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2020-08-31-accounts

14 Annual Review 2020 voces8 voces8.foundation FOUNDATION

Who We Are

THE VOCES8 FOUNDATION is a vocal music education charity that brings the power of singing to communities around the world.

Our professional performers bring live music to tens of thousands of audience members each year while our innovative and wide-reaching programmes and resources inspire singers and teachers of all ages and abilities.

We bring music to our local community at our home, the VOCES8 Centre, in the heart of the City of London, throughout the UK and around the world.

Performance

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Education
Community
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In Numbers

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51.8MILLION
19.3MILLION
16.1MILLION
190,000+
50,000+
20,000+
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Spotify Streams since 2015 VOCES8, Apollo5, Paul Smith Apple Music Number of streams VOCES8, Apollo5, Paul Smith YouTube Views 08.2019–09.2020 Over 1 million unique viewers Facebook Number of followers VOCES8, Apollo5, VOCES8 Foundation Instagram Number of followers VOCES8, Apollo5, Paul Smith Twitter Number of followers VOCES8, Apollo5, Paul Smith

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LIVE FROM HOME A CAPPELLA LEGO

Over 30,000 views with participants from over 60 countries – aged 2 to 82!

‘Using these with my high school singers. They are loving it! We are an Episcopal boarding school in Hagerstown, Maryland with choristers now scattered to Mexico, China, Vietnam, South Korea and Spain.’ —Linda Morgen Stowe

‘Thank you so much. I am always looking for fun new exercises and songs to do with my high schoolers.’ —Teri Gray, Ohio

‘Just happened on this and will be watching for more. You made my day.’ – Penny Thomson

‘Gotta do this for homework!’ —Music student

LIVE FROM HOME CHORAL QUESTION TIME

Over 50,000 views.

‘Thank you for filling my home time with so much joy, inspiration and music.’

LIVE FROM HOME CREATIVE MUSIC MAKING

Over 55,000 views.

‘Your work has given me ideas and built my confidence as I’ve moved my teaching studio online in the last couple months.’

—Sherryl Nelson Ferguson

‘Thanks to you both for giving me a great start to my days.’ —Terry Ball

‘Thank you. Choral singer not singing much lately so I needed this.’ —Karyn Goff

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From our CEO

Rarely in our lifetime, one hopes, will there be a report to write like this one. It has been a dramatic, painful, challenging year – never before has choral music been forced to be silent, a forbidden art for all but the professionals in this turbulent and traumatic year. And yet, in spite of it all, we can reflect on many positives.

Even in the midst of the most shocking global crisis to have been experienced in our lifetime, there have been rays of light, uplifting stories of hope in adversity and the impact of our work has been felt by, arguably, the most far-reaching, the most in need and the largest community of any choral music charity in the world.

In this accounting year there were two very distinct periods. From September 2019 to March 2020 the Foundation was busy at work with projects all over the world, aiming towards the most productive and successful year in our history. Both VOCES8 and Apollo5 were giving world class performances, a thriving education programme was focused on capacity building, and the order book for the years ahead was impressive.

With both groups returning from US tours around the end of February, and the news of the emerging pandemic taking hold, the months of March and April were incredibly difficult for the entire Foundation team, and yet barely a backward step from our core mission was taken, even in the face of every event for the year being cancelled. On 21 March 2020, our ‘LIVE From Home’ initiative began, with different members of the team delivering some form of free online workshop on a social media platform every day at 2pm UK time. This continued for more than 100 days. In that time, the core team was placed on furlough and new plans were put in place for the reorganisation of the Foundation team as the very real shutters came down on our own Centre and the world went into lockdown.

A new strategy was needed, and this review will show the shift that took place between pre-Covid income streams and the new model adapted between March and August 2020. At the time of writing (February 2021), we are looking with excitement at ways to merge the former strategy with the new digital developments that have emerged over the last twelve months. That new strategy has been based on four key pillars of income: our online concert series ‘LIVE From London’; The VOCES8 Digital Academy; increasing donor support; government support.

The unwavering support of the Trustees has been vital through this period (both the UK Foundation Trustees and those of the affiliated VOCES8 Foundation USA notfor-profit), and their contribution has been critical to the Foundation’s success over this accounting period.

More widely, we are grateful to a huge global community for their generous support in 2020. A major part of surviving the loss of income was our ‘Bridging the Gap’ campaign which raised more than £227,000 between March and October 2020.

A key shift in focus to our online activity has been instrumental to our survival in 2020. An emphasis on developing our online presence over the last five years had led to a strong following on social media platforms. Those followers were wonderfully supportive of our ‘LIVE From London’ initiative which aimed to provide a high quality live concert experience for viewers at home. The series was filmed, for the most part, at the VOCES8 Centre, which had been closed to all activity since March 2020. With a significant investment in new camera equipment, the VOCES8 Centre was able to act as a broadcasting studio for professionally-staged choral music.

Critically, the series was created with a collaborative ethos, designed to include other world-class professional small ensembles, but careful to follow the everchanging government guidance. These ensembles were predominantly from the UK, though in the first series there was one artist from the USA. With the vast majority of ticket purchasers buying a season ticket to the festival, the income was able to be shared equally among the performers. With the option also for the ensembles and

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other arts organisations to act as ticket retailers, the first festival raised significant and much needed income for many arts organisations globally, as well as receiving critical acclaim from major broadcasters and from the press.

The core vision of the VOCES8 Foundation is to inspire people through music. Alongside concert work, the other key element of delivering that vision is education in wider community settings. With more time to focus on the digital world than would ever have been anticipated, the Trustees and wider team took the decision to launch the VOCES8 Digital Academy. The aim of the Digital Academy is to support singing activities for students of all ages, whether learning at home alone or in a classroom setting. Early indications are that this is a resource that will be fun, engaging and uplifting for anyone wanting to develop their skills as a choral musician. Further information about the Digital Academy is set out later in this Annual Review.

In the Autumn of 2020 the Foundation was able to apply for support from Arts Council England’s Cultural Recovery Fund. This application was successful and the funding came into effect from November 2020. This will therefore be discussed in detail in the 2020-21 Annual Review.

The final element to draw attention to is the support received from the government. The executive and Trustees took the decision to furlough all employed staff aside from the Chief Executive in the first furlough period. With the introduction of the flexible furlough, members of the team were brought back to work for a few hours each week. For the full period of the pandemic, the employees have not had their salaries reduced – the Foundation has topped up the furlough and offered employees the opportunity to develop new skills that could prove useful in their future careers. Alongside the core team, a freelance team has been built to help deliver the activities of the Foundation, particularly with regard to the filming of the concert series. This work has provided much-needed financial support for young professionals who were not being otherwise supported by the government schemes available.

with audiences, there is a sense of hope beginning to emerge in the arts community. There are many difficulties ahead though, and it is surprising to note that the negative impact of Brexit has barely received a mention in this opening article. That will also receive more coverage in the next annual review as the full additional burden to the arts becomes clear.

In spite of this most turbulent year, there is a feeling of optimism within the VOCES8 Foundation that the team has not only survived, but supported thousands of people in a time when it was needed most, and has found news ways to work that will allow the Foundation to build future success (and even extend its reach) in the years to come. A final word of thanks must go to the team of singers, educators and staff who have brought their positive energy and ability to innovate to the virtual meeting room this year. Singing in a choir teaches the importance of being part of a family, of a community and of a team. All of those things have been needed in abundance in the last twelve months.

Paul Smith CEO and co-founder VOCES8 Foundation

Writing at a time when vaccinations are being received by many millions in the UK, and with the Government announcing a cautious path back towards live concerts

From our Artistic Director

Our season began as in any ‘normal’ year with excited rehearsal, an optimism born from a horizon filled with opportunity, and the chance to build friendships with new colleagues; this season seeing the arrival of Euan Williamson in VOCES8.

Successful tours to Europe and the US and the completion of VOCES8’s 15th anniversary album ‘After Silence’ are definite highlights, alongside our community engagement in seven countries across two continents.

The pandemic arrived just as VOCES8 returned from the second large-scale US tour of the season. Like the rest of the world we were stopped in our tracks; there was an instinctive realisation that our global community needed music in their everyday lives to help create a sense of positivity, opportunity for interaction, and a lifeline to those who may have been alone. #LiveFromHome was born and with the help of the wider VOCES8 Foundation team a daily event was streamed during the first lockdown across social media platforms. 110 days with activities ranging from radio style shows, to making music with kitchen utensils; interest sessions and lectures to performances and interactive singing opportunities.

bringing the LIVE From London festivals to life; a series of digital concerts to serve both our audience, but also our professional community for whom this was their only chance to raise funds. The learning curve was steep as we invested in turning the VOCES8 Centre into a streaming studio, but the rewards have been rich. The opportunity to help others, but also to be able to collaborate with them has been a growing experience for us all.

As I look back, I can reflect that this unprecedented season has seen us turn adversity into opportunity. It became the most artistically enriching period in the group’s history, one in which we have created new ventures and business models that place us in a more exciting position than ever before. This is the direct result of a team that is fuelled by a desire to serve its community, and a spirit of togetherness that shines as a beacon demonstrating the positivity that music and the arts can promote in our society.

Barnaby Smith Artistic Director VOCES8 Foundation

In addition to our global audience, our minds also turned to how we could support our industry of beleaguered musicians from whom the rug of consistent and reliable work had been swiftly removed. As a Foundation we are well resourced both in terms of physical assets, and also skillsets in our workforce. We seized the opportunity,

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LIVE From London was

willingness to share in the risks and challenges of creating a new festival.

designed with a simple goal – to bring artists together in a collaboration, sharing great music and a positive message of hope around the world during this most difficult of years.

sharing great music and a positive We have been honoured to help build message of hope around the world a new platform for artists to perform during this most difficult of years. and for audiences to enjoy world-class concerts in their living rooms. We are The response from our global excited by the adventures ahead of audience has been a joy to see. All us as we strive to set a positive tone of us at the VOCES8 Foundation are for the music world and build stronger passionate about our work; but we communities together. Now, more have been particularly thrilled to share than ever in my lifetime, it’s important the stage with fabulous artists from for us to stand united to find new the UK and internationally, who like ways of keeping music alive for future us were driven by the same goals and generations. —Paul Smith

40,000 Digital tickets sold.

62 Countries watched in.

18+ Hours of original content.

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Pieces of music.

“BE PREPARED TO BE BLOWN AWAY BY VOCES8’S ONLINE CHORAL FESTIVAL LIVE FROM LONDON .“

—Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph

‘For Stile Antico, LIVE From London has been a fantastic enterprise in so many ways. It was truly inspiring to listen to colleagues’ virtuosic performances and it was wonderful to have the chance to perform live when all our touring had been cancelled. Financially, the series was a lifeline which will help us recoup some of the costs of the Covid pandemic, and has provided funds to enable us to explore new ways of connecting with our audience. Most importantly though, it has been a lovely way of connecting with colleagues in other groups, and supporting one another through this current crisis. We hope this spirit of mutual support can continue when life starts to resemble something more familiar for freelance musicians.’ —Stile Antico

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From Apollo5

With a chance to look back at the previous year it would be easy to focus on the recent months which have been most challenging and unusual for us all.

However, I always find the opportunity to write this reflection for our annual review an uplifting and affirming experience. I have not found this year’s any different, which reflects well on our achievements!

Performing live for audiences is what we do. It’s what we love most and what sparks our creativity to evolve our programming for live concerts and also for recording projects.

