Shrewsbury Cantata Choir
Chair’s report, October 2024
Thank you very much, everyone, for supporting the choir so well once again over the last year.
I always look forward to Wednesday evenings as a highlight of the week, and I believe that’s one of the most important things about Cantata. We should make sure that we do more of the social gettogethers. The afternoon at Vicki and Gordon’s was tremendous fun, with the sopranos’ song and dance routine of course living in the memory.
Tony will have commented in his report on our music making… We sang masses of masses (alright – we sang two masses), we motetted with Poulenc and the bold Brass Buttons, we gloried in glorias (gloriae?) and we hitched up again with Choral to dream our way with Elgar…
Whilst a relatively minor effort for us, I’m pleased that we continue to sing at Christmas for groups needing support – Headway last year and again this.
The summer joint concert was a difficult one to organise; we went through may options before we came to a choice of music that fitted the limitations imposed by our collaboration with Shrewsbury Choral, and the committee is immensely grateful to Tony for agreeing to lead Gerontius – a work that he had never studied at all before the turn of the year. (No half measures with Tony, of course, so he put in many, many hours of work, quite aside from the time he spent with us.) Although there are good things that have come through the collaboration, it was also hard work for the committee and we didn’t in the end share the same vision of what we would like the festival to be. So Tony and the committee will be planning a different summer for 2025. We understand that the festival chorus will be open to those who want to sing in that concert in addition to what Cantata does that term.
We made a firm decision to cap choir numbers at around 60, and to ask people to commit to three concerts per year. It’s much easier for Tony and the committee to manage a stable choir with an established balance of voices.
Thank you for agreeing to the rise in our subscriptions – please do let us know confidentially if that is financially difficult for you to manage – and we remain in good financial shape, as you will have seen from Roger’s report. With the deteriorating availability and quality of public library musical scores we may in the future need to look more to providing our own material, but for now will continue to work on a case-by-case basis.
Your committee and plenty of enthusiastic volunteers were, as always, instrumental in making it all happen, and of course we continue to rely on each other to make the choir a success. Once again we are all indebted to the key people who participate, including the committee members, those who sort out our scores (both choral and orchestral), help with the concert day organisation, put out and put away the stuff we all sit and stand on, and help with publicity and ticket sales. (I think that’s probably all of you!) There are a lot of jobs that need doing to put on a successful event, aside from the efforts that we all put into learning the music.
With Tony leading and Catrina supporting us we are very fortunate to be developing under the tutelage of two outstanding musicians. If we can one day collectively match their energy, dedication and skill we may yet be featured on Radio 3!
Joe Gomme, October 2024
MUSIC REPORT for Shrewsbury Cantata 2023 - 2024
What a year we have had! I am delighted to say that I am of the firm belief that Cantata continues to go from strength to strength, and the committee remains a core part of ensuring this success. For both of these things I would like to express my thanks to you all.
In Autumn 2023 we gave a glorious concert brimming with confidence and energy. The evening brought together Mozart’s epic Mass in C Minor with Haydn’s Little Organ Mass and the Overtures to Figaro and Magic Flute. The Mass in C Minor posed some challenges in the form of extended double-chorus sections, and it is these kinds of challenge which help us to grow. The Classical shaping of phrases and shading of dynamics from the previous Mozart concert were recalled well and it was clear to see that the choir brought this knowledge to bear in the performance. The orchestra performed brilliantly - thanks to Anne Tupling for fixing the players and leading the orchestra. The concert was well attended and our performance was very well received by the audience.
In December we performed our Christmas Concert drawing together the complete set of Poulenc Christmas Motets – not easy but very worthwhile. We were joined by a Trombone Choir and also by a few hundred tractors bringing a brief halt to the concert and offering the audience an extra spectacle they would not have expected.
In Spring 2024 we took on a very different challenge, performing the Poulenc and Vivaldi settings of the Gloria, a chance to showcase very different interpretations and challenge the choir with a rich range of creative challenges. The choir learnt the Vivaldi quickly, understanding where to supply the fire but also embracing the profound stillness of sections like the ‘Et In Terra Pax’. The Poulenc was a fantastic piece to learn – challenging on harmonies – but supported by our previous work on the motets. Poulenc demands different characterisation in almost every phrase from heart-rending beauty to heavy and forceful moments. Again, the choir responded to the music producing beautifully shaped performances which were enjoyed and celebrated by the audience.
