023|Christ Church,
Highbury|Support for a Highbury Youth Choirs concert.| Publicity material for a selection of our events SONGS OF LIFE & LIBERTY I,.cleLLic l ()iLL'S Singers, Choice 12 NOVEMBER 7.30PM THE ACTORS. CHURCH Ilern%lci ,Iessiaeii Ili( voices 5knr kcich SfQTf STRQMAM ASHTON 8W*50 suiiii(IBernsteinl)ass ',()?3 il)I';Iiii Steve Reich IlaLII STCVII £ii£ii le's fflessiafi Ke Eclectlc Volce8 dhall Jazz Slnger• laln Ballamy Siovie W.-)nder Paul Simon Burt Bacharac Joni Mitch Fleetwood IAEE 101 EVtItYONE Ecl¢¢k V¢tes & Ine City B¢KhCt*¢l￿¢ condvcled o¥ ScottStrornL Kelly Glypts. Joama oa¥les￿rX 5iobhai) Gibson thto N*kAleD lenor EyeF5 iuilL¥)• ELl¥%in Koye bg5S SUNDAY 2 AP￿l AT 4PM UNION CHAPEL Directed by Scott Stroman E( 7:30 pm Saturday 1 OJune 2023 7by* tl& £10 L ## **HIGHBURY YOUTH CHOIRS ACTIVITIES** Highbury Youth Choir meets weekly at Christ Church, Highbury, and is led by Hannah King and Sarah Wilkinson. The choir performed concerts on 10 December 2022, 23[rd] March 2023, and 29[th] June 2023, all at Christ Church, Highbury. The two younger choirs run concurrently, with the senior group running later. Our policy of not charging for concerts but asking for donations towards our bursary funds is working very well. It is brilliant to have young singers from families that would not be able to afford it. In April, some of the children sang for the Arsenal new kit launch and were featured (briefly) in the promotional video from the football club. The club has contributed a fee to the choir. ## **GRANTS** Eclectic Voices received no grants during the year. ## **PUBLIC BENEFIT** The trustees consider that they provide a public benefit in: - providing a musical education to the children of Highbury - inspiring the children of Highbury to higher musical achievements, by training and performing with top professional musicians - enabling amateur singers to learn music and perform at a high level with top professional musicians - providing musical performances for the general public, principally in London - providing music at no charge to groups who might otherwise be unable to hear, afford, or enjoy live music (Outreach Programme) - encouraging and facilitating performance of original music. The children’s choir is open to all. The adult choir sets a minimum musical standard (tested through a simple audition process). The concessionary fees for low income members (and, exceptionally, assistance with the other costs of involvement with the choir) ensure that no one is barred from taking part by financial constraints. ## **OUTREACH AND CHARITY** The major event was the ‘People’s Messiah’, a performance of Handel’s Messiah at Union Chapel, with the City Bach Collective, and singers Emily Atkinson, Joanna Davies, Siobhan Gibson, Nick Allen, Cheyney Kent, and Jonathan Eyers. By making this event entirely free, this event brought classical music to many who would not normally have encountered it. The event was supported by fundraising over several years, and by Union Chapel themselves. Thanks to Union Chapel and Rev Vaughan Jones for their help and support in this event. Some of the choir, with Scott Stroman, the director, and Liam Dunachie (piano), Ben Sansom (violin) and Kelly Glyptis (soprano). visited Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school to inspire, educate and present music from the Messiah. This was provided at no cost to the school. ## **NEW MUSIC FUND** It is part of the choir’s vision to encourage performance of new music, and to enable composers to provide it. The choir has raised funds (reported as Reserved Funds in the accounts) with the intention of commissioning new work with a choral element from aspiring