Over the course of the first six months of the season Apollo5 had some real highlights in these areas:

We made our debut at St John’s Smith Square; we performed the opening concert of the Foundation’s London Season in the Autumn of 2020 alongside Paul; enjoyed a first collaborative project as soloists with the London Chamber Orchestra; sang a second annual ‘Messiah’ along with The Academy of Ancient Music, VOCES8 and the VOCES8 Scholars under Barney’s baton; took part in the first UK performance of ‘The Winter House’ written by Paul with the Academy of Ancient Music; received a glowing five star review of our performance in the gorgeous former Wesleyan Chapel, now an established concert venue for Nottingham Trent University; enjoyed a fantastic tour in the USA which included New Mexico, Chicago, Kalamazoo and Detroit; performed in collaboration with the Orchestre d’Avignon conducted by Paul and featuring the violist Neil Valentine.

Alongside these performance activities our education work continued with ‘Musical Adventures’ as part of the education strand of the London Season. We resumed ongoing projects in areas including Hackney and Tower Hamlets. It is always a joy to see the progression of students, student leaders and teachers as they take on and develop a singing culture in their schools.

During this time we were also preparing to record our new album, ‘Where All Roses Go’.

After our visit in Avignon was cut short at the beginning of March we began to focus on what we could do here at home. Continuing work on preparing for recording sessions took up our focus and energy. One month after lockdown began we were able to release EP Vol.1, the first chapter of the album and appeared on Scala Radio to promote this.

Plans had been in place to prepare repertoire for recording the rest of the album material, so without engagements we were able to dedicate individual time to prepare this – an unusual benefit! Luckily, we were able to hold socially-distanced rehearsals in June and proceed as planned with the recording sessions in June and July.

We would not have been able to create this new disc out of the ashes of a busy touring season without the support and hard work of the Foundation team, particularly Barney and Paul.

Preparations for the album recording readied us for filming our first LIVE From London concert, which we filmed in July 2020 for the Summer Festival. This was our first performance since lockdown began in March, and we were all thoroughly grateful for the opportunity.

Clare Stewart

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Alongside the global pandemic, perhaps the other biggest global topic in the past twelve months has been diversity. The Foundation has carefully considered its response to this topic and focused particularly on how to provide the required support for people of all backgrounds to be embraced and to see a potential future for themselves on all levels in the choral music industry. Alongside our existing work at grassroots level, the Foundation has committed to:

diverse representation at board level

LIVE From London Christmas featured new compositions commissioned by the Foundation including pieces by Ken Burton, and Roderick Williams. The festival also showcased performances by The London Adventist Chorale under the direction of Ken Burton, and The Aeolians of Oakwood University Alabama under the direction of Jason Max-Ferdinand.

New repertoire for the Digital Academy will include music by both past and present composers including We Shall Walk Through the Valley of Peace arranged by Undine Smith-Moore and O Sacrum Convivium by Kevin Allen.

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Education

Young Leader Programme

“The Young Leaders are such a credit to the programme and to their schools, delivering the workshops with such confidence and enthusiasm. They interacted with our children brilliantly, showing them such kindness. They have had such a positive impact on our children, acting as superb role models. Our children had so much fun and it was a wonderful way for everyone to share their love of singing together. We are looking forward to working with you again next year.”

—Sabrina Townsend, Headteacher Galleywall Primary School

Picture a group of teenagers standing in a school hall as two classes of primary school children ages six and seven arrive and are seated facing the teenagers...

How do you think these students – young leaders – who have been learning how to lead workshops for primary school children are feeling? How would you be feeling knowing that in just a minute you will be leading these children and their teachers in warm-ups and teaching them a song? Do you think you could capture and hold the attention of 50 young children? Have you got a tool kit of singing leading skills ready to help a large group of children focus, listen, warm-up and sing?

beginning to really see and hear the children rather than just focusing on what they need to do next. As plans are confirmed for the afternoon workshops the quieter young leaders are quick to volunteer to lead first. Some who weren’t initially very keen to help teach the song now want to be involved in that part of the workshop.

This transformation from nervous students, sometimes reluctant to give leading a go, to more confident, willing leaders is something we see with each young leader project. No matter how often we witness groups of young leaders on their journey to developing skills and confidence it is always exciting to see.

If you are feeling nervous that’s fine! It’s certainly how that group of young leaders is feeling before they begin leading their first workshop. Then, as the session progresses something special happens. The children are participating, having fun, singing confidently. There is a feeling of happiness in the room. The teachers are smiling. So are the young leaders: even the students whose turn it is to lead the next warm-up. By the end of the session the children have learned and performed a song with the young leaders. They are delighted, applauding and cheering when one of their teachers asks them to say thank you.

By the time the lunch break arrives all the young leaders have had two opportunities to help lead a warm-up or teach a song. They talk excitedly about how much fun it is when the children follow their instructions! They are

For schools and students in two particular young leader projects the skills, experiences and opportunities the programme brings are especially important. These are schools where a high percentage of teenagers receive free school meals, where music teachers are applying for funding to enable students to have instruments to learn to play, where the only music teacher in school spends her weekend collecting donated instruments and then delivering them to students’ homes during lockdown. These are schools where the young leader programme helps students believe they really can stand up and lead, they really are talented singers, that being part of a vocal ensemble brings friendship, teamwork, a place to express themselves, a place where they receive recognition, support, opportunities to learn, grow, share and celebrate their achievements.

“One of the year 9 students who participated in the project last year and again this year struggles with his academic work. He has also found social relationships difficult. Taking part in the Young Leader Project has helped him form friendships and he has become a role model for the younger students. The project has also had a lasting impact due to the confidence the students have gained in leading singing.”

—Laureen Hodge, Head of Music, North Cambridge Academy

“So many of our students have so little confidence. This project makes a real difference.”

—Luke Smith, Head of Music, City of London Academy Highgate Hill

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Education Award

On March 4th 2020 the Foundation was awarded the Classic FM Public Choice Award. Awarded to an individual or organisation which the general public feels has had the most significant positive impact on classical music education in the UK over the past year, this is a great tribute to our team.

The VOCE8 Digital Academy

With choirs of all ages and abilities rehearsing online during the pandemic developing a digital resource has proven both essential and inspiring for the Foundation’s work with singers. The Digital Academy can be used by individual singers, choir leaders, universities, music teachers in schools and generalist classroom teachers. It features learning tracks to support singers in learning choral repertoire, performance videos to enable singers to sing their part as part of VOCES8 as well as videos with members of VOCES8 sharing their insights into rehearsing and performing the repertoire. For singers and choirs looking for warm-up ideas there are warm-ups led by members of the group, a growing selection of rounds and VOCES8 Method videos.

For schools the academy features warm-ups, rounds and songs for all ages. There are teaching videos for use in rehearsals and classrooms or by teachers preparing to teach the materials, videos to enable students to sing with members of VOCES8 and Apollo5 and accompanying audio tracks.

Materials for use in primary and elementary schools also include cross-curricular activities beautifully designed and illustrated by our Education Project Assistant Laura Gillham.

Schools will also find a workshop and interactive performance led by Apollo5 and soon, the interactive concert Winter House featuring Paul, VOCES8 and members of the Academy of Ancient Music.

Choir leaders, universities and schools around the world are now using the academy with students from Singapore, California, Pennsylvania, Newfoundland, Winchester and London (England), Marseille (France) and Bayreuth (Germany) to name just a few places singing and learning with VOCES8 and Apollo5.

academy.voces8.foundation

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Education

Sing Every Day – Research

Results from these studies have shown benefits of music for children in supporting aspects of their cognitive development and by implication, educational attainment. —Professor Graham Welch [1]

In February 2020 the evaluation of the Foundation’s singing project with year 1 children and their teachers in two primary schools was published. I developed and oversaw the delivery of Sing Every Day in response to what we see in English primary schools and after discussions with Hackney Music Service and Professor Graham Welch.

memory – the latter being closely correlated to changes in the same children’s reading scores.” [2]

Our study is one of the first to explore the aspects of singing, reading and Executive Function collectively, and as such provides a basis for further exploration.

With very few primary schools employing a specialist music teacher to teach classroom music and lead singing in school ensembles, music provision is often left to generalist classroom teachers who have very little training in teaching music and, as a consequence, find delivering music daunting. In addition, many teachers fear singing and actively avoid joining in with any singing with their classes or in whole school assemblies.

While we would like every school to have a specialist music teacher and see singing embedded as a core part of life in primary schools, this is a long-term goal. In the meantime, something we can do that will also have a lasting impact is to find ways to encourage and support generalist teachers to lead singing with their classes.

Alongside approaches to training generalist classroom teachers comes providing evidence that singing with their classes can provide wider benefits for the children, including supporting cognitive development and wellbeing. This is helpful for the wider music education community and of course for teachers and head teachers who may not have experienced the power of music.

One key highlight from our research points to the improvements in the children’s singing, reading and aspects of Executive Function:

“…mentored classroom-based singing activities resulted in significant improvements in children’s singing, as well as positive changes in reading and aspects of Executive Function related to inhibition and phonological working

Importantly, the schools that participated in the study have continued with classroom singing. One school in particular has excelled, with the participating classroom teachers (who teach children in year 1) going on to support their colleagues who teach years 2 and 3.

In July 2020 our research featured at the International Society of Music Education’s Research Seminar when Professor Welch and I presented the findings and discussed how the Foundation mentors classroom teachers. It has also been featured in an article on the Open Outreach website* and we are awaiting the publication of ‘Sing Every Day’ in the International Journal of Music Education.

You can find the full Sing Every Day report here: voces8.foundation/s/Sing-Every-Day-Final-Report.pdf

The pandemic has left many primary schools unsure about including singing in the classroom and it will take time and careful support to bring singing back to schools. This research will help and the VOCES8 Digital Academy can provide the resources that teachers need. Crucially, our talented, caring singing team will be an essential element of our work to support and inspire children, teachers and schools.

Ann Wright Director of Education, VOCES8 Foundation

1 Welch, GF (2021) in Optimising well-being and development through music. Open Outreach. researchoutreach.org/articles/optimising-well-being-development-music

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French Projects

The VOCES8 Foundation has been creating and delivering projects in France supported by Vivendi Create Joy for a number of years. While some projects in 2020-21 needed to be delayed or turned into virtual projects, it was possible to complete our annual project with La Folle Journée in Nantes. Founded by René Martin in 1995, La Folle Journée is held in late January/early February. The festival’s aim is to encourage a wide audience to engage with classical music and hundreds of concerts take place over a five day period. The 2020 festival celebrated the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. A participatory programme is a key feature of the festival and includes both schools and the community. Singers of all ages work with Paul and members of our singing team before joining VOCES8 in concert.

As lockdown arrived in March 2020, Paul Smith, Apollo5, Neil Valentine and Sam Dressel were four concerts into a week of performances for schools with the Orchestra of Avignon. The programme, ‘Reflections: Light in the Darkness’ was created to be interactive both for the singers on stage and for the audience. It combined music written by Paul Smith and Neil Valentine with works by composers including Beethoven, Britten, Tallis, Whitacre and Purcell. The students and amateur singers responded brilliantly to the challenges within the music, and these projects offer a strong reminder to all of us that long term programmes that engage singers from many different parts of the community are incredibly powerful and beneficial for all involved.

Projects with Les Dominicains (Guebwiller), Festival de la Vézère, and schools in Soissons and Laon continued through 2020 and into 2021 in an online format. We have been ‘Zooming in’ across France to meet and sing with schools, teachers and choirs.

We are looking forward to returning to France for live sessions when the rules for travel and singing in schools allow.

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VOCES8 Records

VOCES8 Records is the recording arm of the VOCES8 Foundation and was set up in 2008 to support the aims of the Foundation. The label releases recordings from the Foundation’s two professional ensembles, VOCES8 and Apollo5, along with other project-based recordings to support the Foundation’s ongoing work.

