Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir Annual General Meetlng- 2026 Chairman's Report- 2025: Tho past year has been of varknd conc•rt l 8ven¢s MI trKYcWty wjosvj by al ow acjfve rnwnber8. As been tho case In recent yw8 thorn ij #b%>telY rK> dwbt thot the (ryoiw SU¢X88 of w CA¥janI Is undWp1nd by Ihg hardworklw m•rnbw8 of tho e¢U? c(rni¢t•fj who capat4y oversat th• four arn•J ol tho choir. Music41 Organi88li)n." Finance.. Marketing & Mèmtsrship. Our 0." Tcffn Bala. D8¥rfd Fyfo. Phil HohJ•n. Stev8 & Blll Hafl- a huge d8bt of thank8 Icrf 811 thoir dad110d hard 7Myk thr(whcrt the >8r. W4111 them. It Is doubl, <1 cr Uld not In the wsitknn of 6trength In all area8 rnISed ong of besl malo voka cholrs kn Ihe Mldl8nd8. Wè #ppw to b¢ bud(try ts tre1 bW•- 4•dly. •knknr md• wJl¢• (#¥ th wr are 14ding a di88ppe8rtrJ. we ojntinuo to thr1 & flouflsh. Muslc: Our prlmary moUv4kn for part cl cho * th• •hw •thffn•nt of clxyal Urthr th• danc• cl 4wr M¢J8ical Otrector, Ray Curran. we have grovm tJth In(thvklualy 8nd oJle¢ti¥ety a$ sw. Roy has 9mIra990 ug to reffin• our vocbl abilitlos arKI has continwl lo drnlop tho "Bart.9 Slw" oroup, has holF•d lo enh our conc•rt8 Wtih V8rl6ty and fun. Some rnem havg a160 gaInj cx)nlld8rt• and to reach the requirod stsTrJard of enloyeble. Ray's eiforts we suppcrfled by accomp0nl Nell 8c41c and unlll hls Ilness St•¥e O'Rellly. We wtsh Steve On becomlr#J Chan In ••rty 2023, 8UPPOrthig Ra$ fty gftyJP •hwlwv4 was my top priffj. In many ways. h• h8$ surpassed my exp8ctsl1&. Our waekty rehearnals afe foduclive, anYbla, ar¥1 UpIfft by R8Vs dry hum¢yJr. well4novm repertc4rn ntrr b•tt•r. as by CAX regur slian$. To support thiN a reconlly lormgd 8uWmmllto8 has boen •#tabliih•d to facilrtate comprehenpAve knry-tèm artnIng, thus 8n8urlng that tha muslc reh89Tse and p8rfomi throwhoul upc(wnw rwnoin bat8n¢gd. div•rso aGro88 au g•nro•. and ang8glr¥J lor all m•mb8r8 arKI audlwKos 2026 bos1. $landard8. Howover, lor Ihe80 OrtS to have any po%¥vts benddd 6mpact tlls •swlJ'•l Ihot 9¥0ry ch( mombw aclfvoly suppcrts th88• Inltkntl¥e8 & erKJoaw lo aIlW mNo reh8arn&ls & corts. 1 ¥4vuIJ al80 ask that 8Y m&ke a mor Concerted effort to leam the wcds to all gongs In our current r8pertth as it e¥(ths. 11 wa a8 I1VkIal9 each commll to Ih•8• two r•qu•8ts. w• Mjuld uThkwbt•Jty bwn• 8b bottw a ¢otr. Whilgt Ray dir•(ts us mustslly. all ¢rfJir ew)ts need p1wil and 4Yynlsalion. This is a Iwe task nd Lqsl year, lh8 load for thi6 undertaken by Phll Holden. Tom Bate frA%siru spBcrfThMy on 9Cert sch&Jullng. A9 prevlously explainwj al last year's AGM it was decid•J rn)I to In¥dv• ts chow in rky'hi9h wofil8' conrxts with '8lar acts.. whlch ar8 not currenlly flnandally yble. To fft Inlo Ihls'm(thl'. annual Autumn wgs a much smaller OnI Ihls year hekl al Ihe RuSn Centre, StJtdqe. None the lejs tt w8$ • tynljod ewnt enjoy by 8H and It mado a posilive c1(1 to fu. Durtng 2025, we perf0md at 23 conLrts l ewants. Inclwlo th• Black C• Sh(yKasa 8t 8rl8rtey HIN Trywn Hall. 8LYck Country Mental Health We our chosen charty. and they hard to combhe tllh us & ratse funds for thek cause. Once again. tharth io th& 8ftorts of Dawd F8, wessfvlly held a clty ¢cmwt al Stff5ngdalo Church. Pem WtKh rawd con5idernble thgrltablB lurvjs lor tho Bfrth's Sunlkyhv Ctwity & Dudl8y Ftrst R8srxM)d8rs. WW2. In No¥mb6r again ioined Ihem al th8w Rememtvance o)ncrt at DJ1•Y COl- a calendar favgurits. for the choir. 80th conc8rts raisad furth for tho Lw.
