Kensington Symphony Orchestra: Annual Review 2024/5
As we approach the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the orchestra, we are conscious of the need to ensure its continuation in as good fettle as it has been throughout its long career. One of the key aspects of this aim is to encourage young musicians to join the orchestra. This has been achieved, with a strong presence of younger players in all departments. Our regular flautists commonly include college students, and the violin section, in particular, has a wide age range. But we continue to welcome the original (or perhaps ‘second generation’) members whose great experience and long service are beneficial to the orchestra, and are a reminder of what we exist to achieve.
The future of amateur music cannot be allowed to look after itself, and accordingly the orchestra introduced an idea called ‘KSO Scholars’, in which a state school in the South London area was offered places for its students to sit with the orchestra in the final rehearsal of our Fairfield Hall concert, to experience the excitement of playing Holst’s Planets . The Wilson School benefitted from this process, and we received the following message from their Head of Music: “It was hugely enjoyable and such a privilege for the pupils to be involved.”
We hope that this encourages the young people to consider amateur classical music in the future. We also continued our long-standing relationship with Pimlico Academy (‘Music Tracks’) by providing a small orchestra for their July school concert.
As a general rule we also offer our guest conductor slot to younger conductors or those whose conducting career is in early stages. This year we had the pleasure of being conducted by one of the world's leading solo cellists, Leonard Elschenbroich, who now splits his time between playing and conducting.
Ambitious repertoire has continued to be a feature of the orchestra’s strategy, and the most notable example in the year was performing Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto in Queen Elizabeth Hall with the world-renowned soloist, Julian Bliss. That the orchestra was able to do justice to this 21[st] century piece alongside the famously difficult La Valse by Ravel shows the dedication and skill the players bring to the task. KSO has a fine track record in performing the pieces of living composers, and this was a notable example. In our view, music is an everevolving and living art form and amateurs can play a role in supporting contemporary creativity.
We again thank Cuthbert Horn Trust for its generous financial support for this work. Otherwise, our income is derived from regular donations from players and our Friends, and from ticket revenues. We also benefit from the government schemes of Orchestra Tax Relief and Gift Aid.
Graham P Elliott
Secretary
June2026
Kensington Symphony Orchestra Treasury report Charity 1069620
2024-2025 – Jeremy Lambert, treasurer
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Financial health at beginning and end of season
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Concert Profits and Losses over the season
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Comparative seasonal totals Sept 2024 - Aug 2025
2024/25 2024/25 2023/24 2022/23 2021/22 2020/21
ACTUALS BUDGET ACTUALS ACTUALS ACTUALS ACTUALS
Concert costs
Venue hire incl. commission 34.0 28.4 22.86 28.15 21.16
Rehearsal hall hire 14.6 14.5 11.79 14.26 12.56 6.0
Music & instrument hire 16.5 15.8 12.91 13.75 10.47 0.8
Conductors 13.1 13.1 10.67 10.73 9.83 1.5
Soloists and other musicians 14.1 15.7 15.43 16.56 12.20 1.2
Other 3.2 1.8 0.73 6.21 1.07 0.2
Total concert costs 95.5 89.4 74.38 89.66 67.28 9.6
Concert income
Ticket & programme sales 40.6 24.2 18.24 39.99 31.74 0.2
