## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From: January 1[st] 2025 To December 31[st] 2025 Charity name: Martin Read Foundation**
**Charity registration number:** 1156661
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The object of this CIO is to advance the
education of the public in the UK in the
subject of the composition of music.|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|The main public benefit activities of the
Foundation which continued in 2025 were
to:
(a) encourage a healthy curiosity for
composition in young musicians, towards
developing the composers of tomorrow by
providing MRF’s annual scheme supporting
young composers, by:
(i)
identifying young aspiring
composers aged 14 – 17 who were
considering undergraduate study
and who it was felt would benefit
from the support the MRF was able
to offer, selecting 3 as MRF award-
holders. As for 2024, the trustees
agreed to support one award-holder
from the previous year for a 2nd
year, supporting 4 in total,
(ii)
commissioning them to compose a
short piece for MRF’s performer(s)
in residence,
(iii)
supporting this task via mentoring
and workshops - 4 established
composer-educators agreed to act
as mentors. The award-holders
were responsible for covering the
costs associated with their
mentoring and their travel to the
workshops from their award,
(iv)
providing a public premiere of their
compositions at the Annual Festival,
and an audio recording for
promoting themselves as young
composers.
(b) involve the public in exploring
contemporary music, via Come and Sing /
Come and Play opportunities at the annual|
|||Festival ‘25. This event also provided
composition opportunities for MRF alumni
in writing for choral or flexible ensemble.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|MRF confirms that its trustees are aware of
the guidance issued by the Charity
Commission on public benefit.|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|As for 2024, the trustees decided that £250
was to be awarded to each of the 4
successful applicants. This provided a
minimum of 3x 1.5 hour mentoring lessons.
Remaining funds were to be used to
enhance their study of composition, at the
discretion of the trustees. The award-holder
was to be responsible for agreeing with
their mentor the fee for these lessons,
around a suggested fee of £50 per hour,
and for arranging payment. Each selected
young composer received a public
performance of their commission at the
annual MRF Festival and a recording.|
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38||
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|During 2025, the volunteer trustees
continued to be the driving force of the
activities of the MRF. Trustees are all keen
supporters and / or practitioners of music
education, and of the aims of the CIO:
primarily to enhance the skills of promising
young composers, and include the public in
explorations and / or live performance of
contemporary music.|
|Other:
Additional focus for 2025||Scheme 2025 was fortunate to have as
performers-in-residence the Oxford-based
choir Commotio, a partnership which had
which had begun in 2023. Working with
choir members and their conductor, the 4
MRF young composers received guidance
on composition, through 2 workshops
during the Spring Term: (i) an introduction
to writing for SATB choir and (ii) looking at
their initial compositional ideas. The Annual
Festival not only provided the public
premieres of their finished commissions,
but launched a recording of Martin Read’s
music, featuring Commotio and cellist
Joseph Spooner. Musicians of all ages
joined the performers-in-residence in|
rehearsal and performance of contemporary pieces including new short works by 2 alumni for SATB choir and for Flexible Ensemble and the emotional finale: John Tavener’s ‘Svyati’ for choir and cello. Once again, the scope of the Come & Sing / Come & Play community engagement was significantly broadened, See Objectives, line 2, (b)
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|In this it’s 11th year, MRF:
1) provided support to promising young
composers,
2) partnered with Commotio choir
3) supported all 4 awarded young
composers onto further study,
4) successfully applied for a grant of £503
towards Festival ’25 costs,
5) provided our school-based project for
younger composers: Tomorrow’s
Composers, the aims of which are to:
i)
develop in KS2 students a
passion & flair for composing
leading towards further study
such as application to the MRF
annual award scheme;
ii)
teachers to develop skills in
teaching aspects of
composition.
6) Ran a fundraising challenge –
promoting the charity’s purpose to a
wider audience,|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|We can measure this through:
1) expanding our patrons to include Alan
Bullard, composer;
2) High quality applicants for the awards
scheme;
3) Community engagement through the
numbers signing up for our Festival ’25
Come and Sing / Come and Play;
4) Positive Feedback from our awards
scheme, including this from an award-
holder:_‘…working with a composition_
_specialist gave me some more insight_
_into all the different elements that must_
_be considered when composing to_
_ensure that the piece works well with_
_the ensemble. I also have been inspired_
_to study composition at college and_
_beyond. Thank you MRF for giving me_
_this brilliant composing opportunity!’_
5) New partnership-with Commotio choir.|
|---|---|---|
||||6) Positive feedback from Tomorrow’s
Composers, including this from a
teacher:_‘I have not been very good at_
_teaching composition or film music, I_
_now feel like a have a good scheme of_
_work for film music.’_
7) achieving the aim of raising the sum
needed to provide the awards in 2026,|
|---|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41||Application to East Hampshire District
Council:£503 towards Festival costs
Fundraising event:_Pedal4Pounds – 4_keen
cyclists, connected to MRF, cycled
Winchester – Oxford to raise the £1000
needed to provide the awards in 2026,
raising £1,234.|
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|||
|Other||||
## **Financial Review**
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|At the end of this period, MRF carried
forward £6,856 to fund it’s planned award
scheme for young composers in 2026, with
plans to engage a professional string
quartet as performers-in-residence.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Other than its annual agreement to fund the
awards of a small number of selected
young composers, there are currently no
further financial obligations should the CIO
fold.
All funds held will be used to further the
chief activity of the charity: the provision of
specialist support for young composers.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|£6,856|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|n/a|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|n/a|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|It is anticipated that the major expenditure
of the charity will be the provision of the
scheme’s bursaries to its awarded young
composers. Fundraising may be necessary
to support this annual scheme and for any
additional costs regards the content of the
Annual Festival or other composition
projects as these arise.