We again enhanced on reputstlon in ALb3usI where we lo1J other ¢lvirs as guests of Kxklerminster MVC travo11irvJ up and down Sevem Valley Rafvlay, culmlnw kn an evenlry Inv(n9 all trrs on the D)Ith. During Iho wmmer. we travel lo NoThMch a joirrt concert with Ncr4•kh Pheonix Cholr where broèdened our repul8t¥)n and buTrlt ngw friend5hip8. Our thanks go to Kth'ke Mlson & Mark P who organtsed Ihffj p. They 8re now in the woco88 oforganlslng a to Styjth Wales lo Iho hlghly repthd Caklk>X MVC July. Chri8lm•6 wos do 8 busy Ilme lor Ihe thyr tr1 e¥wts during th• wg•k to Christrnas. Our usual Chrfjlmas Cgn¢ort rèvertod lo an evening 8venl ai St 8onodkts Churr. WcntJwme & was a Wul ¢aon enjo1 by 8 ful hou80. Our chosen charity B•Oazd8 w411 benefit from (xJllg¢kn •1 Ihosa Clvistmas e¥ents. fundraising. To help wrth thèsè events arnj to MpIce our p6rfcrfmwe. we hav8 Ihts yoar lrivesknj s¢ime new aloctrfcal aquipmenl to play bad<lng traGk$. Whi15t trre have boon sc¥ne t8chnical 9b14, pauenco and practKe Ihis new 10¢hnology wlll undoubtedly h8lp us at them W1$. Ouf Ih8nks w lo Jullus for hglplng ith Ihe new oqulpmanl & to ¢)ur MC Graham RSell lor hls rob8 in Iwjlry •rloyabl• oc(xgk Nexl year's cakndar. tharB to the effort8 oITom Bate. ig n( vwtually comwo & (ull of Inlernsting ry)n¢otts & eveni& Plea#0 hdp us by fflart(Ing 8¥aliabllly- oitiw'Yo&' or 'No'_ al on Choir Mony. Memborshlp: Bill Hart, 8SSi8ted by Gcrton 8k. has melkthmty r•e¢rd at 1 r•hw•o •¥ents. This data he inform future deciwons. W• pjrrgndy have 68 ¢oiT Mb.. 12no- 1•t tsnor8 20no- V ler 23no- 88fiione8 13no- Bass's Durfng Ihe pasl year. we sadly k1 Tr lertry- Ted Bartley arKI BtterKl•d thè fvnoral of H8rokl Egd•J- Barltone & Nfo rnembgr. Wa h8V8 81s0 very ro(nlly tht Don M8r¥h our mgmtr & VKO Preglderrt. We moum thelr p888lng & WO mufjt Bd(ntrAedw, In an cth. Ih•t t<xn• mwnbern ¢uffwty ab8ert thrcLyh tomi lIne. 8wh Wood1.. Dave Spinks: Keilh Cow,. St•¥e O'Riolly & Glyn Tebbutt- have rll & away from 8om• me durtng lh8 pa¥l yw. We miss ththn al ard them ¥MII. TY ar• 811 in our though18. On B more p05niv8 TKAe, we vffjkomed ¥LK new m8mbws iti thè (KJr. Mark Groenland {2thJ ltsnor}'. Kèith Jone$12ft1 lenorl.. Edth Nthols {B8riioM): {8arliono): Smlth IBarilono1 & Phil Withers11sl tenor). All have qulckly Integralad themsthos our MwnbW¥ WNI Itw) 8 low bI# a8•cKlg1kn th UJ. Durfng Ihe year. we hold 49 rohearBakn & p•rformed 8123Th) C<YKxts l ed•nts 35no chod8ters atlend8d 85% or rTKXe Tehearsa&. 