GBRTI7':
Gpeat Bowden Recital Tpust
Great Bowden Recital Trust
Flnanrial Report
2023-24
Music developmen¢ oppre¢lotlon and
participationfor all

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ABOUT GBRT
Great Bowden Recltal Trust {GBRTI is a charltable trust. founded in 2004 and reglstered in 21x16, promotin8 muslc
in Market Harborough and the surroundin8 area. The Trust's charitable purpose is 'Muslc development,
appreclation and participation for all,.
Music has been proven to have a vlslblei Positive impact on the lives of people of all ages, buildin8 confidence,
communication and discipline. increasing CO•ordlnation and encouraging social relationships. The Trust
continually strives to entourage personal development by usin8 music In all its forms, iDcludin8 running a range of
community choirs and ensembles, organising Concerts and events in the local area and btyond, European concert
tours and an annual Junior X Factor talent competition for young muslclans and singers. Surplus funds genernted
by these acttvities are used to fund a grant pro8ramme for young people in financlal need to help to pay for
singing and Instrumental lessons.
GBRfs Trustees
GBRT is managed by volunteer Trustees and Choir/Ensemble Secretaries. New Trustees are recruited by
Invitation from the Trustee board and are provided with copies of the most recent Accounts. They are also briefed
on their le8al obligations under charity laws, and on the content of the governin8 document of the Trust, together
with the declsion-makin8 processes and recent financial perfomance.
The trustees durin8 the 2023124 financial year were:
Sue Benson, Managing Trustee
Linda Pentland, Finance Trustee and Chaim)an
Graham Vick
Poppy Shortland
Debbie Smith
Lucy Ingall
Jim Holyoak
Great Bowden Recital Trust. Registered Ollice.. 30 Nelson street. Leicestei LEI 7BA
CDnstituted a5 a Charitable Trust by means of a Declèratlon of Trust on 2911. June 2006, Cha¥ity Regi51ration Number: 1118140

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r. gav..ttEn Ppcicdl Trucf
GBRfs Areas of Activity
The Trusys activities divide Into four key areas:
l. Music Development
GBRT believes that an individual's financial circumstances should never be a barrier for pro8ressing and
developing their skill of singing or playing an instrument. The Trust provide5 grants towards instrumentsl
or vocal lessons for local young people in financial need. We also work with local schools to help to
promote music.
l Musi¢ Appreclatlon
GBRT organises concerts and events Including an annual Community Concert whlch showcases local
young singers and instrumentalists, some of whom are performing in public for the first time. The Trust's
choirs and ensembles also perform at a range of local and regional concerts raising money for GBRTand
for other charities and good causes.
3. Music Participation
The Trust provide5 Opportunities for everyone to become involved in music regardless of age, experience
and background. GBRT'S five choirs and ensembles have over 150 members. The annual GBRTJuniorX
Factor competition provides the opportunity for PM)Sitive feedback from professional musicians and for
the finaliststo perform on stage to supportive aUdien￿S.
4. For all
GBRT believes that music should be accessible to everyone. Inclusion is important to us and we are
workingto remove barriers to participatlon. We are proud to be a pilot group for Maklng Musids
INCLUDE project.
Great Bowden Recital Trust. Registered Office.. 30 Nelson Streei, Leicester LEJ 7BA
Constituted a5 3 Charitable Trust by means ol 3 Declaraiion of Trust on 2911, June 2006, Charity Re8lStration Ntsmber.. 1118140