In the Summer, we collaborated with Shrewsbury Choral to perform The Dream of Gerontius. Whilst the planning process was complex at times, the choir responded to Elgar’s music with great focus and energy from the outset. The Come and Sing Day provided a valuable training ground to get a sense of the different characters required from the choral sections, and Cantata worked steadily through the sections ensuring that phrases were shaped and convincingly stylish in advance of the performance. The performance was well attended, the quality of music was extremely high and, once again, the orchestra surprised in all the best ways, coping brilliantly with the technical demands of the music.
For all these reasons and more, including the friendship and support that members of Cantata offer one another, it is another year of celebration. Well done to everyone!
Tony 1[st] October 2024
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These two pieces, written 50 years apart share similar forces and accompaniment. In addition to organ, we enhanced the accompaniment with cello and harp providing two more tone colours to bring the music to life. From the outset, the choir showed a strong knowledge of the Faure but were receptive to the need to expand the dynamic range and push deeper into the expressive range of the piece. The Durufle presented more of a challenge with a need for a high level of technical control in the voice and the ability to navigate the beautiful twists and turns in the metre – Carmina Burana was a good training ground for this. The finished performance was excellent and a good demonstration of the wide palette of sounds that the choir can draw on in performance.
In Summer 2023 we embarked on a new venture, joining forces with Shrewsbury Choral Society to perform Mendelssohn’s Elijah, a dramatic oratoris calling for significant choral and orchestral forces. This was directed by Dr Martin Cook at Shrewsbury Abbey and I was pleased to be able to join the choir to perform this work – though I must say, it was surely the hottest climate ever experienced in the Abbey!
In returning for our 2023 – 2024 season, I am excited to see the choir develop further with a worshop planned for October with John Bowen and our performance of the Mozart Mass in C Minor and Haydn Little Organ Mass in St Chad’s on 4[th] November. Wednesdays night are always hard work but extremely satisfying as I know that members of the choir and Catrina are committed to producing the very best that we are capable of.
Anthony Coupe 23[rd] September 2023
Tony Coupe - Director of Music
Shrewsbury Cantata Choir
Treasurers Report for Financial Year ending 31/7/2024
The overall financial position at the end of the 2023-24 financial year is as follows:
| 2023-24 | 2022-23 | |
|---|---|---|
| Receipts | £25,527 | £21,297 |
| Payments | £24,305 | £18,081 |
| Profit/(Loss) | £1,222 | £3,216 |
| Cash funds at start of year | £13,084 | £9,867 |
| Cash funds at end of year | £14,306 | £13,084 |
When we commenced the current season, I had budgeted a loss on our concert account of £4.4K and an overall loss of £2.2K.
In the event the loss on the concert account was just £2.0K.
Our concert of Mozart’s great C Minor Mass, with the Haydn Little Organ Mass drew an excellent audience of 170, and incurred a budgeted loss. Our Christmas concert with the Poulenc motets, and our spring concert of the Poulenc and Vivaldi Glorias both showed a profit.
It proved to be very challenging to find a concert programme for our summer collaboration with Shrewsbury Choral which met the aspirations of both choirs and their directors and was also affordable. We eventually settled on The Dream of Gerontius, with a reduced score by Iain Farrington. With generous donations from members and supporters in both choirs, and a record audience of 307, this broke even, and avoided the £1.5K loss we had budgeted. We are immensely grateful to Tony for agreeing to the challenge of this work, and for his outstanding skill and labour to make it such an artistic and financial success.
The outcome of the individual concerts is shown below. (The funds for the Gerontius concert, headed as Festival, are those recorded in our accounts and exclude Shrewsbury Choral’s contribution to the venture)
| Concert: | Workshop | Mozart | Poulenc | Workshop | Vivaldi | Workshop | Festival | Pre/Post FY |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item: | 21/10/23 | 4/11/23 | 17/12/23 | 24/2/24 | 13/4/24 | 20/4/24 | 22/6/24 | ||
| Totalexpenditure: | £537.00 | £5,951.55 | £1,559.90 | £0.00 | £1,661.71 | £566.00 | £5,811.93 | £310.33 | £16,398.42 |
| Total income | £400.00 | £3,038.10 | £2,140.90 | £60.00 | £2,426.10 | £550.00 | £5,827.93 | £0.00 | £14,443.03 |
| Profit / loss: | £-137.00 | £-2,913.45 | £581.00 | £60.00 | £764.39 | £-16.00 | £16.00 | £-310.33 | £-1,955.39 |
As well as the Gerontius donations, we benefitted from further donations from members including one of exceptional generosity, for which we are most grateful.
These factors have combined to reduce our budgeted loss of £2.2K and produce a surplus of £1.2K.