After Silence VOCES8

“...the extended programme certainly plays to VOCES8’s strengths. A velvety voluptuousness prevails, caressing everything with the choir’s impeccable blend and tuning. The closing bars of Parry’s ‘There is an Old Belief’ light up as though the sun were moving languidly across stained glass; and serenely unruffled Gibbons prefaces a sonorously burnished account of Byrd’s ‘Ne Irascaris, Domine – Civitas Sancti Tui’.” —BBC Music Magazine 

“With ‘After Silence’, released on their own label, the group return to their classical roots, and remind us of their chameleon ability to tackle everything from Bach, Mahler and Monteverdi to Britten and Ešenvalds on its own terms and to rival the specialists while they’re at it. The musicianship here is dazzling, and nowhere more so than in Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia – mercurial and responsive in its conductorless precision, taking risks with tempo and volume but always pulling them off.” —Gramophone

Where All Roses Go Apollo5

“The dazzling vocal quintet marks its tenth anniversary with this selection of songs on a theme of love. But far from being saccharine or sickly, it is a richly rewarding listen that takes us from the devotional to the downright beautiful.” —BBC Music Magazine 

“The programme is unified by theme: human love in its many manifestations. Such diversity showcases the vocal ensemble to stunning effect, with pinpoint accuracy of intonation, well-blended tone and an infectious zest for adventure. This album goes a long way to add to Apollo5’s already considerable reputation.” —Choir & Organ 

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Lyndsey James Katherine Liggins Clare Sutherland Lydia Ward Sidharth Prabhu-Naik Matt Swainsbury Adam Jarman Oliver Neale

As an organisation, we are passionate about furthering young people’s experience of music: from encouraging them to sing their very first notes, right the way through to supporting them to take their first steps as professional musicians. The VOCES8 UK and USA Scholar programmes sit at the latter end of this trajectory, comprising twenty annual choral scholarships (8 in the UK and 12 in the US) awarded to promising young singers with an interest in choral and small ensemble singing. Set up in 2015, the aim of the initiative is to develop versatile and well-rounded young artists, equipped with the skills they need to succeed at the beginning of their professional careers. With tutoring from current and former members of VOCES8, the programme offers training in performing, recording and workshop leading. The scholars are also invited to observe and participate in our innovative education programmes.

Katie Boardman Elisa Chodan Karen Cook Vidita Kanniks Grace Kiver Michael Skarke Sullivan Hart Matthew Shorten John Swedberg Jonathan Gentry Adrien Redford Devon Russo

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THE UK SCHOLARS

The 2019-2020 UK Scholar season began in September with an introductory weekend of coaching, led by CEO Paul Smith and former VOCES8 tenor Sam Dressel. This weekend provided tailored tutoring along with the time and space for the Scholars to find their own identity as an ensemble before getting stuck in with the professional groups. Following this initial weekend, the Scholars joined VOCES8 for their first joint project of the year, observing and participating in education workshops for Brockham Choral Society and performing Eric Whitacre’s ‘A Boy And A Girl’ alongside VOCES8 in concert.

One of the biggest engagements in the UK scholarship year is a set of Messiah performances in London and Cambridge in December. Singing with VOCES8, Apollo5

and the Academy of Ancient Music, the performances are exhilarating for Scholars and professionals alike. As in 2018, this season’s Messiah performances were shortly followed by a Scholar tour to Norway where, joined by Sam and former VOCES8 alto, Chris Wardle, they performed in Mari Samuelsen’s annual Christmas Concerts as an ensemble in their own right.

Early 2020 saw the UK Scholars take part in the VOCES8 Foundation’s Re:Sound Festival, performing a joint concert with Sam Dressel and guitarist Michael Butten. Members of the UK Scholars also supported a number of education workshops including visits to primary schools in Yorkshire, young leader workshops for City of London Academy schools, and workshops with Apollo5 and members of the London Chamber

Orchestra.

THE VOCES8 SCHOLARS

by Katie Jeffries-Harris and Erik Jacobson

THE US SCHOLARS

2019-2020 saw the third full year of the VOCES8 Scholar programme in the United States. Twelve new young professionals met over 3 weeks to learn repertoire, small ensemble rehearsal techniques, and the VOCES8 Method. The Scholars first week together was held in September at St Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. They worked with Paul and delivered six workshops at area schools throughout the week. The singers were honored to give the very first live music performances many students had ever experienced.

The second week took place in November and was hosted and produced by Minnesota Public

Radio. The Scholars had the opportunity to work with composer Tim Takach and recorded six pieces in this state-of-the-art studio. March 2020 saw the US Scholars join VOCES8 in Houston, Texas where they collaborated on workshops and a public performance just days before the COVID-19 lockdown.

With the pandemic continuing into this season and disrupting our typical scholar programme, the VOCES8 team has put a programme of virtual events together. These include online rehearsals, virtual performances, private voice lessons, sessions looking at arranging and conducting, the VOCES8 Method, how to plan and implement education initiatives, and more!

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Accounts Summary – UK

----- Start of picture text -----
Income Sources £53,100
£128,909
2018 2020
£51,328
£123,288
£219,432 £692,615
£114,935
£63,360
2019
£572,295
£251,242
£259,112
£898,053 £128,909
----- End of picture text -----

Concert Fees & CD Sales Trips & Education Donations, Grants & Gifts VOCES8 Centre Govt Covid Grant

----- Start of picture text -----
Number of Donors
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
£1,300,000 600
£1,200,000 572
500
£1,100,000
2018
£1,000,000
2019
£900,000 400
£800,000 2020
£700,000
300
£600,000
£500,000
200
£400,000
£300,000
100
£200,000
£100,000 70 72
£0 0
Income Expenditure Net Income Funds Balance 2018 2019 2020
at Year-End
----- End of picture text -----

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Accounts Summary – US

----- Start of picture text -----
Income Sources
2020 $30,596
2018
$23,392
$5,000
2019
$12,000 $8,554 $128,502
$56,923
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Number of Donors
300
262
200
100
27
1
0
2018 2019 2020
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Donations Ticket Sales & Merchandise Concert & Workshop Fees

25

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VOCES8 and Apollo5 create a compelling relationship with their concert audiences. From the first note, listeners feel the passion and dedication that each of the singers brings to their music.

The stories and background information shared about each piece and that each member takes a turn in telling the stories makes them vibrant and alive for concert goers. Anyone who attends a VOCES8 or Apollo5 leaves the venue knowing that they have experienced something extraordinary.

Faced with a season without touring and live concerts, innovation became the key to moving forward. The LIVE From London festival series provided a way to reach audiences around the world and brought together other singers and musicians who were facing the same challenges. Workshops from our professional team enabled the educational activities of the Foundation to continue. The launch of the Digital Academy offered a new educational option with limitless potential.

Through this transition, our steadfast supporters have continued their kind generosity and have been joined by new donors all of whom realise how vital music is to the mental health and wellbeing of everyone. Our “Bridging the Gap” campaign exceeded its initial goal and raised over £227,000 from April to October 2020. A gift to the VOCES8

Foundation will help us to continue this important work and extend our outreach.

Here are some specific ways in which you could make a difference to our work:

27

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Thank You!

We are enormously grateful for the support of the following organisations, VCM100 members and Friends of the Foundation.

The VOCES8 Foundation Team

Paul Smith Chief Executive Officer Barnaby Smith Artistic Director Clare Stewart Director of Apollo5 Chris Wardle Director of External Relations Ann Wright Director of Education Jan Keliris Director, VOCES8 Centre Thomas Webb-Wilson VOCES8 Foundation Administrator Laura Gillham Education Projects Assistant Louise Hughes VOCES8 Projects and Development Erik Jacobson General Manager USA Debra Jacks Fundraising USA Tim Vaughan VOCES8 Studios Aytan Buyukoglu VOCES8 Studios and Fundraising Assistant Neale Perle Fundraising Consultant

VOCES8 Foundation Trustees UK

Roy Blackwell (Chairman) Sally Cantello William Conner Peter Dart Sarah Holford Lord Lisvane John Smith Duncan Souster Lord Wallace Of Saltaire Eleanor Wardle

VOCES8 Foundation Trustees USA

Tracy Boval Anthony Brown Sheridan Foster Kenneth Grant (Chairman) Mary Javian Edward Maki-Schramm

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Friends of the VOCES8 Foundation 2019-20