GBRT.I% ':
I-TrPr &r. Trust
Music
We received 24 applications forfunding for our grant programme in 2023124 which was nearly 3 times as many
applications as 2022123. Eighteen of these applications were successful, includlng 7 continuing students and 11
new applicants. A total of £4.614 was awarded to fund 721 lessons. We were very grateful to receive a donation
of £10￿ from Landmark Practice Developmentto support our grants programme in addition to the fundswe
generated from our other activities.
GBRT is a member of the Harborough Alliance for Muslc Education, a forum to bring tO8ether music leads from
local schools organised by Robert Smyth Academy. We have also been Involved with settin8 up Creative
Harborou8h, an initiatlve to promote arts activltles in the town and encourage more people to get involved. GBRT
was one of 20+ groupsto take part in the launch event on 2 March 2024 and we continue to be actively Involved
in the development of thls initiative.
Musl¢ A
eciation
GBRT organised four concerts during the 2023124 financial year:
GBRT Community Choir, accompanled by a live band and invited 5010ists, put on a gala concert to ralse
fund5 for the local NSPCC branch on 17, June 2023. The concert wa5 a huge success and raised £2000
for the NSPCC through ticket sales, donations and raffle tickets.
GBRfs annual Community Concert on Saturday 11 November provided an opportunityfor elght
young people to perform on trombone, piano, voice, guitar and French horn. GBRT Youth Cholr also
took part.
GBRT Community Choir and Northampton Male Voice Choir performed together in a sold out concert
in Market Harborough on Saturday 18 November. This was the first time that the two choirs had
performed together and was a Breat success. raising over £500 for GBRT from tlcket sales and
donations.
GBRT Community Choir was jolned by Robert Smyth Academrfs Secret Cholr for a concert in Market
Harborough on Saturday 18 May. raising over £SC(i in donations for the school toward5 the purchase
of a new barltone $8xophone.
GBRT'S choirs and ensembles also took part in the following events organised by other organisations:
Performances at The Café @ Welland Park:
o GBRT Community Choir, Sunday 25 June 2023
o GBRT Community Choir Caro15 in the Park Sunday 17 December 2023
o GBRT Flute Choir, Sunday 19 May 2024
th
GBRTCarnival Drums at Foxton Locks Fun Dayon 15 August 2023
GBRT Orchestra Sunday Afternoon Concert at St Peterfs Church. Church Langton on Sunday 24
September 2023
GBRT Communlty Choir performed at the Eco Village'swinter Fair on Saturday 25 November 2023
GBRTCommunlty Choir supported Specsavers Market Harborough's Dickenslan fundraiser on Saturday
91h December 2023
GBRT Carnival Drums performed at Kettering Christmas Market on Saturday 16 December 2023
Gieat 8owoen Rec*tal Trust. Registered Oftice.. 30 Ne150n Streei. Leicester LEJ 7BA
Constitvied as 3 Charitable Trust by means ol a Declaiation ol Trust on 29" lune 2(X)6. Charity Re8istr3tion Number: 1118140

31 Trurt.
Members of GBRTCommunity Choirsupported TLC Voices at the Laura Centre Memorial Service in
Leicester on Sunday 12 May 2024
Music Partlcl tlon
GBRT runs five choirs and ensembles- Community Choir and Flute Choir for over-185, Carnival Drums and
Orchestra for all ages. and Youth Choir for school year5 5-13.
Each group is self-fundlng as every member pays an affordable temily subscription fee to cover the costs
associated with running the group as detailed below. Surplus funds are used to fund the charitvs general running
Costs and grant programme.
Carnlval Drums
Community Choir
Flute Choir
Orchestra
YoLrth Choir
17 rehearsals
23 rehearsals
18 rehearsals
17 rehearsals
18 rehearsals
GBRT launched a new after-school music club. Music Makers, in four primary Schools in September 2024 which
received an overwhelming response from parents and children. More than 50 children in school years 14 took
part in the groups during the year and the children came together for a joint performance at GBRT Junior X Factor
Finals in March. The club, run by Graham Vick and supported by a team of volunteers. teaches singin&
performan￿ skills and the basics of music theory while having fun with warni-up exer(i5es. games. and creating
rhythms and sounds using body percussion, speech, rhyme and syncopation.
In addition, GBRT organised 3 workshop for members of GBRT Flute Cholr 4 November 2023 led by low flutes
specialist Carla Rees, GBRT Community Choir attended UK Choir Festival on Sunday 8 October 2023 and G8RT
Flute Choir took part in the first Bimiingham Flute Choir Festival on l March 2024.
G8RT Junior X Factor heats were held on the weekend of 9110 March and 13 talented young people took place
th
In the Finals Saturday 16 March. The competition was fvDded by grants from Market Harborough and the
Bowdens Charlty and Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons Charity.
In April 2024, 48 members of GBRT Community Choir took part in a COn￿rttourto Umbria in Italy. Thegroup
stayed in Passignano-suI-Trasimeno, overlooking Lake Trasimeno, and performed at the Chiesa San FIlipF￿ Neri in
Florence, Sala Dei Notari in Perugia and the Teatro in Tuoro overlooking Lake Trasimeno.
For All
In September 2023 GBRT wa5 selected as one of four music groups from ac1055 the UK to tske part in a pilot
project on inclusion run by Making Music. the umbrella body for leisure-time music groups. Funded by Arts
Council England, INCLUDE aims to help member groups in Levelling Up for Culture Places in England connect with
new members of their community and indude a wider diversity of people in their norfflal activities. Diversity
mean5 includin8 the widest range of people from our communty and recognisin& respecting and celebratin8
each otherfs differences. This includes a broad range of identities such as ethnicity. disability, neurodiversity,
gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic background. The pilot project which will run until Marth 2025 and what we
learn will be shared with all of Making Muslc's member groups. Our involvement In the project will focus on our
Great Bowden Recital Trust. Registered Office.. 30 Nelson Streei. Lelcester LEI 7BA
Constituted 3$ 3 Charitable Trust by means ol a Declèration of Trust on 2911, Jurie 2006, Charity Registration Number.. 1118140