Subs & reclaimed tax 35.6 37.6 32.32 36.34 34.2 3 9.1
Sponsorship 0.9 1.1 0.98 2.99 0.46
OTR 17.4 17.4 15.00 15.60 13.69
Total concert income 94.5 80.3 66.5 94.9 80.1 9.2
Profit/loss on concerts -1.0 -9.1 -7.8 5.3 12.8 -0.3
Profits from other activities 9.4 9.4 12.84 12.60 1.8 7 6.1
Additional expenditure -0.2 -0.2 -7.8 -3.8 -2. 7 -4.5
Profit/loss total 8.2 0.3 -2.8 14.1 12.1 1.3
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Financial health 2024 - 2025
Year start (1st Sep)
KSO current account £ 326.75
KSO savings account £ 140.23
KSO ET account £ 8,111.44
KSO Productions Ltd account £ 20,425.95
Total £ 29,004.37
Year end (31st Aug)
KSO current account £ 12,600.42
KSO savings account £ 8,437.71
KSO Productions Ltd account £ 22,749.24
Total £ 43,787.37
Endowment Trust
Year start £ 8,111.44
Income £ 182.70
Income (entered wrong account) £ (8,294.14)
Expenditure £ -
Year end £ -
ET closed down £ -
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| KSO actuals sheet for | KSO actuals sheet for | 2024/2025 - updated on 2025.10.14 | 2024/2025 - updated on 2025.10.14 | 2024/2025 - updated on 2025.10.14 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Concert |
Budget/Actual |
||||||||
| Credit/Debit | Category | Description | 01 October - SJSS Actual |
02 November - SJSS Actual |
03 January-QEH Actual |
04 March - FFH Actual |
05 May- SJSS Actual |
06 June - CH Actual |
07 Feb repday Actual |
Total général |
| Debit | Concert venue | Concert Hall Hire | 3,378.00 -£ |
3,414.00 -£ |
6,741.60 -£ |
5,005.80 -£ |
3,897.00 -£ |
7,050.00 -£ |
29,486.40 -£ |
|
| Ticket commission | 540.00 -£ |
906.48 -£ |
287.33 -£ |
733.68 -£ |
294.88 -£ |
2,762.36 -£ |
||||
| Friends | Friends Catering | 246.00 -£ |
226.80 -£ |
668.80 -£ |
265.86 -£ |
345.00 -£ |
1,752.46 -£ |
|||
| Instrument hire | Other instrument hire from hall |
145.00 -£ |
145.00 -£ |
|||||||
| Percussion hire | 980.00 -£ |
790.00 -£ |
1,899.60 -£ |
1,525.00 -£ |
410.00 -£ |
940.00 -£ |
435.00 -£ |
6,979.60 -£ |
||
| Marketing | Programme commission | 188.40 -£ |
11.88 -£ |
34.02 -£ |
234.30 -£ |
|||||
| Programmeprinting | 108.58 -£ |
126.15 -£ |
202.76 -£ |
176.00 -£ |
150.00 -£ |
171.00 -£ |
934.49 -£ |
|||
| Marketing- website | 96.00 -£ |
96.00 -£ |
192.00 -£ |
|||||||
| Misc | Misc - flowers | 20.00 -£ |
16.00 -£ |
45.50 -£ |
81.50 -£ |
|||||
| Misc -general | 294.25 -£ |
294.25 -£ |
294.25 -£ |
294.25 -£ |
294.25 -£ |
294.25 -£ |
1,765.50 -£ |
|||
| Music Director fee | Conductor | 2,000.00 -£ |
2,000.00 -£ |
2,000.00 -£ |
2,000.00 -£ |
1,400.00 -£ |
2,000.00 -£ |
11,400.00 -£ |
||
| Music Hire/purchase | Music Hire/purchase | 1,180.88 -£ |
1,164.64 -£ |
1,213.88 -£ |
1,492.28 -£ |
617.00 -£ |
1,186.53 -£ |
267.50 -£ |
7,122.71 -£ |
|
| Performingrights | 190.58 -£ |
392.81 -£ |
773.96 -£ |
342.55 -£ |
532.42 -£ |
2,232.32 -£ |
||||
| Postage | 7.56 -£ |
7.90 -£ |
26.20 -£ |
41.66 -£ |
||||||
| Musician fees | Chorus | 1,200.00 -£ |
1,200.00 -£ |
|||||||
| Harp player | 578.00 -£ |
303.00 -£ |
744.00 -£ |
714.00 -£ |
273.00 -£ |
2,612.00 -£ |
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| Leader | 790.00 -£ |
707.00 -£ |
707.00 -£ |
707.00 -£ |
624.00 -£ |
707.00 -£ |
166.00 -£ |
4,408.00 -£ |
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| Pianist | 274.00 -£ |
389.00 -£ |
153.00 -£ |
816.00 -£ |
||||||
| Prin. cellist | 647.00 -£ |
579.00 -£ |
579.00 -£ |
579.00 -£ |
648.00 -£ |
150.00 -£ |
3,182.00 -£ |
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| Soloist | 600.00 -£ |
1,000.00 -£ |
300.00 -£ |
1,900.00 -£ |
||||||
| Rehearsal costs | Rehearsal Hall Hire | 2,141.82 -£ |
2,283.41 -£ |
2,469.00 -£ |
1,618.80 -£ |
2,323.50 -£ |
2,532.90 -£ |
1,263.60 -£ |
14,633.03 -£ |
|
| Sectional conductor | Wind Sectional Coach | 150.00 -£ |
