London Firebird Orchestra
Company Registration No. 8392959 Registered Charity Number: 1151014
Report of Activities for the year ending 28 February 2022
At the start of the period the UK was in the middle of a long period of lock-down. By May 2021 the orchestra was able to perform again and in fact gave concerts at St George’s Hanover Square in May, June, September, October and February during the period, as well as an audio-visual recording project at St Johns Smith Square at which a sponsor recorded Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 20 in D minor. Following government guidelines and liaising carefully with the venues, appropriate safety measures were put in place for all performances.
Music by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Delius and Copland was performed. Firebird’s two Principal Guest Conductors, George Jackson and Michael Thrift, conducted the concerts. The various restrictions meant that only two soloists performed concertos during the period – the violinist Emmanuel Bach and cellist Jamal Aliyev. At the concerts in May and June 2021, a small socially-distanced audience of around 30 guests attended. By September 2021 this increased, with between 70 and 100 guests attending the final three concerts of the season. All performances were recorded so that those who could not attend could enjoy watching at home.
Engagement income reduced significantly, as the orchestra’s principal external engager was unable to organise events because of the pandemic. Also, the orchestra’s children’s project ‘Firebird for Schools’ had to be postponed to the subsequent period because the various schools who usually attend were unable to come to a concert at which different schools would mix together.
Naturally, the reduced attendance numbers led to concert income remaining lower the pre-pandemic levels (though still higher than the previous period). Happily, voluntary income returned close to its pre-pandemic level. Income from gift aid added to this and covered both this period and the previous one (during which no claims had been made). Once again, around half the orchestra’s expenditure formed payments to performing artists.
Notwithstanding considerable challenges, the year concluded with a reserve only marginally reduced.
November 2022
David Baty (Chairman) , Marc Corbett-Weaver (Artistic Director) , Michael Manning Clark, Roderick Graham, Philip Rowley Trustees of London Firebird Orchestra
For further information about London Firebird Orchestra please visit: www.LondonFirebird.com
London Firebird Orchestra
Company Registration No. 8392959 Registered Charity Number: 1151014
Financial Statements for the year ending 28 February 2022
| Notes Income 1 Concert income 2 Engagement fees 3 Voluntary income 4 Gift Aid Total Income Expenses 5 Payments to performing artists 6 Concert expenses 7 Recordings 8 Promotion 9 Insurance 10 Bank charges Total Expenses Surplus / (Deficit) for the year |
Year to 28 Feb ’22 £ 5,043 1,017 38,591 12,147 56,798 29,450 22,469 1,425 2,220 1,379 82 57,025 (227) |
Year to 29 Feb ‘21 £ 2,485 5,373 27,196 - 35,054 18,190 13,141 1,045 1,955 1,137 98 35,566 (512) |
|---|---|---|
Surplus / (Deficit) for the year
Notes
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1 Ticket sales and other income generated by the orchestra’s own productions.
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2 Fees paid by external promoters in respect of the orchestra’s performances. 3 Gifts donated to support the orchestra’s work.
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6 Venue hire, hire of percussion equipment and other musical instruments, hire or purchase of sheet music, catering and ancillary expenses, management and production costs
London Firebird Orchestra
Company Registration No. 8392959 Registered Charity Number: 1151014
Balance Sheet as at 28 February 2022
| ASSETS Fixed Assets Current assets Cash at bank and in hand Total current assets Current liabilities Total current liabilities Net Assets CAPITAL & RESERVES Reserves brought forward Surplus / (Deficit) for year Total Reserves |
Year to 28 Feb ’22 £ 0 27,381 27,381 0 0 27,381 27,608 (227) 27,381 |
Year to 29 Feb ’21 £ 0 27,608 27,608 0 0 27,608 28,120 (512) 27,608 |
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