TRUSTEES’ REPORT
Accounting period and name
The Trustees present the annual Accounts for The Elysian Singers of London (“the Choir”), registered charity number 1095739, relating to the financial year ended 31st August 2025.
Constitution
The Choir’s governing constitution is available from the Trustees on request. The Choir’s charitable objects are to promote, improve, develop and maintain public education in the art of music in all aspects by the presentation of public concerts and recitals.
Appointment of committee members
Principal committee members (also known as Trustees) are elected by the members of the Choir from amongst themselves at each Annual General Meeting and hold office from the conclusion of that meeting.
No person may act as a principal committee member, whether on a first or on any subsequent entry into office, until after signing in the minutes of the committee a declaration of acceptance and willingness to act in the trusts of the Choir.
The following principal committee members have acted as charitable trustees for the Choir during the fiscal year under review.
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Ben Driver (Chairman)
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Dingeman Wolfert (Treasurer)
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Heather Devine (Secretary)
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Julia Higgins (Membership Secretary)
The following charitable trustees have indicated their willingness to stand for re- election.
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Ben Driver (Chairman)
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Dingeman Wolfert (Treasurer; but for only one more year, ideally would be replaced before the next AGM)
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Julia Higgins (Membership Secretary)
The committee proposes to have the following committee members as charitable trustees:
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Ben Driver (Chair)
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Dingeman Wolfert (Treasurer)
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Julia Clarke (Secretary)
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Julia Higgins (Membership Secretary)
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Clare Moriarty
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Antony Zacaroli
All committee members retire from office at the end of the Annual General Meeting next after the date on which they came into office but may be re-elected or re-appointed.
Co-opted committee members are appointed by the committee at an ordinary or special meeting and hold office from the conclusion of that meeting. The Committee has appointed the following coopted members:
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Emily Gazzard for Venues Manager
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Andy Chan for Social Secretary
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Claire Bruton for Marketing
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Rosie Edge for Concert Manager
Principal activities & public benefit
The Choir’s principal activities are to perform music to the highest quality for the inspiration of audiences, to contribute to the musical development of its members and to encourage and develop the writing and appreciation of new music by promoting the compositions of contemporary composers.
The trustees have referred to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the set aims and objectives.
An account of the main activities and achievements during the year in relation to the Choir’s charitable objectives is given in the Annual Report.
Borrowing and investment
It is the Choir’s policy neither to borrow money nor to invest its typically small cash balances in financial securities. Its reserves are divided between a Lloyds Bank current account and a COIF Charities Deposit Fund account.
Grants
The Choir does not make grants, either to individuals or to institutions.
Principal address
The Choir’s principal address is c/o
Dingeman Wolfert 19 Andover Road N7 7RA London
Principal bank
The Choir’s principal bank is Lloyds Bank plc, 11 High Street, Horley, Surrey RH6 7BJ.
Independent examiner
The total income for the year is above the threshold for mandatory Independent Examination. The Trustees will normally seek to have the accounts independently examined every few years (if no mandatory examination required), but as the statutory threshold is now reached, the accounts for 2024-25 will be examined independently. The committee have appointed Martin Brown as its independent examiner who will be paid a fee of £300. Please see the separate independent examiner report for his findings.
Accounting basis
The Choir is not VAT registered.
The Accounts have been prepared on a cash basis. The Choir is not required to present a cashflow statement.
The Choir’s outgoings are essentially concert specific, and it therefore has no continuing liabilities against which to maintain reserves. Its non-cash assets are minimal, and it therefore maintains no designated reserves for the upkeep or replacement of such.
The choir’s reserve policy is to ensure there is a minimum of £7,500 in the bank account at any given time. When we drop below this figure, it leads to a discussion during committee meetings around our expenditure and income and how we ensure we maintain a healthy balance.
Related Parties Transactions
For transparency, this section reports any donations and/or expenses by the trustees of the charity.
Ben Driver (Chairman)
- Donation of £100 for the annual sub
Dingeman Wolfert (Treasurer)
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Reimbursement of £6.94 for postage to send the bank’s card reader to Ben for his second approver role
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Reimbursement of £44.82 as the choir paid for the dinner of Ypres director of music as a thank you for his invitation. Dingeman paid this money from his account first
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Donation of £100 for the annual sub
Heather Devine (Secretary)
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Reimbursement of £83 for administrative expenses for the charity
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Donation of £100 for the annual sub
Julia Higgins (Membership Secretary)
- Donation of £100 for the annual sub
Summary of finances
Cash held in bank at year-end has increased over the year, ending at £13,117 (£10,712 at prior year end). The net asset position is £15,133 as all bills have been paid and the deposit account of £2,017 is included in this amount. The Charity made a surplus of £2,405 for its accounting year.
The choir’s year-end is 31st August. The financial information is provided in two tables: (1) a statement of financial activities (income/expenditure during the year); and (2) a balance sheet.
We have had a successful year with various concerts being undertaken by the choir with an overall slight increase in concert income.