instrumental groups- GBRT Carnival Drums, GBRT Flute Choirand GRBT Orchestrd- but the lessons that we learn
will be applied to all of our activities.
The first phase of the project was to get a better understandin8 of the demographics of our turrent membership
compared to our local area. We asked members to complete an anonymous survey and compared the results to
the most recent census data for South Leicestershire and North Northamptonshire. We found that our
membership was broadly representative of the general population but the maln groups that were
underrepresented being 21k35-year-olds and men. GBRfs trustees had a very helpful session with Making
Music'5 project lead Elizabeth Palmer to discuss the results and start to develop an adion plan for the project. We
decided to focus on the following areas-
Developing a strategy to ensure that all our activities are as inclusive as possible, such as setting up
'buddrf schemes in our ensembles to make new members feel welcome. reviewing the accessibility of our
communications and website, and asking members if there's anything we can do to improve access to
rehearsals and resources.
Encouraging more people to get involved in music making by rai5in8 the profile of our activities in North
Northamptonshire, lookin8 at ways to encourage more men and 24>35-year-olds to get involved in our
choirs and ensembles, and promotin8 the mental health and social benefits of muslc.
We have reviewed our online and written communications to ensure that they are acce$5ible by:
offerlng a text only digital verslon of programmes for use with Screen readers and online translation
services as an alternative to printed programmes.
revlewing our website to ensure that it meets accessibility standards.
replacing PDFS on our website with more accessible formats such as HTML and Word documents.
adding additional information about acce55ibility at our rehearsal and concert venues to our webslte and
publicity materials.
making sheet music avallable in alternative formats for members wlK* need it.
adding an open question to our re8iStration forms and booking forms to ask whether members have any
access needs.
We are working on extending our actlvitles into North Northamptonshire:
we organised an inclusion event in Corby on 21" February 2024 for local music group5 to discuss ways to
encourage men to get involved in music makin& with speaker Will Prideaux from Peterborough Sings.
GBRT Carnival Drums perfom)ed at Kettering's Christmas Market in De￿mber 2023 and are booked to
perform at two more events in Kettering in 2024.
We received a grant of £20C(I from Howard Watson Symington Memorial Charity to make a video promoting the
mental health beneftts of being part of communty music making.
We were very honoured and grateful to receive a generous legacy from the estate of Elizabeth Howe. who was a
member of GBRT Carnival Drums and a supporter of our charity. GBRT'S trustees have given careful consideration
to how best to use these funds to have a long-lasting impart.
Funds were allocated to updatin8 GBRT'S sound equipment includin8 the purchase of a digitsl mixin8
console, a stage box, 3 monltors and 2 sub-woofers plus cables and accessories. We worked with
Great Bowden Recital Trust. Regisiered Ofliie= 30 Nelson Stretrt, leicestei LEI PBA
Constituted as a Charitable Trust by means ol a Declaratioll ol Trust on 2911 June 2006, Charity ReÉistration Number.. 1118140

Brickworks Studios to design a high-quality and affordable system that will be durable and be flexible
enough to cover dlfferent types and sizes of events and gigs.
We purchased a bass flute and an alto flute for GBRT Flute Choir which will add depth to the sound of the
group and enable members to have a chance to play lower flutes which they might otherwise not be able
to experience as they are less common and more expenslve to own.
Funds have been allocated to GBRT Carnival Drums to repalr and update instruments, to G8RT Orchestra
to purchase new music and to GBRT Youth Choir to put towards artivities to attrdrt and retain new
members.
We are creatin8 The E112abeth Howe Legacy Fund"_ a project which will encourage primary school puplls
to learn musical instruments. It is still in development but is Intended to begin early in the 2024-25
academic year and will focus on students who face greater barriers than most to musical participation.
We believe that. as a former primary school headteacher, Liz would very much have approved.
GOING CONCERN
Subscriptions
GBRT'S main Sour￿ of income Is subscriptions paid by members of its choirs and ensembles. These are paid in
advance before the start of each term. MDS are engaged to run these rehearsals on a freelance basis. which
all0v￿ flexibility. Trustees regularly review the Subs income recelved for each choir and ensemble to ensure that
the costs of rehearsals can be met, and are able to adjust the number and/or length of rehearsals offered if
necessary. There is currently sufficient surplus generated from subs to fund GBRT'S essential running costs and
grant programme.
Concerts and Events
The Trust generates additional income frorn donations made by audience members at con￿rts and
perfomjan￿s.
Essentlal Runnlng Costs
As the Trust does not own or rent any offitss or employ any staff, essential runnlng costs {e.g. insurance and
independent examiner fees) are relatively modest. The Trust is carrying forward sufficient surplus funds from the
2023/24 financial year to cover all essential costs for 2024125.
Grant Programme
The Trust uses any surplus generated from its other activlties to fund a grant programme for young singers and
instrumentalists who need help to pay for their specialist music lessons. The grant programme is funded from the
5urplu5 generated in the previous financial year and amount of funding made available can be adjusted according
to the available funds. Grants are awarded for one school year.
Going Concern
For the reasons set out above, GBRT'S Trustees are confident that the Trust will continue to be a going con￿rn
throughout the 2024125 financial year.
Great Bowden Recital Trust. Registered Oflice.- 30 Nelson Streei. Leicestef LEI IBA
Constituted as a Charitable Trust by means DI a DEclaration of Trust on 29". June 2006. Charity Registiarion Number.. 1118140