young composers. The New Music fund neither paid out nor raised money during the year. ## **HYC BURSARIES** The choir accepts donations to fund free places at HYC for children whose families would otherwise not be able to afford the termly subscriptions. This is administered by the HYC professional team. ## **ACCOUNTING POLICIES** Accounts are prepared using a Receipts and Payments model, using the guidance on this model in SORP revised 2000 issued by the Charity Commission, with the exception that income from Gift Aid tax claims is recorded in the year of the claim not the year in which the funds are received. ## **STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE** |**INCOME**|| |---|---| |EV Subscriptions (inc study days)|13690| |HYS Subscriptions|6600| |Concert Income|5985| |Music sales|821| |Refreshments|560| |Bank interest|122| |Sale of recordings|35| |Receipts from Fund Raising activities|499| |Gift Aid Claim this year to be received|5158| |Sundry income|31| |HYS uniform sales|130| |New Music Fund donations|0| |Messiah Donations|4565| |Donations for HYC Bursaries|1913| |**total**|**40109**| |**EXPENDITURE**|| |---|---| |EV Professional fees (inc study days)|9242| |HYS Professional fees|5791| |Concert Expenditure|17781| |Music purchase|945| |Sundry expenditure|635| |MM Sub & Insurance|634| |Venue Hire|4695| |Printing and Publicity|128| |Bank fees|120| |New Music Fund commissions|0| |**total**|**39970**| ## **BALANCE SHEET** |**Assets**|| |---|---| |Cash|0| |Bank account|10483| |Gift Aid claimed, not yet received|5158| |Other debtors|0| |**Liabilities**|| |None|0| |Net assets|15641| ## **RESERVED FUNDS** The choir has reserved funds for New Music, HYC Bursaries and the People’s Messiah project. |**Reserved Funds- New Music**|| |---|---| |At start of year|737| |Raised|0| |Spent|-0| |Totals|737| |**Reserved Funds at end of year - New Music**|**737 **| ||| |**Reserved Funds- Messiah Project**|Credit| |At start of year|3894| |Raised|4565| |Spent|-8459| |**Reserved Funds at end of year - Messiah**
**Project**|**0**| ||| |**Reserved Funds- HYC Bursaries**|Credit| |**At start of year**|821| |Raised|1913| |Number of free places=22.5 @ 60|| |Spent|-1350| |**Reserved Funds at end of year- Bursaries**|**1384**| |**Unreserved Funds**|**13520**| |---|---| |**Sum of Reserved and Unreserved**|**15641**| ## **DESIGNATED FUNDS** The choir has no designated funds. Due to rounding, totals may not add exactly. INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ECLECTIC VOICES SOCIETY I reporton the xtounts of the Sttletyfortheyear ended 31 AU￿$t 2023.￿￿th set out on p4es i to Respertive responsibilities of trustees and exanliner The th￿l￿Stnutees are res￿)nSIble forthe preparation ofthe account& Tr cknitys trL￿e$ consider that anaudit IS ￿t required forthis year (undersertion 43(2) of the Cltaritie3Art 1993 (the 1993 Art)) andth2t an exami￿ the accounts (undersertion43(3)(a) ofthe 1993 Art),. (under sectton 43(7)(b) of the 1993 Art),. and Basis of exaniineWs statement An eJ(amination I￿]ud￿J a review ofthe acc(witin8 records keptby the C￿ltyand a comparison of the accounts presented tknse rtcord& It also includes consideration of anyunusual items ordisclosures inthe undertakni do not PToride 911 the evidence that be requlred In an authL and consequenty I donot exw an audit opinionon the ￿eWS1venbYthe xcoullt& liidependent examlnerfs Statement to keep acccrtmtin8 Trcords in accordance with ¥¢cbon 41 of the 1993 ACL. and reqUIr￿ts oftht 1993 Art have not beeD meL.' or (2) to wthiclL in myopiniorL attention should be in onlerto enable a properundez7ts* rfthe C1￿5st0P1￿ E l Heath Addres% 15 Heath Row Bishop'5 Stortfonl Hert& lJ123 5DH Dts 9 luly 2024