As I said last year, we had hoped to be able to spend the legacy of £500 given in memory of Chris Walker, and a further £1000 given for a special project agreed with the donor. We have not yet been able to do so, and these funds remain to be spent. We commence the 2024-25 season having adequate reserves in the bank. This gives us the opportunity of being ambitious in our programming, and our plans for the new season reflect this.
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Treasurers Report to AGM for 2023-24 v1.docx
We announced last April our intention to increase members’ subscriptions to £50 per term from £35, and the new rate was introduced at the start of the current (autumn) term. The £35 rate was adopted on 2012 and the increase restores the subscription to its 2012 value in real terms taking price inflation into account.
Roger Terry
Treasurer 8/9/24
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Treasurers Report to AGM for 2023-24 v1.docx
Charity Name SHREWSBURY CANTATA CHOIR
No (if any) 1119506
Receipts and payments accounts
CC16a
For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01/08/23 31/07/24
| Section A Receipts and payments | Section A Receipts and payments | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |||||
| A1 Receipts | |||||||||
| Donations 2,516 - - 2,516 1,597 Concert & Workshop Income 14,443 - - 14,443 11,201 Gift Aid 1,591 - - 1,591 1,569 Interest - - - - 3 Membership Subscriptions 6,958 - - 6,958 6,893 Trading Income 20 - - 20 35 Sub total 25,527 - - 25,527 21,297 ~~==s====~~ |
|||||||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, | |||||||||
| (see table). | |||||||||
| Sub total | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total receipts | 25,527 | - | - | - | - | 25,527 | 25,527 | 21,297 | |
| A3 Payments | |||||||||
| Administration 42 - - 42 91 Concert and Workshop Expenses 16,398 - - 16,398 11,447 Donations to Charity 137 - - 137 - Publicity 125 - - 125 290 Hire of Rehearsal Venue 1,550 - - 1,550 1,264 Social Activity Costs 35 - - 35 23 Staff Remuneration 5,398 - - 5,398 4,410 Subscriptions to Organisations 554 - - 554 411 Trading Expenses - - - - 144 Asset Purchase 66 - - 66 - Sub total 24,305 - - 24,305 18,081 ~~=e~~ |
|||||||||
| cc16a - SCC 2023-24 v1.xlsx | 1 |
A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
- | - | - | - | - | ||||
| 24,305 1,222 - 13,084 14,306 |
- 0 - - - |
- 0 - - - |
24,305 1,222 |
||||||
| 18,081 | |||||||||
| 1,222 | 0 | 0 | 1,222 | 3,216 | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| 13,084 | - | - | 13,084 | 9,867 | |||||
| 14,306 | - | - | 14,306 | 13,084 |
cc16a - SCC 2023-24 v1.xlsx
2
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | funds | |||
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | |||||
| B1 Cash funds | - - - - - - 14,306 - - - - - 14,306 - - Total cash funds HSBC – Treasurer's a/c HSBC – Business Money Manager's a/c Cash Coop - Community Account ~~=—=2=2==2~~ |
||||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments | (agree balances with receipts and payments | ||||||
| account(s)) | OK | OK | OK | ||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||||
| funds | funds | funds | |||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | |||
| - - - - - - - - - - - - ~~——~~ |
|||||||
| B3 Investment assets | Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
|||
| - - - - - - - - ~~——~~ |
|||||||
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) Current value (optional) Unrestricted funds - 168 Unrestricted funds - 32 Unrestricted funds - 258 Unrestricted funds - 87 Unrestricted funds - 60 - - - - - - Details Music Folders Music Swan-neck lights Credit card Reader Conductor's voice amplifier ~~ase~~ |
B5 Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Fund to which Amount due When due liability relates (optional) (optional) Details - - - - ~~= ESE~~ Date of Signature Print Name approval Roger Terry 08/09/2024 ~~ee~~ 3 ~~a~~
cc16a - SCC 2023-24 v1.xlsx
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Roport to the trusteesl members of Shrewsbury Cantata Choir On accounts for the year ended 3110712024 Chartty no (If any) 1119506 Sèt out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of Ihe accounts of the above charity (Ihe Trust.) for the year ended 31at July 2024 Responslbllltles and As the charity truslees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I 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: accounling records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner'8 Statement I 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 proper understanding of the accounts to be reached, ' Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Dats: Slgned: Name: Fiona Mari Welch Relevant professional quallfication(s) or body (if any): Address: Ihite Lodge Field House Drive Shrewsbury SY3 9HJ IER October 2018
Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Glve horn brfef detalls of any ltsms thatthe examiner wishes to disclose. IER October 2018