VCM100 Hilary Cool Sheila De Bellaigue Maggie Tomlin Marie Humbert Daniela Eavis Lindsay Dean Susan Vinther Ivor Humphreys Vernon Anderson, in memory of Monica Forty and Sara Haynes, in Andrew Dean Markus Wanko Dot Hunter Beryl Anderson memory of Margaret Haynes Jean-Luc Denmat Lynda Weiss Marie-Claude Husken Gillian Barella Ian Garner Jenny Dinnage Judith Wilson Gina Jackson Vassilina Bindley and Mikael Noskov Mikael Georgii Richard and Angela D’Silva Sara Wilson-Soppitt Thomas Jesty Cynthia K. Bittner and Randal D. Andrew Gordon Bob and June Ewell, in memory of David Wyatt Calvin Johansson Schreiner Bill Grose and Sally Cantello Steve Butler Virginia Youdale Suzanne Jones William Conner Lucy Hart Patrick Fagan Mike Jones Annie Cygler Graham Hobbs Michael Feiler Eduard Kunst Peter and Annette Dart Sarah and Mark Holford Louise Follin Under 30 Friend Teresa Lander Pieter de Raad Tim Jeffries-Harris Paola Fornari Anne Le Feuvre Dr. Andrew Duncombe Jennifer Jones Peter Froome Marlene Bast Andy Lentz Lyn Edwards Peter Larke Julian Fuller Olivia Cameron Nancy Lowry Ian and Mandy Farnsworth Guy Laycock and Kinga Rytel-Laycock Lyn Gage Miriam Laycock Kathryn and Tom Mangold Gilly Gammell Jung-Yu Lin Jenny Garner Sofia Laycock Konrad Metz The L.G. Harris Trust Manfred Lovens Carol Geddes Jonathan Meyns Matthias Meyer John Henderson Kenneth Mackenzie Graeme Gooday Joanna Mildren Carlo Monti Sarah and Mark Holford Peter Marriott Tim Gould Lenia Störbrauck Mathilde Morillon J.G. Charitable Trust Jorge Martinez Alistair Green Andrew Morris Colin Johnson Ingrid Mueller Christopher Halliday Michael Müller Edmund and Alison King Regula Obrecht Chris Heavens Friend Alison Musgrave Lord Lisvane KCB DL and The Ceri Price Joan Hester Isabelle Ostermann Reverend Lady Lisvane Peter Ritchie Donna Hicks Graeme Addicott Catherine Osterrieth Peregrine and Deirdre Massey Richard Rowe Paul Hicks Daphne Allen Andreas Öttl Peter Maxwell-Brown Robert Sells Richard Hilliard John Anstie Heather Parry Adrian Melrose Daniel Sharman Baxter Holland Ann Arneill Lynn Pearcy and Mark Green Emma Nixon and Phil Hallwood Isobel Squire Lis Howell and Richard Parker Chris Atkinson Martin Pilkes Nigel Richards and Ella Galinski Jilly Steventon and Chas Pell Charles Hunter Elizabeth Aylett Trevor Powell William and Lise Robinson Katy Stewart John Hurley David Bacon Graham Read John and Anne Smith Malcolm Stockdale Ilyas Iliya Richard Ball John Rees Mary Teirlynck John and Janet Wardle Barry Jex Thorsten Bast Stephanie Walker Ilana Wigfield David John Neil Beardmore Janice Reynolds Eleanor Wardle Tony Willenbruch Rein Jonkman Pamela Bradley-Lake Peter RingeisenGrazia Romani Iain and Gilly Webb-Wilson Sarah Willis Marissa Kelly Bjørn Bratteteig Rene Roscher Angelika Witt Bianca Kloda Kathryn Brown Peter Rous Robert Wolz Catherine Lack Jennifer Bunting Naoko Saka Cognoscente Anna Yallop Matthias Liesenhoff Olivia Cameron Shirley Salmon Moya Lonsdale Roger Catt Marta Saraiva Alison Alcock Patricia Maguire Cilla Christmas Christine Sarrette Julia Bergmann Supporter Tony and Donna Marlborough Gillian Collins Petra Bierhaus-Mölders and Peter Madeleine Mattis Jane Cook Donna Sharp Mölders Hans Peter Ackerman Kim McMillan Nigel Cutts Gabriele Sowada Martin Bonsey Judith Arber Rowena Mitchell Hilary Davies Alexander Steckel Florent Cheminal Michael Attwood Richard Munro Fiona Dobie Eduard Strauss Matthew and Bianca Cosans Geneviève Aubert Dirk Natho Christine Dowdell Yi Ting Sum Katherine and Daniel Creamer Terry Ball Venancio Neiva Sam Dressel Okabe Tadashi Christopher and Linda Haines Nicholas Bandy Rosetta Nickson Penelope Dudgeon Paul Tan Katie Hanson Bank Speakers Toastmasters David Nolan Barbara Duncan Stacey Tasker Yvonne Hutzler Jan Beuving Sarah Norris Helena Durham Michael Taylor Matthew and Libbi Johnson Richard Birney-Smith Libby Percival John Edwards Naomi Taylor Christophe Kasolowsky Phillipp Blatt Philippe Pinguet Alyson Elliman Nick Thwaites Jörg Klingelhöfer Pamela Bleazard Veronica Pride Garth Emrich Henry Trimble Ursula Lehmkühler Jill Bois John and Joanna Pritchard Paulene Fallows Marion Tudge Graham and Penny Merriam Andrew Bolton Frederick Punsmann Siri Fischer Hansen Bernhard Ullrich Kenichi Sakamaki Claude Bruegger Cecile Rauline Judith Floyd Rebekah Underwood Roger Slevin Debra Bucher Melanie Reinhart Andrew Fogg Katharina Urbschat Judy Stewart Valerie Burke Hugh Rosenbaum Susan Forshaw Filip Van Lancker Alison Tuck Terence Carter Paul and Veronica Santer Jean-Marc Friedli Diane Vannan Lord Wallace of Saltaire Annie Cartwright David Satchell Zsolt Gábor David Veasey Carol Ward Sally Chaplain Stefan Scholand Yves Galipeau Cornelius Veith Martin and Brigitt Weisskopf Mark Colvson George Skerkowski Thomas Giese Joke Venhorst Stephane Constans-Gavarry Michael Smith Helen Godwin Nick Viner Susan Cooper Duncan Souster Jayne Gould Hugh Waller Aficionado Elizabeth Cotton Mary Spencer David Graves John Walter Michael Craven Mark Sutherland Richard Greene Chris Wardle Sheila Adams John Cummings Ronald Tasker Susie Gregson Steve Webb Samuel Barrett Ruediger Czycholl Michael Tedder Chencheng Guo Kerrie Whitehurst William Bryan Nelleke Dansen and Henk Chris and Caroline Thompson Alistair Gurr Denise Wicken Bob Buhr Waaijenberg Christina Thomson Linda and Keith Harcourt Clare Williams Teresa Chapman, in honour of Jim Corrie Darker Michael Thurman Sarah Holloway Allison Williams Chapman Sid Davis Helena Tinker Colin Howard Stefan Winterstein

We also offer our grateful thanks to those of our supporters who wish to remain anonymous.

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Friends of the VOCES8 Foundation 2021

Aficionado Carole Alexander Les Baker Samuel Barrett Alice Bingham William Bryan Bob Buhr

VCM100 Aficionado Jill St Clair Bois Joanna Mildren Andrew Bolton Rowena Mitchell Vernon Anderson, in memory Carole Alexander Claude Bruegger RTB Eastbourne of Beryl Anderson Les Baker Jennet Burgess V L C Moffat Michael Bairstow Samuel Barrett Valerie Burke Richard Munro Gillian Barella Alice Bingham Neil Caplan Dirk Natho Vassilina Bindley and Mikael William Bryan Simon Carrington Venancio Neiva Noskov Bob Buhr Terence Carter Rosetta Nickson Cynthia K. Bittner and Randal D. Schreiner Teresa Chapman, in honour of Jim Chapman Antoine Cazé, on behalf of ensemble ‘La Sarabande’ David NolanSarah NorrisSarah Norris William Conner Hilary Cool Sally Chaplain Jeremy Oliver Matthew and Bianca Cosans Helene Cox Eric Choate and Ellen Leslie Sarah Payne Tim Cox Mark Colvson Libby Percival Annie Cygler Jenny Dinnage Stephane Constans-Gavarry Philippe Pinguet Peter and Annette Dart Daniela Eavis Susan Cooper Pio Francesco Pradolin Pieter de Raad Monica Forty and Sara Elizabeth Cotton Veronica Pride Dr Andrew Duncombe Haynes, in memory of Matthew Counsell Jo and John Pritchard Jake Elsley Margaret Haynes Penny and Michael Craven Frederik Punsmann Mandy and Ian Farnsworth Ian Garner Alan Crux Cecile Rauline James Gilpin, in memory of Mikael Georgii John Cummings Melanie Reinhart Jane Gilpin Andrew Gordon Ruediger Czycholl Hugh Rosenbaum The L.G. Harris Trust Timothy Gould Richard and Angela D’Silva Paul and Veronica Santer John Henderson Ann Grieves Nelleke Dansen and Henk David Satchell Sarah and Mark Holford Bill Grose and Sally Cantello Waaijenberg Stefan Scholand J G Charitable Trust Lucy Hart Corrie Darker Liz Seward Graham Hobbs Sid Davis Colin Johnson Andrew Simpson Alison and Ed King Mr and Mrs Mark HolfordTim and Helen Jeffries-Harris Sheila De BellaigueAndrew Dean Michael Smith Lord Lisvane KCB DL and The Neil Smith Reverend Lady Lisvane Jennifer Jones Lindsay Dean Simon Smail Dora Kögel Jean-Luc Denmat Peregrine and Deirdre Peter Larke Cecil Elliston Ball Duncan Souster Massey Mary Spencer Guy Laycock and Kinga Bob and June Ewell, in Peter Maxwell-Brown Rytel-Laycock memory of Steve Butler Bruno Staquet Adrian Melrose Nick Lewis Major General P F Fagan Mark Sutherland Emma Nixon and Phil Jung-Yu Lin Michael Feiler Ronald Tasker Hallwood Manfred Lovens Louise Follin John Taylor Nigel Richards and Ella Kenneth Mackenzie Rosemary Foot Laurie Taylor Galinski Michael Tedder Peter and Penny Marriott Anna and Michael Forrest William and Lise Robinson Jorge Martinez Peter Froome Philip Thijsse Ginny and Richard Salter Ingrid B. Mueller Julian Fuller Chris and Caroline Thompson Anne and John Smith Regula Obrecht Lyn Gage Christina Thomson Mary Teirlynck Ceri Price Yves Galipeau Mick Thurman Tony Wakeford Peter Ritchie Shena Garland David Tilsley Stephanie Walker Richard Rowe Jenny Garner Helena Tinker Eleanor Wardle Robert Sells Graeme Gooday Maggie Tomlin Gilly and Iain Webb-Wilson Daniel Sharman Alistair Green Susan Vinther Katy Stewart Annikke Grimmig Harriet Wallace Isobel Squire Marian Guess Markus Wanko Cognoscente Jilly Steventon and Chas Pell Christopher Halliday Lynda Weiss Malcolm Stockdale Chris Heavens Marion Welton-Delafield Alison Alcock John and Janet Wardle Kai Heitmann Judith Wilson Julia Bergmann Nigel WebbIlana Wigfield James HendersonJoan Hester Sara Wilson-SoppittBernhard WissmannBernhard Wissmann Martin Bonsey Tony Willenbruch Paul Hicks Elizabeth Wright Tony Butler Sarah Willis Richard Hilliard David Wyatt Florent Cheminal Angelika Witt Baxter Holland Virginia Youdale Daniel and Katherine Robert Wolz Lis Howell and Richard Gerhard Ziegler Creamer Anna Yallop Parker Chris and Linda Haines Charles Hunter Katie Hanson Under 30 Friend John Hurley Yvonne Hutzler Supporter Iliya Ilyas Matthew and Libbi Johnson Barry Jex Miriam Laycock Christophe Kasolowsky Hans Peter Ackerman Susan Jones Sofia Laycock Jörg Klingelhöfer Judith Arber Rein Jonkman Jonathan Meyns Ursula Lehmkühler Phil Archer Marissa Kelly Petra and Peter MöldersGraham and Penny Merriam Michael AttwoodGeneviève Aubert Bianca KlodaCatherine Lack Friend Kenichi Sakamaki Anton Bachl Tzujung Lee Terry Ball Bibi Lees Graeme Addicott Ian Shepherd Nicholas Bandy Matthias Liesenhoff Pam Akhurst Roger Slevin Bank Speakers Toastmasters Moya Lonsdale Natasha Allen Jacqueline Smith Nicholas Bates Patricia Maguire Gregory Andrews Judy Stewart Jan Beuving Donna and Tony John Anstie Alison Tuck Andreas Bichl Marlborough Ruth Armstrong Lord Wallace of Saltaire Richard Birney-Smith Madeleine Mattis Ann Arneill Carol Ward Phillipp Blatt Anne McDonald Chris Atkinson Brigitt and Martin Weisskopf Pamela Bleazard Kim McMillan Genevieve Aubert

