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← London Gay Symphony Orchestra

2024-07-31-accounts

- LGSO Annual Report 2023/24

- ’ - Co chairs Update Overview of last year

At the beginning of this year we had a clear focus to build on the success of 2022/23. Much of this meant rolling out changes that we’d made as a committee to our processes with a view to building. Building an audience, building money in the bank in preparation for our 30th, and continuously building and strengthening our community.

When it comes to building an audience, I am sure you will all agree this year has been excellent.

In our last round of repertoire selection there was a conscious effort to ensure there was a showstopper in each concert with the view of increasing audience. While it’s always difficult to measure exactly what has an impact on the audience, anecdotally feedback was particularly positive from both audience and players alike last year and as you’ll see from the Treasurer report, figures were up healthily. 2023/2024 saw our strongest year to date in terms of audience members - up 87% from our 15/16 years with each concert having over 200 tickets sold.

We have also ramped up our marketing efforts, increasing our mailshots so that we hit audiences immediately after our concert, capitalising on the success and driving immediate sales.

We also had the first performances of our soloists from the concertos following the successful audition process. We were particularly fortunate with the great talent of all the soloists this year but a special thanks and congratulations should go out to three soloists from our orchestral family - Lewis Kelly, Derek Benton and Catrin Meek who, whilst not a regular player, is someone who regularly plays with us. They were particularly special performances that created a special excitement in the room both from players and audience members.

Operationally, this was the first year that we raised subs and we also continued to perform at extra external events.

We monitored subs this year to ensure the rise didn’t detrimentally impact income and found that the number of annual payers remained the same and payees on a concert by concert basis also increased. We’ve stood firmly by our policy that any player finding it

difficult to pay subs can pay the reduced amount or not pay at all as we’d rather have all players with us and this will continue.

String quartets have performed pop-music at four external events this year and each has been a success with extremely positive feedback and gave an extra income of around £4,000. A particular thanks to all the players that performed and any donations of fees that were made. For anyone looking for a quartet for next year, please do reach out to one of the committee early as they do get booked up early.

This year has also seen the rollout of a new Safeguarding Policy and Social Media Policy to help give guidance and to govern better.

’ – Treasurer s Report 2023/24

Overall, we made a profit last season of £9,963.89, which is the largest profit made in one season by the LGSO. The total profit from concerts was £4761.88. The financial overview for concerts were as follows:

Concert 1: Income £4,682.08 and Expenditure £3,961.96, giving a net profit of £720.12

Concert 2: Income £6,636.99 and Expenditure £4,156.72, giving a net profit of £2,480.27

Concert 4: Income £4,783.66 and Expenditure £4,600.90, giving a net profit of £182.76

Concert 5: Income £5,289.08 and Expenditure £5,081.78, giving a net profit of £207.30

This is the first season in the history of LGSO where we have made a profit in all our concerts during one season. On top of this we made profit of £5202.01 in other areas. The full figures can be seen in the finance supporting document.

Income overview

Subs, along with ticket sales, account for the core of our income.

Subs totalled £9,556,98 across the year (an increase from last season), and we were able to claim a further £2,214.00 from Gift Aid. In total, subs & Gift Aid made up for 32.9% of our income. Thank you to all orchestra members for paying their subs.

Ticket sales accounted for £14,199.11 across the year which equated to 39.7% of our income. Thanks to all members for their efforts for pushing ticket sales and for helping us maintain a large regular audience throughout the season.

Income from the Bar and Programmes accounted for £4,110.20 across the year which equated to 11.5% of our income. Thanks to all the volunteers who help with front of house and bar support at all of our concerts.

We also benefited from extra income of £4,900 (13.7% of our income) though the external performance opportunities mentioned in the Co-Chair’s report. We are very grateful for this additional work, as this has meant we have ended the year considerably in profit. We would very much encourage players to continue to help identify any such performance opportunities or potential for sponsorship as this income helps provide the orchestra with stability and a basis towards planning for future events and tours.

The remaining income included donations (regular and one-off) and extra concert income totalling £763.88, including a one-off donation of £300 from SLR Consulting.

Expenditure overview

Conductor & Leader Fees (£8,045 in total) accounted for 31.2% of our expenditure.

