BRADFIELD FESTIVAL OF MUSIC ASSOCIATION (Registered Charity No. 1080130) ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2025
Current Address: from 23/10/2025 Brookside Cottage Brown House Lane High Bradfield Sheffield S6 6LG
Address: 01/10/2024 – 23/10/2025
Spring Cottage High Bradfield Sheffield S6 6LG
Chair of Trustees 01/10/2024 – 23/10/2025 Chair of Trustees: From 23/10/2025
Michael Hunt Christine Jane Harrison
Trustees 2025
Patricia Hunt Jane Doran Mark Hewitt Christine Harrison John Wyke John Barrand Margaret Faulkner Stephen Faulkner Michael Hunt
The Charity
The Association was formed in October 1997 with the aim of attracting musicians with a national reputation to perform alongside high quality local amateur performers at affordable prices to the public. The Association also wished to encourage young musicians and, from time to time, provide a platform for them to perform. The first week-long Festival was held in July 1998 and the Association was registered as an unincorporated charity in 2000. The internationally renowned cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber, became the Festival’s President in 2004 and continues to show an active interest in the Festival's development. The Association collaborates with Sheffield Music Hub, a local authority funded service providing opportunities for young people to aspire and develop both musically and academically. In 2007 the Association introduced an annual “Young Musician’s Award Scheme” whereby The Sheffield Music Hub nominates two outstanding and promising young musicians from that academic year. A cash award and certificate are formally presented to the two young musicians during the Festival and they also have the opportunity to give a short performance.
The Venue: St Nicholas’ Church, High Bradfield is a beautiful Grade 1 listed 15[th] Century building set in the Peak District. Apart from the historical connection with the Festival, the church is significant in the Festival’s continuing success as it provides musicians with a wonderful acoustic and a unique atmosphere for their performances, and enhances the.experience for all who attend the Festival.
Management of the Festival: The Festival Committee, comprising the Trustees (of which there may be up to 12 appointed) and Associate Trustees, meet about six times per year and is supported by 10 -14 volunteers, immediately before, during and after the Festival. Trustees are selected after serving a period with the Festival Committee as an Associate.
The Festival operates as a ‘Not for Profit Charity’. Funds are held between a current account to cover ongoing expenses and reserve funds in a charity deposit savings account. Together, these funds must exceed 50% of the budgeted running costs for the next Festival to allow it to take place. As well as income from ticket sales, the Festival attracts local commercial sponsorship, grants from public funds and charitable trusts as well as donations from individual benefactors to fund the.Festival.
The 2025 Festival featured internationally renowned Roderick Williams (baritone) and Christopher Glynn (piano) in a concert of songs inspired by the poetry of the British Isles and written by British composers, the outstanding Linos Piano Trio on their second visit to Bradfield, and Abbeydale Singers, a highly regarded, prize winning Sheffield Choir. We were delighted to be part of the “50 for 50” initiative of the Bliss Trust and the Arthur Bliss Society by dedicating a concert to English music from Bliss and his contemporaries, performed by Mark Bebbington, Rebeca Omordia, and Chu-Yu Yang. Nicholaas Kende and Jolente De Maeyer from the Netherlands and Belgium gave a piano and violin recital, and the Marmen Quartet performed works by Haydn, Ravel and Mozart. The Symphonic Brass of London brought the Festival to rousing close. These wonderful local and international artists provided a week of outstanding music which was enjoyed by the audiences and performers alike. As in previous years the Festival continues the relationship with the Sheffield Music Hub and was pleased to award two of their most promising young musicians with chance to perform at the festival, a certificate signed by our President and a cash award.
It is encouraging that despite the rising cost of living pressure, the 2025 ticket sales were higher than in the previous two years, albeit not fully back to pre-covid levels yet. The Festival Committee has done everything possible to reduce expenses in the face of rising operating costs and artist fees, to keep ticket prices affordable for the local population. However, the Festival does rely, as do many other small music festivals, on the incredible generosity of our donors and sponsors, local businesses, and grant giving bodies for financial support without which this Festival would not take place. Despite the surplus being reduced this year by ongoing pressures, we continue to reverse the losses of the two post covid years.
Christine Harrison, Chair of Trustees, 01.12.2025
Bradfield Festival of Music
Treasurer’s Report 2024-2025
Mark Hewitt
Final Accounts
The audited final accounts for the 2025 festival are as follows.