Joanna Mildren Liz Aylett Howard Jones Rowena Mitchell David Bacon Mike Jones RTB Eastbourne Rachael Beale Mrs Carolyn Knight V L C Moffat Neil Beardmore Eduard Kunst Richard Munro Elaine Bennington Teresa Lander Dirk Natho Juliana Bibas Anne Le Feuvre Venancio Neiva Pamela Bradley-Lake John LeGrove Rosetta Nickson Judith Brassington Andy Lentz Bjørn Bratteteig Margaret Longman David NolanSarah NorrisSarah Norris Sarah Bridle Nancy Lowry Jeremy Oliver Ian and Wilma Bromilow Kathryn and Tom Mangold Sarah Payne Pamela Brooks George Reinhard Martinsen Libby Percival Kathryn Brown Michael Mates Philippe Pinguet Jennifer Bunting Margaret McEown Pio Francesco Pradolin Olivia Cameron Kira Mendelsohn Veronica Pride Cath Caunt Matthias Meyer Jo and John Pritchard Roger Catt Gillian Monsell Frederik Punsmann Gerhard Christ Carlo Monti Cecile Rauline Priscilla Christmas Andrew Morris Melanie Reinhart Nicola Colchester Ed Mos Hugh Rosenbaum Gillian Collins Sarah and James Mould Paul and Veronica Santer Michael Cooch Michael Müller David Satchell Jane Cook Roger Mullis Stefan Scholand Alison Cooper Alison Musgrave Liz Seward Bryan Cotton Tomoya Omori Andrew Simpson Tylan Creason Isabelle Ostermann Michael Smith Nigel and Claire Cutts Catherine Osterrieth Neil Smith Geoffrey Dannell Andreas Öttl Simon Smail Hilary Davies Sergio Panseri Janet Davies Duncan Souster Heather Parry Mary Spencer Fiona Dobie Martin Pilkes Bruno Staquet Christine Dowdell Trevor Powell Mark Sutherland Muff Dudgeon Seppo Ranta-aho Barbara Duncan and Bernie Ronald Tasker Graham Read Semenjuk John Taylor Helena Durham John Rees Laurie Taylor C Edmonds Anne Reyersbach Michael Tedder John Edwards Janice Reynolds Philip Thijsse Peter Ringeisen Virginia Elgin Chris and Caroline Thompson Alyson Elliman Peter and Alexandra Rous Christina Thomson Garth Emrich Naoko Saka Mick Thurman Paulene Fallows Shirley Salmon David Tilsley The Fischer Fund Marta Saraiva Helena Tinker Judith Floyd Christine Sarrette Maggie Tomlin Andrew Fogg Martin Schneider Susan Vinther Karen Fogg Martin Schupp Harriet Wallace Susan Forshaw Donna Sharp Markus Wanko Jean-Marc Friedli Nicholas Steventon-Pell Lynda Weiss Zsolt Gábor Eduard Strauss Marion Welton-Delafield Michael Gale Tina Sum Judith Wilson Thomas Giese Okabe Tadashi Sara Wilson-SoppittBernhard WissmannBernhard Wissmann Zbigniew GilHelen Godwin Paul TanStacey Tasker Elizabeth Wright Jenny Goffee Michael Taylor David Wyatt Sue Goodman Naomi Taylor Virginia Youdale David Graves Elmer Thiessen Gerhard Ziegler Mark Green and Lynn Pearcy Henry Trimble Richard Greene Marion Tudge Susie Gregson Nick Thwaites Under 30 Friend Rodney Gritten Katharina Urbschat Chencheng Guo Wesley van Breda Miriam Laycock Alistair Gurr Filip Van Lancker Sofia Laycock Linda Harcourt Diane Vannan Jonathan Meyns Janet Harwood David and Wendy Veasey Joachim Herzig Helena Veiga de Oliveira Elizabeth Hilliard Joke Venhorst Friend Roger Hofer Nick Viner Mike Hogg Hugh Waller Graeme Addicott Sarah Holloway Richard Waller Pam Akhurst Colin Howard John Walter Natasha Allen Marie Humbert Chris Wardle Gregory Andrews Dot Hunter Steve Webb John Anstie Geoff Hutchings Kerrie Whitehurst Ruth Armstrong Lucy Ivey Denise Wicken Ann Arneill Thomas Jesty Allison Williams Chris Atkinson Calvin Johansson Clare Williams Genevieve Aubert David and Jan John Stefan Winterstein

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US Donors 2021

$10,000+

$10,000+ Larry Boze Alan Briscoer Leslie Brown The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation Jerry Bryan Bruno & Tracy Boval Howard Bryan Google Debra Bucher Mark R Carillo Jacqueline B. Mars Jeff Cartwright-Smith Bruce and Linda Ryder Bryan Catanzaro Gian-Philip Toro Paul Colavincenzo Mark Trusheim David Collura Sean Cotty $2,500-$9,999 Patricia Cox James Culbertson Peggy Curchack Bob Boyd Paul Daniel David Bradley Bruce Dasinger DeDe and Tony Brown Neal DeLoye Pauline Candaux B. Robert DeMento Frederic Dittmann Jennah Delp Sheridan, David and Elizabeth Foster Christoph Diewald Ken Grant Jeffrey Dornoff Edward Maki-Schramm Dalibor Drummer Robert and Marianne Watkinson Joel Emerson Bob Ewell Sherryl Ferguson $500-$2,499 Kimberly Fischer Robert Frenzel-Berra Oliver Aalami Melody Gifford David Almond Mark Gowdy-Jaehnig Craig Beyler Joseph Grafwallner John Binde Neil Graham Cynthia K. Bittner and Randal D. Ryan Greer Schreiner Matthew Greer Carol Blacutt-Underwood Jonathan Gregoire Linda Bogardus Diane Grover Cathryn Booth-LaForce Maria Gustafsson Dr. & Mrs. Jack Byrd Mary Jane Harbison Carol Marie Copperud Thomas Harkcom Bernard Cornwell Constance Harrington Sue Dangelmaier Jennifer Herron Michael Drost Mark Higbie Nancy Eaton Charles Hobson Michael Foster Roger Hofer Jeremy Huene Bruce Hoffacker Mary Javian Baxter Holland John Johnstone Rebecca Howard Peter Larson Douglas J Howe Roxanne Leung Kyle Hunt Nancy Lowry Ilyas Iliya James Luke George Jahn Jim Meehan Doris Johnson Edwin Morrison Frances Johnson Eric Nye Richard Johnson Tim and Teri O’Rourke Katherine Kahn Grace Roman Paul Kelcourse George Settlemire Eben Kent Thomas Smalley Robert Kiefner John W. Ward Elizabeth Kirk Kristen Ward Emily Kuo Lynn Wilson Roberts Carol Lambert Sonja Wohlgemuth Alfred Land Ken Larson Jayne De Lawter $100-$499 Janis Lazda Andy Lentz Kathy Alexander Francis Leto Robert Ange David Long Ann Arneill Mark Machina Linda Barclay Sullivan Maciag Ronald Barry Richard Marks Terrence Bartley Scott McGraw Susan Bates David McKay Carla Beauchamp Claire Mead David and Pamela Benson Tim Meier Linda Bentley Paul & Maggie Meyer David Bjork G Del Merritt Robbie Blanton Patricia Mitchell James Bondelid Carol Mohrman

Rayleen Morgan Linda Muehlig Margaret Mullen Jeffrey Murdock Michael Musci Catherine Nancarrow Jay Nancarrow Max Niederhofer Megan Norris Michael Orlofsky Mallard Owen Neale Perl Joseph Pesce Betty-Jo Peterson Kathleen Pool Daniel Rabinowitz John Reineck Frank Rigsby Shelley Ritchie Bruce Rosenblum Allen Roth Irene Roth Sharon Lee Ryder Joseph Saetveit Richard Schrag Kenneth Shrum Tom Siedell Andrew Sigel Flo St. Jean Judith Stoughton Ron Strack Glenn Strand Jane Sumpter Steven Swadell John Swenson David Thornton Tony Thornton Gerald Tierney Adrien Tishkowitz Emily Tosh Annie Simonian Totah William Tuthill Ronald Vander Meer Scott Venman Thomas Vernon Tom Voegeli Monica Wahl Steven Weinberger Paul Wertsch Richard Widdicombe Jim Williamson James Wilson Marie Wohlfield Susan Young Richard Zelley

$1-$99

Mark Andrews Hamilton Arnold Alex Avery James Barket David Barnhart Anna Baseley Susan Bauckus Elizabeth Beckman Rob Bell Marouan Benabdallah Juliana Bibas Robert Black Ruth Boeder Dominic Bohbot Asta Bowen Peter Bradley Peter Brawley Patricia Brennan Rebecca Brown Mary Aurand Brown

Tim Chapman-Wilson Stephen Medvic Eric Choate Elsbeth Meuth Elisa Chodan David Miller Alexander Citron Roslynn Mitchell Gary Clark Lois Montaigne Scott Clugstone Terry Morawitz Matthew Cook Lewis Nance Phil Courington Lillian Ng David Dahl Frank Niendorff Robert Davis Martha Nixon Peter Deguire Elizabeth Nordquist Tom Demaree Peter Oleson Charles Douthit Marilyn Olson Sarah Drew Dorgan Sriram Padmanabhan James Ducat Stephanie Pampel John Dufek Erik Louis Paul Joseph Edwards Matthew Peretin Matthew Eichmann Thomas Peterson Jay Eickenhorst Barbara Pew James Fernow Pfizer Luke Flood Kristin Pierce Armando Flores David Plude Mark Forry Bruce Posner RJ Foster Raymond Ready Rachel Gabrilowitz James Rebbe Paul Gahn Elaine Reding Christopher Gates Peter Robey Kaelin Gerig Mary & Tom Romano Davis & Donna Gloff Roy Rosenthal Ryan Goertz Nikhil Saifullah Penny Gordon Pascal Saremsky Bruce Hamilton Dolly Sarley Joe Hammer Rob Schellhase Jeff Harris Elsa Schroeder Susan Harrison Nancy Scott Kathryn Ann Polovina Hartley Richard Sellens James Hartman Gloria Sevey Joel Hathaway Dan and Mary Ann Shields Peter Henry William Sinn Cheryl Heringer Jeff Slatton Robert Herring Lucy Smith Drake Hokanson Harriot Smith David Holland Emily Solomon Jeffery Horne Cliff Solomon Elizabeth Huetteman Scott Sorenson Jess Huetteman William Stachour Cheryl Humes John Stevenson Stacey Ingraham Chris Strauss Debra Jacks Keith Taylor Margaret Jackson Mark Templeton Erik Jacobson Beth Ann Tesluk David Earl James J. Rupert Thompson Michael Jones Mollie Thorn Terry Jones Erin Tolar Steven Kaplan Barry Torres Ronald Kenigson Joey Tran Kelly Kennaly Henry Trimble Paul Kent Sarah Tyler Rich Kissko Sylvia Venable Michael Klarreich Ruth Vis Joyce Kling Vocal Gumbo Richard Krebs Brian Voyer F. May Le Roy Mark Ward Randy Lee Stephen Warner Robert Lee Anne Watson Born Anita Lee Anthony Weaver Andrew LeVan Barry Weiss Matthew Lewis Lee Wesner Martha Lodigiani Sarah Westlund Mark Longley David White Alie Lory Ann Williams MaryRuth Lown Mary & Gregory Williams Corbin Lyday Peter Wilson Tim MacDonald Emily Wood Rhonda Malone Powell Woods James Martin Christopher Yackley Josephine Mashour Karl Yordy Dwight McCall Alan Young Claire Mead Jeremiah Zink

33

Andrea Haines Eleonore Cockerham* Barnaby Smith Katie Jeffries-Harris Blake Morgan Euan Williamson Chris Moore Jonny Pacey

Apollo5

Penelope Appleyard Clare Stewart Josh Cooter Oliver Martin-Smith Greg Link

VOCES8 Foundation Education Team

Emily Dickens Sam Dressel Emily Owen Laura Lopes Laura Neighbour Jacob Ewen Oscar Golden-Lee Alex Haigh Charlotte Brosnan

34

Charlty ReElstraUot) No. 1126785 Company Re81strabon No. 05907481 (England and Wales) VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED {A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Tr￿￿ee5 Sarah Holford John Smith Roy Blackwell Duncan Souster Peter Dart Eleanor Wardle Sally C3ntello Lord Robert Lisvane William Conner Secretsry B3rnaby Smlth tharlty number 1126785 Company number 05907481 Principal address StAnne and StAgnes Church Gresham Street London EC2V 7BX Re8iStered office St Anne and StAgnes Church Gresham street London EC2V7BX Auditor HW Fisher LLP Acre House 11- 15 William Road London NWI 3ER United Kingdom Bat)kers Natwest Bank 64 Bury Old Road Manchester M85NW

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) CONTENTS Page Tru5tees' report statement of trustees. responsibilities io Independent 3uditor'5 report 11-12 ststement of financial activibes 13 Balance sheet 14 ststement of cash flows 15 Notes to the fin3ncial statements 16-26

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2020.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland FRS 102” (effective 1 January 2019).