St. Giles increased costs by £142 per concert mid-season for rehearsals and concert days. Total cost for rehearsal and concert venue hire was £9,713 (37.7% of expenditure). This continues to be great value for money when compared to other venues, and we get the benefit of rehearsing in our concert venue.

Music hire was £1685.68 which accounted for 6.5% of expenditure. Over half of this was for our Film Music concert which had a lot of music still in copyright. Thanks to our orchestral librarian for helping keep the costs down for music throughout the year.

We have supported professional players in the orchestra who have supported us through playing in our external performance opportunities by offering payment (£1,480 in total, 5.7% of expenditure).

We also had other expenses for ‘extra’ musicians at concerts, soloist fees, marketing, hire of instruments (primarily percussion), sundry concert expenses, bar expenses and general orchestra expenses (which include covering our Making Music membership and PRS fees.)

for next season so that we are continuing to manage the concert finances robustly.

- Conductor Review 2023 24 season

Looking back on this season, I am struck by the extraordinary amount of music we plough through in a year given this isn’t your full time occupation! It was a genuine shock to realise that Tchaik 4, for example, opened this last season!

Concert 1

Boulanger, d’un Soir Triste Rimsky Korsakov, Golden Cockerel Suite Tchaikovsky, Symphony No.4

Concert 2

Hansel & Gretel Overture Helly-Hutchinson, Carol Symphony Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition

Concert 3

Williams, Superman March Gershwin, Rhapsody In Blue (Soloist - Lewis Kelly) Dukas, Sorcerers Apprentice Sutton, War Horse Suite Williams, Star Wars Suite

Concert 4

Holst, St Paul’s Suite

Mozart, Flute & Harp Concerto (Soloists - Derek Benton & Catrin Meek) Beethoven, Symphony No.3 (Eroica)

Concert 5

Brahms, Tragic Overture Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5 (Soloist: Raymond Yiu) Rachmaninov, Symphonic Dances

One thing of particular note is the musical flexibility - I look specifically at the film music concert. Orchestras sometimes see film music concerts as being a little easier to perform (possibly because the music is more accessible) but as you all know, the requirement to jump from one musical style to something often completely different makes these some of the most challenging concerts orchestras undertake. I think we were challenged by this one, but we came up with the goods when it mattered and that should be a point of particular pride for you all.

I look back, after 14 years, on an orchestra that is almost unrecognisable. The musical standards that are now our default would have been considered at good day at the office back then. The challenge now is a different one, and it is two-fold: to not be satisfied with 90% (the last 10 is the hardest), and to maintain the musical and wider orchestral standards we have worked so hard to achieve. We now need to keep that laser-like focus on every part of what we do to ensure that we don’t allow standards to slip. It is easier to move the dial than it is to maintain, that challenge continues in every minute of every rehearsal.

Your orchestra is something in which you can be proud. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the music industry today, and community music in particular. As a child of council housing and state schooling, if I was born today, I simply wouldn’t have had access to the opportunities I would have needed to end up where I am and that should be something that scares a lot more people than it does. However, groups like the LGSO are in the best possible position now to weather the storm, and that achievement is down to a lot of people.

I want to thank the management team, without whom your orchestra simply wouldn’t exist, I want to thank Corey Wickens, our Leader, who is one of the most gifted leaders and musicians I have ever had the pleasure to stand beside, and finally I want to thank you, the amazing and wonderful London Gay Symphony Orchestra. What a ride we are on!

Thank you.

Overview of Repertoire for 2024/25

The orchestra has now embarked upon the 2024/25 season and is scheduled to perform five concerts, with six rehearsals for each concert.

Concert 1: 13 October 2024

● Strauss – Till Eulenspiegel

Concert 2: 8 December 2024

Concert 3: 16 February 2025

Concert 4: 13 April 2025

Concert 5: 22 June 2025

Election of 2024/25 Committee

There have been some changes to the committee this year. Chris Dempsey-Doyle will move to an open place after a number of years in the marketing role – he’s helped us grow our audience base, professionalise how we operate, and generally run that side of our charity smoothly season after season. Trevor will also be standing down, having been a real help launching our new website and making sure that we all have the chance to have some non-playing fun with some orchestra socials. Thank you to both of them for their hard work and dedication.