Due to preparation for the Dream of Gerontius concert as well as the commission of a new MacMillan composition, expenditure has been significantly higher, however this was counteracted by a very generous anonymous donation to pay for the commission of MacMillan. As the second payment for the MacMillan composition is due for the next financial year, the overall cash position of the choir is somewhat higher than expected. Once Gift-Aid reclaim on the donation is taken into account, the MacMillan composition fee is fully paid through the generous anonymous donor. If we
were to take out the expenditure for next year on the Dream of Gerontius (£3,720), and take out the current MacMillan donation (£8,400) and commission costs paid this financial year (£5,220), that would reduce our overall result by £540, which leaves us in a net positive financial result for this year of +£1,865, which was much needed after the losses of the last few years.
However, upcoming year we will be undertaking several significant concerts which makes it as per usual very important that we sell as many tickets as possible.
In light of the above, we will continue to monitor the choir’s finances closely, however for this year we do not think there is a need to increase the annual / one-off donations for subs. These remain at £100 per annum or £30 for one-off subs.
It is expected that upcoming year will remain financially challenging due to rising costs. If as a choir we can work together to increase attendance at our concerts, this may improve our finances further for the year ahead. Overall, we are in a healthy position to continue our activities for the year ahead.
Dingeman Wolfert Treasurer
Income and Expenditure Account (to 31 August)
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2024-2025 | 2024-2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RESTRICTED | UNRESTRICTED |
|||||
| Concert income & fees | 10,381 | 11,451 | 13,059 | 13,059 | ||
| Subscriptions | 4,310 | 5,440 | 5,210 | 5,210 | ||
| Friends and benefactors | 1,535 | 335 | 535 | 535 | ||
| Donations rec. / commission | 2,284 | 0 | 8,400 | (1) | 8,400 | 0 |
| Gift Aid | 0 | 4,219 | 1,237 | 1,237 | ||
| Investment income | 0 | 0 | 248 | 248 | ||
| Miscellaneous income | 51 | 0 | 93 | 93 | ||
| Prior Year income | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total income | 18,561 | 21,445 | 28,782 | 8,400 | 20,382 | |
Concert expenditure |
2,977 |
3,862 |
7,891 |
7,891 | ||
| Rehearsal venue hire | 4,117 | 4,368 | 3,337 | 3,337 | ||
| Recording/commission | 7,223 | 2,100 | 5,220 | (1) | 5220 | 0 |
| Conductor fees | 7,715 | 10,428 | 9,190 | 9,190 | ||
| Miscellaneous expenditure | 890 | 1,929 | 491 | (2) | 491 | |
| Total expenditure | 22,922 | 22,687 | 26,129 | (3) | 5220 | 20,909 |
| Net income | -4,361 | -1,242 | 2,653 | 3180 | -527 | |
| Total funds brought forward | 18,083 | 13,722 | 12,480 | 0 | 12,480 | |
| Total funds carried forward | 13,722 | 12,480 | 15,133 | 3180 | 11,953 |
Notes:
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Entirely made up of the MacMillan composition commission donation (restricted fund) and expenditure associated with the MacMillan composition in line with the stated reason for donation
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Consisting of website costs, postage, bank admin fees, refreshments, insurance, and MakingMusic/PMLL/PRS fees.
Statement of Assets and Liabilities (as at 31 August)
(all figures in GBP)
| (all figures in GBP) | (all figures in GBP) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2024-25 | ||
| Non-current assets | RESTRICTED | UNRESTRICTED | ||||
| Deposit account | 1768 | 1768 | 2017* | 2017 | ||
| Orchestra Company |
0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Current Assets | ||||||
| Receivables | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Prepayments | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Current account | 11953 | 10712 | 13116 | 3180 | 9936 | |
| Total assets | 13722 | 12480 | 15133 | 3180 | 11,953 | |
| LIABILITIES | ||||||
| Current Liabilities | ||||||
| Payables | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Prepaid income | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total Liabilities |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| NET ASSETS | 13722 | 12480 | 15133 | 3180 | 11953 |
This statement includes allowance for monies owed to and from the choir when calculating assets and liabilities, and for this reason the net assets figure differs from the ‘funds’ figure above.
*Please note that until recently, we did not manage to get access to our COIF account funds and therefore the deposit account amounts have not been adjusted previously for 2022-23 and 2023-24. We have chosen not to change this in this overview but instead report the new amount for 2024-25 instead.
Per concert overview
| Per concert overview | |
|---|---|
| Concert | Total balance |
| Ypres | -569 |
| Music of Remembrance | -1,090 |
| Winter Wonderland2024 | 633 |
| McKinsey | 840 |
| Messiah | 744 |
| York | -497 |
| Will ToddRequiem | -1,503 |
| Evensong | 31 |
| Handel Israel in Egypt | -1,206 |
| Weddings | 0 |
| Funerals | 200 |
Independent examiners report to the Trustees of The Elysian Singers of London (Charity number 1095739 )
| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31 Aug 2025.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
| report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, | have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent Examiner's Statement
| have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect:
- e accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
| have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached
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