125.00 -£ |
125.00 -£ |
125.00 -£ |
125.00 -£ |
650.00 -£ |
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| Brass sectional coach | 125.00 -£ |
125.00 -£ |
250.00 -£ |
|||||||
| Stringsectional Coach | 250.00 -£ |
250.00 -£ |
250.00 -£ |
750.00 -£ |
||||||
| Total Debit | 13,316.11 -£ |
14,299.54 -£ |
20,221.64 -£ |
16,829.54 -£ |
10,969.21 -£ |
17,586.99 -£ |
2,308.30 -£ |
95,531.34 -£ |
||
| Credit | Friends | Friends subs | 752.33 £ |
752.33 £ |
752.33 £ |
752.33 £ |
752.33 £ |
752.33 £ |
4,514.00 £ |
|
| Friends tickets | 422.00 £ |
457.00 £ |
1,530.00 £ |
1,040.00 £ |
550.00 £ |
996.00 £ |
4,995.00 £ |
|||
| Gift Aid tax refund | Gift aid tax | 950.00 £ |
950.00 £ |
950.00 £ |
950.00 £ |
950.00 £ |
950.00 £ |
500.00 £ |
6,200.00 £ |
|
| OTR | OTR | 3,000.00 £ |
3,000.00 £ |
3,000.00 £ |
3,000.00 £ |
2,700.00 £ |
2,700.00 £ |
17,400.00 £ |
||
| Programme sales |
Programmes |
145.10 £ |
212.60 £ |
340.70 £ |
256.80 £ |
162.20 £ |
251.10 £ |
1,368.50 £ |
||
| Sponsorship Subs |
Sponsorship Subs - Allocation |
2,032.29 £ |
2,032.29 £ |
500.00 £ 2,032.29 £ |
2,032.29 £ |
2,032.29 £ |
2,032.29 £ |
400.00 £ |
900.00 £ 12,193.71 £ |
|
| Subs-concert | 1,800.00 £ |
1,882.50 £ |
1,945.00 £ |
2,005.00 £ |
2,080.00 £ |
1,690.00 £ |
11,402.50 £ |
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| Subs - Repertoire Day | 1,290.00 £ |
1,290.00 £ |
||||||||
| Tickets | Tickets | 2,260.00 £ |
3,636.00 £ |
11,907.20 £ |
5,270.00 £ |
3,012.00 £ |
8,191.00 £ |
34,276.20 £ |
||
| Total Credit | 11,361.72 £ |
12,922.72 £ |
22,957.52 £ |
15,306.42 £ |
12,238.82 £ |
17,562.72 £ |
2,190.00 £ |
94,539.91 £ |
||
| Totalgénéral | 1,954.39 -£ |
1,376.82 -£ |
2,735.88 £ |
1,523.12 -£ |
1,269.61 £ |
24.27 -£ |
118.30 -£ |
991.42 -£ |
Other profits
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Sum of Amount Concert Budget/Actual
Other
Category Description Credit/Debit Actual
Donation Donation Credit £ 9,425.89
Total Donation £ 9,425.89
Total général £ 9,425.89
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Additional expenditure
Sum of Amount Concert Budget/Actual
Other
Category Description Credit/Debit Actual
Music Hire/purchase Postage Debit -£ 6.65
Music Hire/purchase Debit -£ 35.51
Total Music Hire/purchase -£ 42.16
Musician fees Musician fees Debit -£ 170.00
Total Musician fees -£ 170.00
Total général -£ 212.16
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trustees Kensington Symphony Orchestra On accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025 Charity no (if any) 1069620 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charily (Yhe Trust ) for the year ended 3110812025. As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 Ilhe Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Tnjst's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying oul my examinalion, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Responsibilities and basis ol report Independent I have completed my examination. I confim that no tnaterial matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in Gonnection wrth the examination which gives me ause to believe that in. any matenal respect. the accounting records were not kept in a¢wrdance with section 130 of the Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records.. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements COnrning the fomi and content of accounts Sel out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the aOuntS give a 'true and fair. view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attenlion should be diawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: 23.oL .202 Name: ne Eliza th Spencer-Davis Relevant professional qualification{sl or body {if any): BA FCCA CTA Address: 85B Headstone Road Harrow HAI 1PG IER Oct 2018