Bringing some new energy to the committee we welcome two new members – Louis Lister, who will be filling the marketing role and Josh Mock who will be in an open role and organising any social events that we do through the year.

As usual, we would encourage anyone who is able to spare a few hours per month to get involved, there is always a lot to get through and if you have a skill set might be useful we would love to speak with you.

Committee being voted in

Gary Clarke & Josh Sturges (co-chairs, with Gary Clarke acting also as Orchestra Manager), Govind Kharbanda (secretary), Derek Benton (Treasurer), Louis Lister (Marketing), Helen Cook (Open Place – Front of House, Subscriptions), Josh Mock (Open Place – Social), Chris Dempsey-Doyle (Open Place),

Concert Breakdown

Income and Expenditure for year 23/24

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23/24 22/23 21/22 20/21 19/20 18/19 17/18 16/17
Income
Ticket income (inc. bar) 17550.07 13112.32 10178.76 840.00 6184.74 12340.71 13069.21 15850.06
Subs 9556.98 8379.37 8599.05 3131.07 5627.55 8610.17 8435.95 6800.44
Donations received (inc. programmes) 1323.12 740.79 779.50 1918.60 4370.59 1478.37 538.70 142.44
Extra concert income 4900.00 4700.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 500.00
Misc income (inc. Gift Aid) 2414.00 2155.20 2496.56 8619.05 2749.64 2166.05 1820.57 74.28
Total Income 35744.17 29087.68 22053.87 14508.72 18932.52 24595.30 23864.43 23367.22
Expenditure
Rehearsal venue hire 4192.00 3859.00 2577.00 726.32 1443.00 5362.69 4934.90 4034.60
Concert venue hire 5521.00 4800.00 4181.00 944.00 2911.00 4537.00 4950.94 4812.00
Conductors fees 4920.00 5100.00 4250.00 4250.00 4250.00 4320.00 4250.00 4250.00
Leaders fees 3125.00 3000.00 2500.00 1300.00 2180.00 2550.00 2350.00 2183.22
Sundry musicians fees 2061.34 2210.00 990.00 0.00 131.00 1850.45 530.00 952.80
Soloist fees 1275.60 1102.35 250.00 0.00 0.00 2259.50 1400.00 650.00
Instrument hire 733.00 1367.40 1913.00 0.00 887.00 729.20 428.00 928.25
music hire 1685.68 1512.02 2491.94 510.10 1782.28 2514.50 2302.28 8350.75
Marketing 138.64 437.47 174.97 0.00 458.20 345.85 964.04 2080.21
Sundry concert expenses (inc bar) 1289.91 1076.69 765.02 0.00 555.21 1367.20 1162.36 673.80
General orchestra expenses 838.11 1080.88 864.82 5335.99 344.00 379.98 382.9 753.01
Total Expenditure 25780.28 25545.81 20957.75 13066.41 14941.69 26216.37 23655.42 29668.64
Profit/loss 9963.89 3541.87 1096.12 1442.31 3990.83 -1621.07 209.01 -6301.42
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Concert Breakdown
2023-2024 Concert 1 Concert 2 Concert 3 Concert 4 Concert 5 Other TOTAL
INCOME Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance
Ticket income 1975.36 2200.00 -224.64 3537.59 2200.00 1337.59 3588.10 2200.00 1388.10 2475.02 2200.00 275.02 2623.04 2200.00 423.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 14199.11 11000.00 3199.11
Bar 355.17 400.00 -44.83 1097.74 400.00 697.74 785.24 400.00 385.24 501.68 400.00 101.68 611.13 400.00 211.13 0.00 0.00 0.00 3350.96 2000.00 1350.96
Programmes 122.06 100.00 22.06 134.00 100.00 34.00 254.37 100.00 154.37 118.31 100.00 18.31 130.50 100.00 30.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 759.24 500.00 259.24
Subs 2105.75 2000.00 105.75 1843.92 2000.00 -156.08 2044.10 2000.00 44.10 1664.91 2000.00 -335.09 1898.30 2000.00 -101.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 9556.98 10000.00 -443.02
Donations 23.74 20.00 3.74 23.74 20.00 3.74 23.74 20.00 3.74 23.74 20.00 3.74 26.11 20.00 6.11 442.81 0.00 442.81 563.88 100.00 463.88
Misc concert income 100.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 200.00 0.00 200.00
Extra concert income 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4900.00 0.00 4900.00 4900.00 0.00 4900.00