24no ¢hod8ter8 attended 70% attandgd or mcffB èvonts. It is Imptant to ncA8 that Ihertr has bg¢n a swJnilkanl dlIne kn th• ava4abMy ol •the bitLW bag8 Ct memberB lor Concerts. Shoukd th trend r¥i$l, it may negati¥ety impgcl our to déN¥er balaro rkn8nc66 at fuiurg ovenlB. Dudng the year wo gw¢¢ssluly updatsd Ihe ctth's unllomi Icrf al MnbS. This was lun418d comwely from choir lunds. Th4s has b8•n #18ThJthy FfX•SS hBs boen very th rnaryd by BSU Hart. Having fvst asked 011 Mamrn ror their Pfefer8nce. we lollry•md due pmcess wi evaluattiig infom11 to th• mosl gJrtable unifomi 8t the mosl ci)mpotilive pri. ensuring Ihat every memb8r'8 ne•ds were acco lor. (kn thanks b) ay Involvod In th compkx eye1$¢ p8rtkul8rly 8111, who has 8Y assisted byknle. In oddllon tr) tho abow wo h•ve Intro(kK Sw¥i¢•Aw¥d% trj b• our w unrf(xm8. Agaln. Bll monapd Ihi$ on the choir'5 bBhaf. FSnances: Stov8 Hale has conlind to efficienty manage tho choir's finances. Ho has intr0dL imwoved budgetary (y)ntrols lo holp us wrth Intornied decl0MLng. This In tum has lo mothfy con¢8rt prowime ansudng il best suOIs
reduced pmduction costs alknw us more & ensute pmxitive ctrit> lo our funds. Thls is refieGted In thL8 .8 acccdJnts. I'm sure Stev8 WIM 8Xpd on lh m¢y8 kn his financw repxt and arg vèry gratslul dlllgènl work. To help with this. nexl year, will b8 introthw a now QIMckt<<s pAckag8 aloirvJ us a b•tt8r pthrn of the ct¥Jir's finanrAal sianding CAFwng. Steve's prudent financl•l managernl In tms h•lpwJ us b) fM¥ an mwnbers & W our curnnl 8ubscWlon8 al £200.00 per nM fc¢ 2026 8r•d ID plan oxpwKJituTr. Thoro 18 w doubt Ihat o maiLY contrlxrtry Io OLW P(Wti nnwK4 'Partn•rntMP' fllh Wall James Chappel solicitors ¥vhich continues Io PffYL benefrts fty bolh parbes. We lll shortly be'rottkw an niliative 1$ supwt all and ofter onuc4ng finwrAal benefits to th¢ Ch1. Marketlng: Davkl F8 contlnu•s • ¥0t•1 rol• kn •ll w• ol &Ir ¥ratrAIIts. H• has rvrfllalw rJK's and his considerablg mwketing skd15 to pr18 all clKJir events via s¢wl metha and otlw reco3nwd molho(ts. Th8nk¥ lo his offorts Chrmr Mano9or h8 now Jr winwal melw of rMMkl10n ¥h #ll ejw hrrfonnat kn mambor8. Pre8ident and Other Rolos: Annkry Hodklnson. (w Pr881dont, brlngs warmth. wy. and c4rn to hef honornry pc6llk)n. Sho regulwty attend8 rehearsa18 & supp9 our aThl ofton WIC8 wlth us to Onha oxtr &w)ts. She SUP[16 w less abl• member8 much nèeded contact en8bltrwJ u8 to help and 14th•nw8r neod•d. Addgd to thlg sho now è160 handl•• all 8nclllary unrf¢xm r¢qutrem¢nts ènsunng mornb Unif r8qu¥ementS arn Catered for. We wthout doubl lortunat• lo havg Iw •s our Prns¥J•nt. 11 bo romi86 of mo Th)t to a( llhln rhok ¥nlknt & valuab •oThk• lo GSMVC: TnJ¥l•es IP•te tr18wlhorM. Rkhard Molyneux> Audilor8 (Richard MolyTreux. Rowr Shurtfeworth) Saclion rops (Steve Waltho l Davè P•rry. 8111 Hart. Chrt8 Jon88. AThty Pwkw) New m8mbevs pYob.0n managefB: {Mike MIS l Mark Prr•iS} Tithel secfetary {Davld F•) Stage m8nager IRkhard Bagn) Social secr818ry Imlke Green) Librarlan118n Daviesl. Tour Ofg8nlsers: Imlke & Math Powkn) You wS11811 know th81 durkrKJ the past for tr Krys Awwd lor Volunlary SeDhces. FollovAng nomtrtauon by Roge Cook.M(x)k- • kYx>d frlend of thè ¢Kl. Th byln• reason for thls recommandatknn rnfflectsd ow c•rltabbb wo. lch Iws rod slgnfficant funds. ovor many fftrs, supportlry IIMfr In nèed - prindpally in our local commurdty. 