Coronavirus pandemic

This report will be dominated by the impact upon the Foundation of the coronavirus pandemic, which in March 2020 closed down the world of music performance and music education. At the end of the reporting period the Foundation is in a solid financial position such that we are confident that resources and plans are in place to see the Foundation safely through this crisis. Credit must be given to the executive directors of the Foundation for achieving this position.

At the beginning of the year the trustees confirmed the business plan for the year and the objectives and values of the Foundation which it was designed to deliver.

Objectives and activities

In line with the Memorandum and Articles of Association set up when Voces Cantabiles Music was established on 16 August 2006, the aims and objectives of the charity are:

A summary of the Foundation’s business plan, based on these objectives, is set out below. The charity is now known as the VOCES8 Foundation to the wider public and the rest of this report will use this name in place of Voces Cantabiles Music Ltd.

Vision:

Mission :

Through world-class concert performances, a wide-ranging education programme and the provision of training and resources, the VOCES8 Foundation will have a positive impact on society, encouraging talented professional performers to use their skills to inspire other people.

Values:

Objectives

Strategic Objective 1 : World Class Performance

Strategic Objective 2 : Inspiring future professionals

Strategic Objective 3 : A leader for resources, research, methodology and training

Strategic Objective 4 : A Centre for Excellence and Outreach in the City of London

Strategic Objective 5 : An inspirational and inclusive outreach programme

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

Achievements and performance

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

This quotation from Aldous Huxley succinctly captures the transformational power of music. It is this experience that the Foundation seeks to bring to all with whom they engage. A leading weekend newspaper characterised the work of the charity with the headline, “They want to teach the world to sing”. This is in large part the driving objective of the VOCES8 Foundation but to it should be added the commitment to excellence of the vocal ensembles. The chief executive has a straightforward view that the role of the Foundation is to inspire others to sing and find their voice and that this is best achieved through experiencing excellence both in performance and teaching.

“VOCES8 are the Rolls-Royce of British a cappella ensembles” – The Arts Desk

Owing to the impact of Covid-19 on the Foundation’s activities, we have split the reporting of the year into two parts, reflecting activity and results pre and during the pandemic, as below.

September 2019–March 2020

This was a very successful period for the Foundation evidenced by a full order book for the four main activity-income streams: VOCES8, Apollo5, Education Outreach Programme and The VOCES8 Centre.

By the mid year point the balance sheet had improved by over 7% from the beginning of the year.

Euan Williamson joined VOCES8 at the beginning of the 2019/20 Season and the group continued to tour the world, adding to its impressive recording library whilst always providing educational opportunities alongside world-class performances. During this period the group completed the recording of ‘After Silence’, a double disc to celebrate 15 years of VOCES8. Reaching the No1 spot in the specialist charts on both sides of the Atlantic the disc was also well received by the music press, being described as “arrestingly excellent” in Gramophone Magazine. Major concerts in this period included tours in Russia and USA. During this period the group continued to play an active role in the Foundation’s outreach education programme including the Masters Course at Cambridge University.

Apollo5 continued on the upward trajectory evident at the end of the previous reporting period. Building on the success of their previous album ‘O Radiant Dawn’, the group recorded and released in April 2020 the first volume of their new album – ‘Where All Roses Go”. This period also saw an expansion of their concert programme, with a debut performance at St John’s Smith Square, a USA tour which included New Mexico, Chicago, Kalamazoo and Detroit, as well as concerts nearer home in Europe and the UK. Their concert at Nottingham Trent University attracted a five star review. Their diary also saw them working with Paul Smith in Avignon, performing Paul Smith’s ‘Reflections’ programme – also now released on disc. Clare Stewart, director of Apollo5, appeared in the premiere performance of his ‘The Winter House’. The group has continued to be the mainstay in the delivery of the Foundation’s education programme including the project ‘Musical Adventures’ and ongoing projects in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Having such a strong second ensemble underpins the capability of the Foundation significantly and is a major factor in the expansion of the education programme linked to the development of the VOCES8 Centre.

The education programme directed by Ann Wright in this period continued to develop its product range with a focus this year on capacity building. Whilst many of the projects were led by Ann Wright, Paul Smith and members of Apollo5, the bank of trained facilitators was increased to enable an increase in overall activity. VOCES8 scholars were appointed to the Scholars programme on both sides of the Atlantic and the Young Leaders programme continued to be delivered around the country, reaching more enthusiastic students than ever. A significant event was the premiere of ‘The Winter House’, written by Paul Smith and performed in collaboration with The Academy of Ancient Music and involving children from a number of schools in the South East of England.

The VOCES8 Centre is now firmly established in partnership with the Diocese of London as the home of the Foundation. Despite a period of closures to facilitate an upgrade of the tower area of the church, activity within the Centre steadily increased in line with our vision for creating a centre of excellence for choral singing in the City of London. The weekly programme featured a busy routine of a wide range of

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

vocal groups using the acoustically excellent space for rehearsals, workshops and performances. Jan Keliris has further developed her role as director of the VOCES8 Centre and has proved to be an energetic and dynamic person in this role. The ongoing development of the VOCES8 Centre remains a key strategic objective.

Paul Smith has grown in his role as Chief Executive of the Foundation and the solid financial performance in this challenging year is testimony to his business leadership skills. During the past two years Paul has developed further his own portfolio of work as a conductor, workshop leader, recording artist and composer. In 2019 he published under the VCM label his first disc ‘Reflections’. This is a coherent collection of his own compositions performed by VOCES8, Apollo5, Neil Valentine and a chorus of thousands from the education projects with whom Paul had worked during the year and was well received by the musical press. This stream of activity has helped to consolidate the Foundation’s international reputation as a leader in choral education, a provider of diverse and high quality resources for choirs of all abilities and an advocate of the role of singing in wider education.

Chris Wardle stepped down from singing with VOCES8 at the beginning of the 2018/9 Season and took on a full time role as director of external affairs. He has particularly focused his energy on improving our performance in fundraising and marketing. This has proved to be a central part of the Foundation’s response to the Coronavirus crisis.

Ann Wright continues in her role as the director of our educational programme. The focus of her activity is building up the programme of education projects, increasing the level of grants and donations to support this programme and then managing delivery. She has been very successful in this role and achieved significant grants from the Arts Council and several of the liveried Companies of the City of London, enabling us to work in areas where lack of funding had proved an insurmountable barrier.

April–August 2020 – Income sources

On 13 March 2020 the WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic and by 23 March the United Kingdom was in ‘lockdown’. Overnight performance venues and schools across the world were closed, what had been a full order book was deleted at a stroke and the income streams of the Foundation from performance and education were turned off. The Executive was faced with two related issues of how to continue to deliver on the Foundation’s aims and objectives and how to generate cash to fund its ongoing existence.

Four main strands of income generation emerged over the initial months of the lockdown:

Donations

In March 2020 when it was hoped that a return to normal activity might be achievable in Autumn 2020 a ‘Bridging the Gap’ fundraising campaign was launched with a target of £220,000. This initiative was given a boost by the generous donation in kind of the time of an experienced and professional fundraiser. He has worked alongside the trustees and executive to develop and implement a fundraising strategy, which to date has been highly successful and enabled us to exceed our initial targets. The support of the VOCES8 US Foundation with this work has been of key importance during this period.

Government support for the Arts

It was clear from the onset of the initial lockdown that the performing arts would be one of the most adversely affected sectors. All performance venues were shut with no prospect of them reopening. It is now widely recognised that this will be one of the last areas of public life to be restored to normality as it involves large numbers of people in close proximity indoors. In July 2020 the government published a package of support including a total of over £800 million to be available for grant funding managed by organisations such as the Arts Council of England. The executive team submitted a successful bid to help see the Foundation through this period. The value of this grant was £115,000 but relates to a future accounting period (2020-21).

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

Furlough scheme

An important part of the survival strategy was cost control. Once the furlough scheme was announced all staff other than the CEO were placed on furlough, saving the Foundation approximately £22,000 per month. Under the scheme, training and development was permissible and this opportunity was offered to all members of the Foundation with the aim of growing their personal capability for a future career in the industry that might or might not be linked to the VOCES8 Foundation. When the furlough scheme was adapted towards the end of this accounting period, the Foundation sought to find a balance between keeping costs down whilst also managing the wellbeing of staff. The Flexible Furlough Scheme allowed for this possibility.

Income from online performance

At the outset the Foundation saw the need to make live music-making available to the world through social media platforms. This was not a money-raising project in itself, but simply an attempt to fulfill our charitable objectives and to keep music and singing alive as the world closed down. On 21 March 2020 our ‘Live From Home’ initiative began and saw different members of the team deliver some form of free on-line workshop on a social media platform at 2pm UK time. This continued for 100 days.

During this period a strategy was developed to generate income through online concerts which emerged as the ‘Live from London’ concert series. These aimed to provide a high quality live concert experience for viewers at home. The series was filmed for the most part at the VOCES8 Centre. This had been rapidly equipped as a broadcasting studio for professionally staged choral music. This project was designed as a collaboration with other choral and small ensemble groups with the intention of providing an income stream across the sector and thus contributing to the wider survival of choral singing. A side benefit was the employment as technical support staff of previously self-employed musicians who had no access to government support. This first series was successful in demonstrating that there is a willingness to pay for high quality content broadcast on social media platforms. It was highly acclaimed by the global press (e.g. Financial Times, The Times, The Observer, The Wall Street Journal, the BBC) and the industry press and reached a large audience, generating significant funds for all who participated.

The success of this series vindicated the financial decision to upgrade the VOCES8 Centre with the necessary equipment to deliver a high quality product. The Foundation now has the long-term benefit both of this recording and streaming facility and the staff capability to operate it. This is already developing into a valuable income stream.

April–August 2020 – Achievements and performance

The principal achievements of this period have been referenced above. In the immediate wake of the lockdown in March 2020 the executive team launched a ‘Live from Home’, daily webcast consisting of workshops, interviews and performances. This led to the cooperative project of the ‘Live From London’ concert series, which was one of the few cultural bright spots in those bleak days.

‘Live from London’ was designed with a simple goal – to bring artists together in a collaboration that would share great music and a positive message of hope around the world in this most difficult of years. Other than VOCES8 and Apollo5, concerts were given by The Sixteen, I Fagiolini, The Gesualdo Six, The Swingle Singers, Stile Antico, Chanticleer, The Academy of Ancient Music and The English Chamber Orchestra. This festival presented live music from among the best in the world at a time when there was no live music to be heard. All who are part of the Foundation are passionate about our work, and we have been thrilled to share the stage with such fabulous artists from the UK and internationally who were driven by the same goals and willingness to share in the risks and challenges of creating this new festival. The equivalent of over 40,000 tickets were sold for this festival (one ticket made the concert available for the whole household or group).

Public benefit

The public benefit of the work of the Foundation is evidenced within the report of this year’s activities. There is extensive research on the positive life and health benefits of making music and in particular of group singing. This year has seen the Foundation continue to offer opportunities for music-making for tens of thousands of young people in some of the most deprived areas in the country.

With the increased focus on digital delivery of performance and education the trustees and the wider team took the decision to launch the VOCES8 Digital Academy. The aim of this online resource is to support singing activities for students of all ages and across the competency range, allowing students to learn at home or in a group or classroom setting. Early indications are that this resource is fun to

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

use and both engaging and uplifting for anyone wanting to develop their skills as a choral musician. Much of this material is currently available free of charge although the possibility of developing a future income stream from this activity is being considered. The trustees have had due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission.