Fundraising 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Gift Aid 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2214.00 2500.00 -286.00 2214.00 2500.00 -286.00
Total 4682.08 4720.00 -37.92 6636.99 4720.00 1916.99 6795.55 4720.00 2075.55 4783.66 4720.00 63.66 5289.08 4720.00 569.08 7556.81 2500.00 5056.81 35744.17 26100.00 9644.17
EXPENDITURE Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance Actual Budget Variance
Rehearsal venue hire 900.00 828.00 72.00 827.00 828.00 -1.00 870.00 828.00 42.00 725.00 828.00 -103.00 870.00 828.00 42.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4192.00 4140.00 52.00
Concert venue hire 1000.00 1000.00 0.00 1011.00 1000.00 11.00 1100.00 1000.00 100.00 1100.00 1000.00 100.00 1310.00 1000.00 310.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 5521.00 5000.00 521.00
Conductors fees 960.00 960.00 0.00 960.00 960.00 0.00 960.00 960.00 0.00 960.00 960.00 0.00 1080.00 960.00 120.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4920.00 4800.00 120.00
Leaders fees 625.00 625.00 0.00 625.00 625.00 0.00 625.00 625.00 0.00 625.00 625.00 0.00 625.00 625.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 3125.00 3125.00 0.00
Sundry musicians fees 150.00 200.00 -50.00 36.34 200.00 -163.66 335.00 200.00 135.00 60.00 200.00 -140.00 0.00 200.00 -200.00 1480.00 0.00 1480.00 2061.34 1000.00 1061.34
Soloist fees 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 300.00 300.00 0.00 675.60 600.00 75.60 300.00 300.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1275.60 1200.00 75.60
Instrument hire 105.00 200.00 -95.00 360.00 200.00 160.00 70.00 200.00 -130.00 0.00 200.00 -200.00 198.00 200.00 -2.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 733.00 1000.00 -267.00
Music Hire 0.00 50.00 -50.00 120.00 250.00 -130.00 848.69 500.00 348.69 181.99 50.00 131.99 535.00 50.00 485.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1685.68 900.00 785.68
Marketing 101.95 150.00 -48.05 0.00 150.00 -150.00 0.00 150.00 -150.00 0.00 150.00 -150.00 0.00 150.00 -150.00 36.69 0.00 36.69 138.64 750.00 -611.36
Sundry concert expenses 0.00 50.00 -50.00 0.00 50.00 -50.00 180.00 50.00 130.00 0.00 50.00 -50.00 0.00 50.00 -50.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 180.00 250.00 -70.00
Bar expenses 120.01 150.00 -29.99 217.38 150.00 67.38 335.43 150.00 185.43 273.31 150.00 123.31 163.78 150.00 13.78 0.00 0.00 0.00 1109.91 750.00 359.91
General orchestra expenses 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 838.11 1500.00 -661.89 838.11 1500.00 -661.89
Total 3961.96 4213.00 -251.04 4156.72 4413.00 -256.28 5624.12 4963.00 661.12 4600.90 4813.00 -212.10 5081.78 4513.00 568.78 2354.80 1500.00 854.80 25780.28 24415.00 1365.28
PROFIT 720.12 507.00 213.12 2480.27 307.00 2173.27 1171.43 -243.00 1414.43 182.76 -93.00 275.76 207.30 207.00 0.30 5202.01 1000.00 4202.01 9963.89 1685.00 8278.89
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Independent examiner's report to the committee of The London Gay Symphony Orchestra (LGSO) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the LGSO forthe year ended 31 July 2024. Responsibilities and basis of report As the committee of the LGSO 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 LGSO'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}(bl of the Act. Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: accounting records were not kept in respect of the LGSO as required by section 130 of the Act," or the accounts do not accord with those records. 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. signed: Name: Darryl Davies Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies (if any}.. ICAEW. Membership number: 8531262 Address: 3 Leverton street, London, NW5 2PH Date: 18 March 2025