11 was. Ih8r8foro, a groal dffjappxjntmenl for u8 all w be 8dwsed Novgmbw that wts had been Lm8uecessful.11 was haartening to be 888UTed by the many FX)Sitivè t0nynts by you ts mèmb8rn, emindlng us that= We are not in Ihis Ca row8. nL* thg r•98 w• nwnbw8.' do It tt.. l heartedly SUFWt & ttse c. 11 feveol Iho deep r8specl 8nd afferIK hold Icrf the GBntlemen SThwJslws our memtws. Il's ev#Jent we are hyhly valuad as 8 unb4ue group $h8ring the Y of cl1 MUSK for the bgnefft of others. 11$1 o1$0 rablng signlficant finanGlal SUPPOrt our ctK)sen n8&ty charlues. Thls Is so muth more knpc#l8ni Ihan any 8wanJ no m8tterwhwe h comeg frcTh. Perscmally, I leel kyivwed lo be part ol Ihb arn11 lorwwd to t¢rtlnulThJ our proar8s8 faclng futwe challenges logeth8r. K•n Cran• (Chalmian)
Gentlemen Songsters Gentlemen Songsters Male Volce Cholr Treasurers Report 2025 Before the serious stuff starts, I Vuld like to thank all members of the Cholr for reacting posbtively to my na88ln8 In re8ard to maknn8 payments wlthout having to be reminded (too much) that money Is owed. It makes my Ilfe so much easier. Also BACS Is a much better option than cash or Cheq¢.-..jUst saylnglll11 As al%vays, I have Issued the sl8ned Balance Sheet and IncomelExpendlture Account sheets for your perusal. Any que5tlofts about thelr content can be raised with me after the AGM. 2025, Ilke 2024 was a reasonably successful year flnanclally as our records Indicate that we improved our flnance5 by £8,481.83 with a "pot" of £46,904.43 available to cover fure expenses. On the back of the end of year surplus for 2024, we are Ilnanclally In a reanable posltlon to move forward confidently to know that we can cover all overhead expenses for the next 3- 4 years, even wlthout an Income. We been tsrgetln8 that cushlon for a few years and have been successful In athievin8 that target this year. It has only been possible. however due to a number of extrnordlnary wlndfalls. l. We have to thank Ward James Chappel for thelr second donatlon to us In the sum of £4.500.CK). They are under no obllgation to do 50, and If thwi sirnply tumed around and rold us that T4¥e were getting no mofe. then we could only thank them for their 8enerosity to date. We are in line f¢* a drnatlon next year as well - fin8ers crossedl 2. Th15 year we submitted (wr last 4 years subscriptions totsl to the HMRC and received a Gift Aid refund of £6.297.97 back from them. In Aprivmay of thls year we will be submitting this Fars (20261 subscrlptlons for G6ft Aid consideration which should bring in approximately a further £1..(1. 3. The 2025 account includes £1.71XJ.(K) payments for the Caldicott Tour In July this year which obviously hade to be discounted as bt will be an actual expenditure this year. 2026. 4. We have 31s0 received the following in donatlons: _ a. Choristers with long term member5hip- £5. b. Bereavement donation5= £1.3(MJ.IX)