I ,￿￿rf.1r IIo% 1p.n BLaCir.al TpLJsr
Income and Expenditure
For the year ended 31 May 2024
Account
2024
Income
Clothing- Hoodies T shirts Masks
Collection Boxes
Donations- General
Donations- Perfotmance
Event Income
Grants
Other Revenue
Subscriptions In
Tour Income
Total Turnover
505.00
56.60
1,566.38
1,465.21
9,445.65
4,700.00
20,876.78
18,528.79
22,334.32
79,478.73
Gross Incom•
79,478.73
Admini$trative Costs
Acccmnpanist
A¢¢ounts and Audlt
Donation$ Given
Equiw•nl PuT¢hased
Gaiag8 Hir•
General Exponses
Grants Given
Hoodies Tshirts Masks
Insurances and PRS
Junior X Factor cos15
Junior X Facior PrEes
Marketing
Mu51C
Musical Director
other Event Costs
Printing. Post and Stationery
Square Fees
Tours
Venue Hire- Concerts
Venues- Rehearsal
Volunteer and TnJ$tee Costs
Totsl Admlnlstrallye Costs
1,620.50
498.00
2,485.62
8,309.08
1,285.00
781.27
4.680.63
819.50
643.83
1.217.75
862.19
1,361.86
1,243.50
9,895.10
6.411.79
608.11
41.15
28,863.57
773.30
2.030.50
329.92
74,562.17
lus
4.916.56
Greal Bowden Recital Trust, Registered Office.. 30 Nelson st￿*t leitÈstei LEI 78A
Constituted as a Charitable Tnjst by means of a Detlaration of irust on 2911. June 2006. Charity Registrètitsn Number.. Lll8140

Jf￿￿r. 130%'Jtti-rt Heciral Tr% JFt.
GBRT ASSETS AND LIABILITIES SUMMARY
Monetary Assets
1st June 2023
31st May 2024
Funds in GBRT Bank Accounts
£16,325.64
£21,242.20
Creditors
Invoices due to be paid for this period
£0.00
£0.00
Reserves
The Trust maintains minlmal reserves sufficientto meet its day to day requirements
Public Benefit
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guldance contained in the Charity Commission's
general guidan￿ on public benefit when reviewing the Trusvs aims and objectives and in planning
future activities.
GBRT Trustee￿ Declaration
The Trustees have thorou8hEy reviewed and understood all aspects of the accounting information for
the period 1st June 2023 to 31st May 2024, have had regard to the guidance published by the Charity
Commission on public benefit and approve, in full, the figures provided within this Report and the
Income and Expenditure Summary.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
Date: 301h December 2024
Linda Pentland
Chair of Trustees
Great Bowden Recital Trust, Registered Office- 30 Nelson Streei, leicester LEI 7BA
Constituted as a Charitable Tnjst by means ol a Declaration of Trust on 29tli June 2006. Charity Re8lStr3tion Number.. 1118140

Independent Examlners Report
To the Trustee5 of Great Bowden Retltal Trust
For the year ended 31 May Z024
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 May 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charivs trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the
requirements of the Charities Act 20111'the Act,).
I report in respect of my examination of the chariws accounts carried out undersertion 145 of the Art and in
carryin8 Out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions glven by the Charlty Commission under
section 14515}(bl of the Act.
Independent examinerfs statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have cometo my attention in connection
with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect-
attounting records were not kept In respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act.
or
2. the account5 do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examlnation to whlch
attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be
reached.
Ob/,,/
Alexander West FCA
Somerbys Chartered Accountants
30 Nelson Street
Leicester
LEI 7BA
Greèt Bowden Recital Trust. Registered Oftice.. 30 Ne150n Slreei Leice5tei IEJ 78A
Constituted as a Charitable Trust means ol a Declar3Lion of I rLSS1 on 29l.. ltsne 2006. Charity Registtation Number. 1118140