1
Performance against budget
| erformance against budget | erformance against budget | erformance against budget |
|---|---|---|
| Expenditure Budget Actual Artists £20,711 £19,148 Publicity £1,700 £1,693 Printing £2,000 £1,907 Chair hire £500 £404 Insurance £730 £700 Accommodation £980 £921 Hospitality £2,520 £1,529 Toilet hire £680 £120 Piano hire £1,600 £1,500 St Nicholas church £1,400 £1,400 Lighting £1,700 £1,536 Wordpress £192 £288 Other £1,400 £1,406 |
||
| Total Expenditure | £36,113 | £32,552 |
| Income Actual Advertising £0 Sponsors £6,500 Donations £714 Patrons £5,484 Tickets £19,831 Gift Aid £856 Interest £193 |
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| Total Income £33,578 |
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| Patrons Budget Actual Ticket price £138 Number 45 40 |
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| Total Patrons’ Income | £6,210 | £5,484 |
2
Ticket Sales
We have used a different online ticket sales platform this year which means that our ticket income is always net of fees both to the platform host (Little Box Office) and to the credit card processor (Stripe) for credit card processing. In 2024, the platform costs were a separate line item. Because of this, comparing ticket income directly between 2024 and 2025 is not realistic. Instead, we need to remove the fees first.
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of tickets sold | 920 | 808 |
| Gross ticket revenue | £21,090 | £18,965 |
| Service fees paid | £1,259 | £906 |
In summary, ticket sales is up 14%, and gross ticket revenues up 11% in 2025 compared to 2024.
The fees are subsidised by an additional charge to the customer at the online checkout. This is necessarily estimated because the exact fee calculation is dependent on the number of tickets bought per order and we cannot know that in advance. In 2024, we added £1.50 per full price ticket which covered all but £45 of online ticket sales fees. In 2025, we continued to add £1.50, but that left us with an increased deficit of £196.
Highlights
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The festival made a surplus of £1,025 this year. Last year we made a surplus of £4,386, but nevertheless is still an improvement on the previous two years where we made losses.
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In almost every area of expense, we reduced our liabilities both from those in 2024, and against our expected budget for 2025.
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However, our income overall in 2025 was down by £1,887 at £33,577 against £35,464 in 2024.
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The reason for our financial surplus in 2025 is almost entirely to the reduction in expenses that allowed us to better our budgets. While we can continue to reduce costs in some areas, others are inevitably increasing, so we cannot rely on this year on year.
3
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Final Accounts
Bradfield Festival of Music Final Accounts 2024-2025
| Income | 2024-2025 | 2023-2024 | Expenditure | 2024-2025 | 2023-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising | £0 | £0 | Artists | £19,148 | £16,211 |
| Sponsors | £6,500 | £7,000 | Publicity | £1,693 | £1,623 |
| Donations | £714 | £2,261 | Printing | £1,907 | £1,917 |
| Patrons (40) | £5,484 | £5,560 | Chair Hire | £404 | £478 |
| Tickets | £19,831 | £18,943 | Making Music Membership & Insurance | £700 | £693 |
| Gift Aid | £856 | £1,536 | Accommodation, Hospitality & Transport | £2,450 | £3,023 |
| Interest | £193 | £164 | Toilet Hire | £120 | £660 |
| Piano Hire and Transport | £1,500 | £1,500 | |||
| St Nicholas | £1,400 | £1,400 | |||
| Lighting and Sound | £1,536 | £1,560 | |||
| Online services ; |
£288 | £809 | |||
| Other | £1,406 | £1,204 | |||
| Sub Total | £32,552 | £31,078 | |||
| Balance (Income over Expenditure) | £1,025 | £4,386) | |||
| Total | £33,5// | £35,464) | Total | £33,577 | £35,464 |
| Balance Sheet as at 30 September 2025 | |||||
| HSBC alc | £5,660 | £4,828 | |||
| Virgin Bank alc | £21,023 | £20,830 | |||
| Total Assets | £26,683 | £25,658 | |||
| Trustees’ funds at 30 Sep 2024 | £25,658 | ||||
| Plus surplus 2024-25 | £1,025 | ||||
| Trustees’fundsat30Sep2025 | £26,683 |
| have examined these accounts and agree that they are a true and accurate record of income and expenditure in 2024/25 and of the financial position as at 30 September 2025. David Kyle, Chartered Management Accountant, dated: \4 | id | 24
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