L Retlrernent donations- £l,IM).(X) d. Other donations- £530.IXI 5. The total of the above Is £15 827.97 6. In 2025 we akso collerted lin buckets etc). a sum of £1.046.27 which, as alV5, Is set aside for dlsposal to our chosen Charities. The above are "extraordinarf In so far as they cannot be depended upon as guaranteed incomes going forward. Even the WJC donation is not guaranteed, as discussed above. If we adjust the end of year Cash Reseprfes totsl to exclude windfalls and donatlons 1£46,904.43-£15,827.97 z £31,076.461. we would. In fact have niade a loss of £7,346.14 compared to the 2024 reser¥E of £38.422.60. It Is only because of these "extraordinarf windfaS15 that we have been able to purchose the new "blazer unlforni" for Choir. Any other cIrcuMstan ¥Uld have made that declsion Impo•ble. The new blazer uniform ensemble has cost the Cholr around £2,2(K).IX). The blazers wlll remaln In the Choirs ownershlp and are "on loan- to members. All blues unlforrns {polo's. jumpers, shlrts, etr) purchased by members remain the property of those members Thls year, followln8 a revlew of both venues and "Guest" costs. the rnue from the Concerts {both small and major concerts) plus the c05t of our wonderful muslc team has. for the first time In years. been in the black. The ded51on made at the end of 2024 to 80 for local talent rather than "names- has turned out io be successful both flnancially and musically. This has reduced the rellan we place on Cholr members to Sell lots of tickets. A qulckly eKpandSn8 repertoire we believe, has also helped Internal Sales. The Issued SpadSheet artually shows a healthy balance belween Income and expendlture for the Concerts themselves. but much of the surplus was from our Ottober Concert and the 8lack Country Showwe, plus to a smaller degree, the pubs at Christmas. Bucket collectlons have also ralsed £1,050.IXI whlth wlll be donated to Charlty{s}. We would Ilke to thank the Cholr members for thelr efforts In selllng tlckets for Concerts over the lagc year and can onty ask for a concerted (excuse the pun - same one as last 2 r5) effort this c¢)mlnB Concert season. Our running costs are, not surprisin8ty. still Increasing. This year, ¥ spent nearly £13,1)Xl on rehearsal venue. music team and admin costs alone. In Ilne with all of the above. and following our January Executive Commlttee meeting, we have decided to retain the followin8. for 2026 subs:_ l. The subscription will remain at £2Pa15t1l1 only £4 pwl followlng this AGM.
- Member5 who have already been in the ChoSr for over 40 yeats will not have to pay a membership subscrlption.
- Members currently in the Choir who have already completed 35+ years will NOT have to pay a membership subscription.