The charity was funded initially from the
estate of the late Martin Read, Hampshire-
based composer and music educator. In
this ninth year of Foundation there was a|
growing number standing orders and donations, providing a slightly increased revenue stream. Costs for 2025 were within budget, enabling the planning of future projects requiring a larger outlay, such as professional musicians as performers-inresidence.
|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|•
Fundraising event –_Pedal4Pounds_
•
Standing orders.
•
East Hampshire District Council
•
Other one-off donations
•
Festival ticket sales|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|Our social media trustee continues to
ensure a wider promotional reach, via
Instagram - aiming at the younger audience
and Facebook - continuing to grow public
awareness of the charity.
Our website is kept up to date.|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|Particular concerns of the Trustees during
2025, and ways towards solving them were,
as in previous years:
1.
ensuring a broad reach of young
aspiring composers for the annual
award scheme,
2.
best ways of promoting the scheme,
3.
how to generate the young
composers of tomorrow.
MRF navigated these concerns via
promoting the scheme to
a. Hampshire 6thform college music
departments,
b. Hampshire secondary schools,
c. neighbouring music education hubs.
d. other connections, including via MRF
alumni to younger composers.
Promotion to b & c were achieved through
our partnership with the Hampshire Hub|
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|
Para 1.25|Constitution|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|CIO|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Trustees are selected by existing trustees
for their expertise as composers and / or
educators. Different trustees take on
specific tasks, such as drafting the Call for
Scores for the annual scheme / social
media / inviting suitably experienced
teachers to join our cohort of mentors /
fundraising / securing partnerships with
other music educators, etc.|
|---|---|---|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||||
|---|---|---|
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees|Para 1.51||
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any
related parties|Para 1.51|MRF is partnered with:
•
Hampshire Music Education Hub
•
Commotio – Oxford-based choir
•
Royal College of Music Junior
Department|
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|Martin Read Foundation|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|MRF|
|Registered charity number|1156661|
|Charity’s principal address|7, Gladstone Street,
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 8TQ|
**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint trustee**
**(if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Beccy Read|Founder and
administrator|||
||Alison Willis||||
3 Simon Speare 4 Frederick Hodkin 5 Alexander Ling 6 Tom Armstrong
Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets n/a held in this capacity Name and objects of the n/a charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for n/a safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|
|---|---|---|
|**Patron**|Howard Skempton|Leamington Spa|
|**Patron**|Gwyneth Herbert|Hastings|
|**Patron**|Dame Judith Weir|London|
|**Patron**|Alan Bullard|Colchester|
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
n/a
## **Other optional information**
## **Declarations**
## **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** SIGN
**----- Start of picture text -----**
SIGN
**----- End of picture text -----**
**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)** Freddie Hodkin **Position (eg Secretary,** Trustee **Chair, etc)**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Date
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Ale��nder �in� Trustee
|**Charity Name**|**No (if any)**|||
|---|---|---|---|
|**MARTIN READ FOUNDATION**|**1156661**|||
|**Receipts andpayments accounts**|||**CC16a**|
|1.1.25
Period start date
**For the period**
**from**|31.12.25
Period end date
**To**|||
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Notes**
**Total funds**
**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Carried forward :**|**5,004**||||||||**3,797**|
|**A1 Receipts**||||||||||
|Donations by standing order
Other donations
Festival bar donations
Donations Paypal Giving
Grant - for Festival
Grant - for Tomorrow's Composers '25
Interest, gold & cash accounts
Gift aid claim
Feb workshop ticket sales
Festival ticket sales
Proceeds from external event
**_Sub total_** _(Gross income for AR)_|545||||||||711|
||305||||||||543|
||179|||||||||
||302||||||||70|
||||503|||||||
||**-**||-||||||2,070|
||**-**||-|||||||
||**-**|||||||||
||**-**|||||||||
||540||||||||316|
||1,234||||||||495|
||**3,105**||**503**||||||**4,205**|
|**A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).**||||||||||
|||||||||||
|||||||||||
|**_Sub total_**
**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**
Grant Tomorrow's Composers '24 - spent '25
Festival promotion - printing
Publicity - website costs etc.
Grant for Festival spend- performer's fee
Grant for Festival spend - venue hire
Grant for Festival spend - choir travel expenses
Festival conductor expenses
Award payments
Festival refreshments
Venue hire - Feb. workshop
License fee
Choral score set hire / purchase & postage
Instrument hire
Annual insurance premium
Equipment purchase - car reader|||||||||**4,205**|
|||||||||||
||**3,105**||**503**||||||**4,205**|
|||||||||||
|||||||||||
||||950||grant received
2024||||**100**|
||136||||||||50|
||315|||||||||
||||150||||||865|
||||211|||||||
||||100||||||-|
||470|||||||||
||1,000||||||||1,000|
||151||||||||102|
||110|||||||||
||21||||||||21|
||47||||||||-|
||-|||||||||
||131||||||||131|
||33|||||||||
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
02/08/2026
1
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Miscellaneous expenses 58
Sub total 2,415 1,411 2,327
A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see
table)
Sub total 2,327.00
Total payments 2,415 1,411 2,327
Net of receipts/(payments) 690 1,878
A5 Transfers between funds Grant funding
1,162 '24-'25 unspend
A6 Cash funds last year end 5,004 3,797
Cash funds this year end 6,856 5,004
**----- End of picture text -----**
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
02/08/2026
2
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the
trustees
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the charity’s**
**own use**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**|Signature
**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
**Details**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**Details**
**Details**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**6,856**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
**Freddie Hodkin**
Alexander Ling||
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
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|||||
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|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||Alexander Ling|Aug-26|
|||**Freddie Hodkin**|**Aug-26**|
CCXX R3 accounts (SS)
02/08/2026
3