Diversity

Alongside the global pandemic, perhaps the other biggest global topic in the past twelve months has been diversity. The Foundation has carefully considered its response to this topic and has focused particularly on how to act as an industry leader by providing the required support for people of all backgrounds to be embraced and to see a potential future for themselves on all levels in the choral music industry. It has been very pleasing to see good progress in this area, though much remains to be done. Alongside existing work at grassroots level, there has also been a commitment to:

There will undoubtedly be more to discuss on this topic in the next accounting period, but the trustees have been impressed by the commitment demonstrated by the whole Foundation to date.

Financial review

At the end of the year the balance account showed a value of c£518,000. This is an increase of c£15,000 over the previous year which is a remarkable achievement for a year such as the one we have experienced. This position has been achieved by the innovative and courageous leadership of the senior executives of the Foundation. In particular, the decision to invest in audio visual and music production equipment and capability to enable the VOCES8 Centre to act as a recording studio was critical to the innovative response to the closing down of live music and education.

The financial performance for the period September 2019 to March 2020 was in line with budget forecast and with the previous year’s activity. March to August 2020 was, of course, very different. The ‘Bridging the Gap’ fundraising initiative significantly increased donations income while the Summer School income and expenditure reflects its cancellation. The net impact of the furlough scheme is seen in the reduction of the staff costs representing a net saving of £22,000 per month. Activity-led costs such as travel were significantly lower. The ‘Live from London’ income and expenditure is primarily evident in ‘performance fees’ both in income and cost of sales. Further comparison with the annual outturn of previous years is not possible as the whole pattern of the activity and thus its income and expenditure has had to change to reflect the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The trustees are satisfied that proper financial controls are in place.

Greater detail on the financial management of the Foundation is available in the annual audited financial statements.

At the end of the reporting period the reserves were made up of £14,550 restricted funds and £503,656 unrestricted funds. Whilst the fundraising policy retains its focus on unrestricted funds, a greater focus on fundraising is generating proposals for a portfolio of activities to which specific donations might be attracted, such as a particular concert, education programme or scholar’s seat.

It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific purpose are maintained at a level equivalent to between four and six months’ expenditure. This policy has proved its worth this year as the cushion provided by the reserves was sufficient to enable the executive to survive the initial impact of the collapse of activity and the time to develop a strategy to see the Foundation through the crisis. The trustees are pleased to note that this level of funds has been maintained throughout the year (and indeed has been increased further) as the way forward for the performing arts sector is still very unclear.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

Structure, governance and management

Voces Cantabiles Music was established on 16 August 2006, in line with the published Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Members, who are trustees for the purposes of charity law and directors for the purposes of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of approval of these financial statements were:

Roy Blackwell (chairman), Sally Cantello, William Conner, Peter Dart, Sarah Holford, Lord Robert Lisvane, John Smith, Duncan Souster, Lord William Wallace of Saltaire (resigned 31 March 2021), Eleanor Wardle.

The board of Trustees meets at least four times a year and is responsible for the legal operation of the Foundation. All board meetings work to a pre-published agenda and minutes are kept and reviewed. The CEO and the Musical Director attend all or part of the meeting to deliver their reports on the operation of the Foundation.

The board has appointed a finance subcommittee which meets with the executive prior to board meetings to review the Foundation’s financial statements in detail and to report back to the board. This committee also acts as the remuneration committee and makes recommendations to the board on all salaries.

Roy Blackwell has served as chairman of the board of Trustees for this accounting period and will continue to do so in the next period.

Plans and strategies for managing risk

“Change and development in an uncertain world is a theme of this reporting period, not just for arts organisations but for the world more widely. Yet in spite of these challenges, the executive team and ensembles have continued to thrive in this difficult environment. as evidenced by the solid financial numbers.” This is a quote from last year’s report when the overarching national anxiety focused around Brexit. Alas the sentiment is still pertinent a year on, but for entirely different reasons and as a result of a pandemic whose seriousness for the arts was undreamed of in the best of risk management registers!

The trustees and the executive last year wrote confidently about the future and the resilience of the Foundation based upon the level of reserves and the strength of the forward order book. The plan was to continue to improve further the level of reserves, strengthen the financial value of the order book and to build further our presence and associations in the USA. In the event the order book collapsed to virtually zero, but the other strategies carried the Foundation through the crisis primarily because of the resilience and entrepreneurial capability of the executive team. This is a salutary reminder that whilst plans have their place it is the quality of people that makes the difference.

The strategies identified last year retain their value as the world returns to normal. As the vaccination programmes are rolled out across the world there is promise of concert halls reopening and festivals being rescheduled. Contracts and bookings which were cancelled are being revisited and the diary is beginning to fill up again. It remains to be seen what is the appetite for attendance at live concerts. Optimists are talking about a suppressed passion for live music bursting into a golden period of rebirth while others fear the establishment of a long-term reluctance to attend densely populated indoor events. There is also the possibility of further spikes and lockdowns as well as new Covid variants which are not suppressed by current vaccines. In short the future is unpredictable.

At the time or approving these financial statements, the Foundation is in a very sound financial position and there are no major anxieties about the 2020/21 year. The ‘Live from London’ Series has seen very successful Christmas and Spring Festivals and there are further plans for a Summer LFL concert series. The schools in the UK are now largely open and there is a limited return to our established education outreach programmes. The development of an audio/visual and studio capability offers a new business stream and a future challenge is the integration of this new product/capability within the previous model. What is of critical importance is that this greater diversity of operational activity increases the Foundation’s resilience in response to a volatile environment and in so doing actually serves to broaden the Foundation’s reach.

A particular area of focus is the work in the USA, which is now showing significant financial benefits to the Foundation. A not for profit has been founded with the intention of working further in this area in the coming three to five years. Roy Blackwell has been appointed to the board of the US charity to ensure that the VOCES8 Foundation and VOCES8 USA progress with joint goals.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

The continuing post-Brexit risk to the Foundation is the relationship with key clients and partners in France, Germany and Belgium. The executive is working to strengthen these ties and a number of long term contracts carrying through to 2021 and 2022 are now being revisited and strengthened.

Recruitment and appointment of new Trustees

The power to appoint new or additional trustees is vested in the board of Trustees. The board of Trustees considers prospective new trustees and if it is decided to approach a potential Trustee, this is done by the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. Prospective board members are given the opportunity to experience the work of the charity and are shown a copy of the financial statements and other relevant information. Board members will also have the opportunity to talk with prospective new trustees in advance of them joining the board. Additional methods of recruitment are being considered in order to broaden the reach and to attract more diverse candidates to this role.

Executive structure of the Foundation

Chief Executive Officer – Paul Smith - full time post; Musical Director – Barnaby Smith – full time post; Education Programme Director – Ann Wright – full time post; Christopher Wardle – director of external affairs – full time post; Clare Stewart – Director of Apollo5 – full time post; Jan Keliris – Manager of the Voces8 Centre – full time post; Education Programme administrator – Thomas Webb-Wilson - 3 days a week; Louise Hughes – special events/friends scheme – 2 days a week, Laura Gilham – education assistant – 2 days a week.

Relationships

There are two critical partnerships in the operation of the Foundation:

The first is with the Diocese of London from whom the Foundation leases the VOCES8 Centre. This relationship also includes a commitment to improve the singing opportunities for the children in schools associated with the Diocese. It has been difficult in the last 12 months to develop this relationship as we had wished but we look forward to revisiting that agenda as the world returns to a post Covid “normal”.

The second is with Edition Peters who act as Artists Manager (agent) for both VOCES8 and Apollo5. They also act as publishers for VOCES8 publications such as The VOCES8 Method, and mediate relationships with composers whose work they publish. This is a hugely creative relationship which brings benefit to both parties.

Remuneration

All decisions on remuneration are made by the full board of Trustees. The board has appointed a remuneration sub committee to assist with this process.

Plans for the future

In the current environment when music performance is shut down the existential strategy/objective of the Foundation is to survive in order to be able to continue with our charitable purpose once the crisis of the pandemic has subsided. Whist the output-based strategies below still remain a focus for decision-making, they are underpinned by the key objective of remaining solvent and the generation of funds to achieve that.

Critical elements of that plan are:

  1. Utilise the government furlough scheme to pay and retain the staff of the Foundation;

  2. Continue to develop and deliver the ‘Live From London’ concert series;

  3. Further exploit the resources and competence of recording and streaming;

  4. Continue to develop the donations income stream.

Strategic Objective - 1 World class performance

VOCES8 and Apollo5: the order book for live concerts for 2021 has largely been cancelled and the task this year is to maintain contact with promoters and continue to develop the profile of the two ensembles so that post Covid we shall be in best position to fill the order book again with high quality performance opportunities.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

Key targets here are:

Continuance of recording plans (VOCES8 – After Silence; Apollo5 – Where All Roses Go; Paul Smith - Reflections) Continue and develop further streamed performances ‘Live from London’ Series

Strategic Objective - 2 Inspiring future professionals

VOCES8 Scholars and the education team: applications for the 2019 scholars amounted to more than 170 singers, of which 60 came from the USA. Auditions for these scholarships are ongoing in the UK and USA. The Season for both groups was aligned with the academic year and support and management was provided by Sam Dressel. The programmes for the year had been prepared and published and include a broad range of opportunities for general music education training and experience, performance as a small ensemble singer and performing within a larger chamber choir with professional musicians.

These scholars’ programmes on both sides of the Atlantic were, however, unable to proceed because of the pandemic and so these programmes will be rolled forward a year. We are pleased to note the ongoing involvement of ex scholars in the delivery of our education programmes and their support and involvement in the production and development of our audiovisual production capability. In the UK, in partnership with the music department of Cambridge University, plans are well advanced for VOCES8 to continue to play a central role in delivering a masters level programme in singing.

Strategic Objective 3 - A leader for resources, research, methodology and training The Digital Academy

The Foundation has launched the VOCES8 Digital Academy, an online resource to support singing activities for students of all ages and across the competency range, allowing students to learn at home or in a group or classroom setting. The focus in the coming year is to complete this resource, to make it as widely available as possible and to develop its potential as a further income stream where appropriate.

New commissions

Paul Smith has a new commission based on ‘Thaxted’ for an American couple, who have requested that it be premiered by King’s College Cambridge or a similar choir later in 2020/21.

A commission has been offered by Krug champagne to create a new musical work in partnership with the pop artist Ozark Henry for performances in France and the UK (and possibly globally) in 2020/21.

Chris Moore, Blake Morgan, Paul Smith, Taylor Davis, Katie Jeffries-Harris, Fraser Wilson, Jim Clements and other members of the VOCES8 Foundation family are writing new compositions or arrangements for the Foundation ensembles and projects in 2020/21.

Roxanna Panufnik is our current composer in residence and is working in different ways with both performance ensembles in 2020/21.

Programming of new works is to be a normal part of the programme strategy. This strategy will also support the inclusivity/diversity agenda.

Sheet music

The team is working with Edition Peters to create an exciting and wide-ranging resource centre for our sheet music. This will be available to download with a licence or bought in sheet music form. This ‘VOCES8 Singles’ range will cover all types of music, from our classical editions through to our jazz, folk and pop arrangements, from simple sheet music to our most complex arrangements and, where possible, modern composers that we have commissioned to write for our ensembles.

Strategic Objective 4 - A centre for excellence and outreach in the City of London – The VOCES8 Centre:

The second half of this year has seen the transformation of the VOCES8 Centre with the development of the Foundation’s new capability for audiovisual streaming of ‘live’ concerts. The VOCES8 Centre has become the home of the ‘Live From London’ concert series and is now seen regularly by thousands of viewers across the world. The development of the studio capacity has played a major role in the

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

_________________

financial survival of the Foundation through this difficult year. The development of the Centre with its enhanced capability will be a major plank in the business plan for the coming year.