- Members who achieve 35 year5 after the AGM on the 26th January wlll pay 50% of the membership subscription, Includln8 all subsequent years.
- If any member feels that they are unable to pay this or would Ilke us to consider acceptin8 an alternatlve payment routei please talk to one of the members of the executive committee a5aP. Last year we continued wlth our policy of Charitable Donations to several CharTtie5. Our exec & our trustees have, thls year, suggested that we donate to Bedazzle who are a Charlty that addresses the crucial need for improved mental health and wellbein8 SUPPOrt for children, young people and their farnilie5 (reg Charity Nr
- Once again. it has. been agreed that during the coming year we wlll actively seek & to priorltise Charities who are prepared to work wlth us to orR3n5se and actively ralse funds jolntly with us. vi? our concerts. The final account has been agreed and si8ned by our audrtors $0 I w11 I make the balance sheet and Income/eXpendltu summary available to any member that would Ilke a copy. I wlll be free to answer any questions, on a one-to-one basis, after the AGM. Flnally, you may or mry not be aware that Roger 5huttleworth and Richard Molyneux are steppin8 down from their roles as Auditors this year. Goin8 forward. we wlll be askln8 external Auditors to check the accounts. Roger and Rlthards Input Snto the succe55 of the choir cannot be over stated. They are an important buffer in the ftnanclal securlty of the Cholr and. for that reason, their Input In undertakln8 thls Important role cannot be understated. Thank you guysl We are also chan8in8 the way that the accounts will be Presented next year. giving all a Clearer understandlng of what we Spend your money on and how we create an income to keep the Choir goin& All will be revealed In due course. To infinity and beyondlll Stephen Hale (Treasurer) January 2026
AtrID COPKEH chMÉ14 dth Mqrkh LMO ChnLtrn&llJlS t iwpy * Ib 471. iJo é iJJY. I IV*iJF
AS AT 31 Decem 21125 Issued for &istrthtion to tholr Members prior to the AGM. MSBC Trear$0¢(9llrt Balance 31112124 Balance131st Drnber 20251 £ 17.25435 £ 25.416.13 £ 8.161.78 Balance 2911V24 Balan¢e131st December 20251 £ 11345.69 £ IL53135 Ind lfiterest 186.16 HSBC Futures •¢¢(wnl Balance 231W24 Balan(31St Dttemiw X1251 £ 7,520A5 £ 7.643.17 IDL4 Interest 122.32 UoydsTf••sur•rs •c¢ourt Balan 09124 Balance 09125 £ 1,925A6 £ 1943.10 Ind Intertst 17.24 iknds So¢l•l Balance 09124 Balance IV2S 39).85 369.60 Ind Interest 121.251 Cash In h•nd £ 4X)3AS £ 8A66a5 Appolnted by the Cholr Management Commltte¢ we hffeby c•rtlfyfor the accounts to be correct for the year endlN8 31112n4 Skn•d Iq 1112 Roger Shuttleworth rd Motyneux 2010 Deficlt 2011 SUU$ 2012 Surplus 20 Defk 2014 Surplus 2015 Deftcit 2016 Defktt 2017 Surplus 1£1.910 841 £7,130.91 £10,414.54 If 8,593.151 £5.949.33 1£2,143.461 1£9.685.931 £7.128.74 £ 14,435.26 £ 21,566.17 £ 31,980.71 £ 23,387.56 £ 29,336.89 £ 27,193.43 £ 17,507.50 £ 24,636.24 Tli I 2018 Surplus 2019 Surplus 2020 Defiat 2021 Deficit 2022 Surplus 2023 Surplus 2024 rplus 2025 rplus £3.512.13 £3.519.83 £ 15.119.09) £ 16.292.26} £ 4.435.$4 £ 2.C87.27 £ 11.632.60 £8,466.25 £ 28,148.37 £ 31,668.20 £ 26,549.11 £ 20,256.85 £ 24,692.73 £ 26,790.LY) £ 38,422.60 £ 46.888.85