Strategic Objective 5 - An aspirational and inclusive outreach programme

Education work: currently the majority of the education programme is on hold because of the pandemic and that is likely to continue for much of the 2020-21 financial year. Some work has however been possible through virtual workshops and the benefits of Zoom and other video applications. It is envisaged that, with the schools’ return in the Spring, the planned programme will resume.

Our main projects in 2020-21 will include:

Summer School: The VOCES8 Summer School at Milton Abbey is sold out for 2021. We have an exciting programme of events in place for the week, with some fabulous artists joining us to perform.

Disclosure of information to auditor

Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.

The trustees’ report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

Roy Blackwell

………………………………..

Roy Blackwell Trustee 14 May 2021 Dated: ………………………

Sally E Cantello

………………………………..

Sally Cantello Trustee

14 May 2021 Dated: ………………………

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

The trustees, who are also the directors of Voces Cantabiles Music Limited for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Foundation and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Foundation and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Foundation and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Voces Cantabiles Music Limited (the ‘Foundation’) for the year ended 31 August 2020 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Foundation in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

TO THE MEMBERS OF VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Foundation and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the d irectors’ r eport included within the trustees' r eport.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the s tatement of trustees' r esponsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the Foundation for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the Foundation’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Andrew Rich

Andrew Rich (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of HW Fisher LLP

Chartered Accountants

Statutory Auditor

Acre House 11 - 15 William Road London NW1 3ER United Kingdom

14 May 2021 .........................

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

Unrestricted
funds
2020
Notes
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
168,669
Charitable activities
4
829,939
Other income
5
128,909
Total income
1,127,517
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
Music Performance
6
1,121,997
Total charitable expenditure
1,121,997
Gross transfers between
funds
-
Net income for the year/
Net movement in funds
5,520
Fund balances at 1
September 2019
498,136
Fund balances at 31 August
2020
503,656		 Restricted
funds
2020
£
50,763
2,100
-
52,863
42,731
42,731
-
10,132
4,418
14,550		 Total
Unrestricted
funds
2020
2019
£
£
219,432
48,120
832,039
1,215,150
128,909
-
1,180,380
1,263,270
1,164,728
1,147,679
1,164,728
1,147,679
-
(8,000)
15,652
107,591
502,554
390,545
518,206
498,136		 Restricted
funds
2019
£
66,815
5,375
-
72,190
75,772
75,772
8,000
4,418
-
4,418		 Total
2019
£
114,935
1,220,525
-
1,335,460
1,223,451
1,223,451
-
112,009
390,545
502,554

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 AUGUST 2020

2020
Notes
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
10
Current assets
Stocks
11
14,021
Debtors
12
74,294
Cash at bank and in hand
632,756
721,071
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
13
(227,544)
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Income funds
Restricted funds
14
Unrestricted funds
The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on .........................
14 May 2021		 £
24,679
493,527
518,206
14,550
503,656
518,206		 2019
£
8,070
24,196
493,299
525,565
(23,011)		 £
-
502,554
502,554
4,418
498,136
502,554

Roy Blackwell .............................. Roy Blackwell Trustee

Company Registration No. 05907481

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
18
Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Net cash used in investing activities
Net cash used in financing activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		 2020
£
(26,247)		 £
165,704
(26,247)
-
139,457
493,299
632,756		 2019
£
-		 £
133,688
-
-
133,688
359,611
493,299

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Voces Cantabiles Music Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is St Anne and St Agnes Church, Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7BX.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the company's Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 16 August 2006 as amended by special resolution 9 November 2008 , the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” ( effective 1 January 2019 ). The company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling , which is the functional currency of the Foundation. Monetary a mounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

The trustees have considered the continued effect of the Covid-19 outbreak. The trustees consider that the outbreak is likely to cause some continued disruption to the charity’s activities whilst restrictions remain . However, with the support of the government via the furlough scheme, additional support from a strong base of individual donors and support from the Arts Council England, alongside income generated from online concert and workshop activities, the trustees consider that the charity is well placed to survive the impacts of Covid-19. The trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Incoming resources

Income is recognised when the Foundation is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Foundation has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the Foundation has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis.

Income from the one charitable activity represents the invoiced value of goods sold or services provided net of VAT.

Grant income is recognised in full in the year in which it is receivable unless there are specific performance related conditions that prevent its recognition and instead the income is deferred .

Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the amount received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received. Government grants were received under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The scheme is designed to compensate for staff costs, so amounts received or receivable are recognised in the income statement as part of other operating income over the same period as the costs to which they relate. Government grants are accounted for under the accrual model.

1.5 Resources expended

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure once there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure relating to m usic p erformance are those elements of expenditure directly incurred in performing these activities.

Governance costs include those costs incurred in the governance of the charity's assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements. All governance costs are allocated to the one charitable activity.

Support costs are costs incurred centrally and are allocated to the one charitable activity of the charity.

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Plant and machinery 3 years straight line Computers 3 years straight line

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

1.7 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the Foundation reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any ) .

1.8 Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.9 Financial instruments

The Foundation has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the Foundation's balance sheet when the Foundation becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors , are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future p aymen ts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

1.10 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Foundation is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the Foundation’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

The trustees do not consider there to be any critical accounting estimates or judgements applied in the preparation of the financial statements.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

3 Donations and legacies

Unrestricted
funds
2020
£
Donations and gifts
168,669
Grants receivable for core
activities
-
168,669
Grants receivable for core
activities
Arts Council
-
-		 Restricted
funds
2020
£
50,763
-
50,763
-
-		 Total
Unrestricted
funds
2020
2019
£
£
219,432
48,120
-
-
219,432
48,120
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
funds
2019
£
53,315
13,500
66,815
13,500
13,500		 Total
2019
£
101,435
13,500
114,935
13,500
13,500

4 Charitable activities

Music performance
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Included within income relating to music performance is:
Concert fees
CD Sales
Recording fees
Trip organising and training
Education
VOCES8 Centre (formerly Gresham Centre)
Music writing
Advertisting and royalties		 2020
£
832,039
829,939
2,100
832,039
638,115
49,181
5,319
-
86,324
39,132
-
13,968
832,039		 2019
£
1,220,525
1,215,150
5,375
1,220,525
854,876
37,122
6,055
126,535
132,577
54,388
7,591
1,381
1,220,525

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

5 Other income

Unrestricted Total
funds
2020 2019
£ £
Other income 128,909 -

Other income relates to amounts received under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) as a government grant.

6 Charitable activities

Staff costs
Music arrangement costs
Artist performance fees
Production costs
Other performance costs
Summer school
Management fees
Consultancy fees
VOCES8 Centre (formerly Gresham Centre)
Education
Share of support costs (see note 7)
Share of governance costs (see note 7)
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds		 2020
£
300,389
3,909
203,001
50,521
309,797
12,486
35,552
11,311
67,975
(3,214)
991,727
164,183
8,818
1,164,728
1,121,997
42,731
1,164,728		 2019
£
235,670
5,669
230,788
15,839
410,901
95,906
45,570
28,135
65,414
3,214
1,137,106
76,228
10,117
1,223,451
1,147,679
75,772
1,223,451

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

7 Support costs

Support costs
Governance
costs
£
£
Staff costs
136,464
-
Depreciation
1,568
-
Subscriptions
2,411
-
Telephone expenses
1,192
-
Office costs
334
-
Bank charges
2,196
-
Other costs
5,297
-
Transaction fees
14,721
-
Audit fees
-
7,750
Accountancy
-
1,068
164,183
8,818
Analysed between
Charitable activities
164,183
8,818		 2020
Support costs
Governance
costs
£
£
£
136,464
71,626
-
1,568
-
-
2,411
863
-
1,192
528
-
334
174
-
2,196
3,037
-
5,297
-
-
14,721
-
-
7,750
-
9,000
1,068
-
1,117
173,001
76,228
10,117
173,001
76,228
10,117		 2019
£
71,626
-
863
528
174
3,037
-
-
9,000
1,117
86,345
86,345

Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £ 7,750 (201 9 : £ 9 , 0 00 ) for audit fees, and £1,068 (201 9 : £ 1,117 ) for other services.

8 Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.

No trustee expenses have been incurred during the year .

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

9 Employees

Number of employees

Average employee numbers
Employment costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2020
Number
14
2020
£
394,383
33,596
8,874
436,853		 2019
Number
11
2019
£
278,876
23,370
5,050
307,296

There were no employees whose annual emoluments were £60,000 or more.

10 Tangible fixed assets

10
Tangible fixed assets
Plant and
machinery
Computers
£
£
Cost
At 1 September 2019
24,234
-
Additions
19,743
6,504
At 31 August 2020
43,977
6,504
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 September 2019
24,234
-
Depreciation charged in the year
1,152
416
At 31 August 2020
25,386
416
Carrying amount
At 31 August 2020
18,591
6,088
At 31 August 2019
-
-
11
Stocks
2020
£
CDs
14,021		 Total
£
24,234
26,247
50,481
24,234
1,568
25,802
24,679
-
2019
£
8,070

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

12
Debtors
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
13
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Other taxation and social security
Trade creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2020
£
33,708
2,484
38,102
74,294
2020
£
11,713
2,929
212,902
227,544		 2019
£
5,739
4,349
14,108
24,196
2019
£
8,041
476
14,494
23,011

Deferred income of £149,156 (2019: £nil) has been recognised. The income has been deferred in order to account under the accruals basis, matching income and expenditure in the period to which they relate.

Balance at 31 August 2020 £ 10,045 4,505 14,550
Restricted funds The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes: Movement in funds
Movement in funds		 Incoming
Resources
Transfers
Balance at
Incoming
Resources		 resources
expended
1 September
resources
expended		 2019 £
£
£
£
£
£		 Music Education in London
36,825
(44,825)
8,000
-
21,850
(11,805)		 Music Education in France
35,365
(30,947)
-
4,418
31,013
(30,926)		 72,190
(75,772)
8,000
4,418
52,863
(42,731)		 Music Education in London - to undertake musical education in London. Music Education in France - to undertake musical education in France. The transfer in the comparative year represents the overspend in restricted funds which is covered by unrestricted funds.
14

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

15
Analysis of net assets between funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
2020
2020
£
£
Fund balances at 31
August 2020 are
represented by:
Tangible assets
24,679
-
Current assets/(liabilities)
478,977
14,550
503,656
14,550		 Total
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
2020
2019
2019
£
£
£
24,679
-
-
493,527
498,136
4,418
518,206
498,136
4,418		 Total
2019
£
-
502,554
502,554

16 Operating lease commitments

At the year end the Foundation had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

Within one year
Between two and five years		 2020
£
19,016
-
19,016		 2019
£
51,918
2,739
54,657

17 Related party transactions

Remuneration of key management personnel

The remuneration of key management personnel, is as follows :

2020 2019
£ £
Aggregate compensation 84,987 68,156

Trustee, John Smiths' sons Paul and Barnaby Smith, are employed by Voces Cantabiles Music Limited and have been paid, in aggregate, remuneration of £ 84,987 during the year.

Trustee, Eleanor Wardle's husband Chris Wardle, is employed by Voces Cantabiles Music Limited and has been paid a total remuneration of £3 3,091 (2019: £30,057) during the year.

At the year end, there were no outstanding balance with any of the related parties listed above.

VOCES CANTABILES MUSIC LIMITED (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2020

18
Cash generated from operations
Surplus for the year
Adjustments for:
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets
Movements in working capital:
(Increase) in stocks
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
Cash generated from operations
19
Analysis of changes in net funds
The Foundation had no debt during the year.		 2020
£
15,652
1,568
(5,951)
(50,098)
204,533
165,704		 2019
£
112,009
-
(5,407)
25,711
1,375
133,688

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