Redland Green Choir - Annual Report 2022 - 23
It is nice to report that the Redland Green Choir has completed a further successful year under the direction of Huw Morgan. We feel very lucky and privileged to have such a competent and skilled conductor with such a wealth of knowledge to impart.
This was the first full year since the pandemic and I think it is fair to say that the choir has pretty much returned to full strength, with attendance keeping up well. Currently, we now have 71 members listed, although not everyone is always able to attend every week. Inevitably personal circumstances can get in the way of people participating, and we have sadly had some bereavements, in particular the sudden and unexpected death of Dens Milne, one of the altos and enthusiastic member of the chamber choir. Our thoughts went out to her partner, Ewan, and we were glad to be able to support him by singing at her memorial event in St Georges in August.
Concerts
We had our usual autumn/Christmas concert in St Matthew’s Church, Cotham on December 3rd, and it was very well received. We sang Vivaldi’s Gloria, The Lamb by Tavener and other pieces inspired by sheep. We think we did pretty well. Soloists for this concert were Elinor Cooper and Lucy Hughes, with Richard Johnson on the organ.
In May we held an informal concert for family and friends of choir members as part of our general rehearsal. This was very successful and enjoyed by performers and audience alike. It coincided with our regular monthly ‘pub night’ after the rehearsal which worked well.
Our main concert was held on July 8[th] – once again in All Saints Church, Pembroke Road. The church was well filled for Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonnelle and it felt like a great achievement. In contrast to the previous year, it was extremely wet, but this did not dampen our enjoyment. We were privileged to have first class soloists, two excellent accompanists Richard Johnson on the piano and Andrew Kirk on the reed organ and we raised £150 for the Music for All charity, which was gratefully received. Soloist for this concert were Emily Wenman, soprano, Rebecca Challagh, mezzo-soprano, Osian WynBowen tenor, and William Stevens Bass.
Currently we are preparing the Fauré Requiem for our December concert, once again in St Matthew’s.
Chamber choir
The Chamber choir, numbering 14, has had a good year, despite it being tricky to find times and places to rehearse due to the fact that we can only rehearse in the school from 7.00 – 9pm. We currently have three rehearsals per term, on different evenings, to allow people
who still have work commitments to be able to attend. Despite these restrictions, members much enjoy singing together. We are very appreciative of the interest and support of Lesley Benson, whose enthusiasm and organising ability is so helpful in making everything go smoothly. We were extremely sad to lose Dens, and she is still much missed. The concert held on October 14[th] at Frenchay Parish Church was very successful and raised £790 for BRACE, a charity for research into dementia. We were so lucky to sing in such a beautiful venue, and are also extremely grateful to members of the church who provided a great supply of delicious cakes.
General points
We had two choir workshops during the year, one in March with Emily Elia, and a second in June with Huw. These workshops really enable us to enjoy singing together for a longer time than our usual rehearsals and generally improve the quality of our singing.
We are also very appreciative and grateful to Jean and Billy who invited us into their lovely home for an end of season party. The hope had been to enjoy their lovely garden, but sadly the unseasonable downpour on the day only allowed us to gaze at it through the windows! But it was much enjoyed nevertheless.
The choir continues to go from strength to strength and we have had a number of new recruits this September. We are still lucky to have a good and enthusiastic committee which meets at least twice per term. Special thanks should go to Kate Hughes for her secretarial labours. Carew Reynell is preparing to step down as treasurer in 2024, and we will be looking for someone to help us keep on the financial straight and narrow. We are also grateful to Sue Fox for the challenge of organising the music, and to John Atkinson for managing the website issues. But all members provide great support and enable the choir to run efficiently. Also an important mention must go to Jonny Saunders for providing excellent accompanying during rehearsals and concerts.
And finally we continue to relish in the wit and wisdom of our Musical Director Huw Morgan. We particularly appreciate that he endeavours to attend our committee meetings, which helps a great deal in furthering good communications. His regular email updates to the choir after rehearsals, which help us know that we are going in the right direction, are very much appreciated.
We look forward to a further successful year, and to further expanding our repertoire.
Pat Turton (Chairperson)
October 2023.
| Revenue account | 22/23 | 21/22 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Choir | Rehearsals | 6952 | 7401 |
| Music | -174 | -225 | |
| Subscriptions/Gift Aid | -10804 | -9811 | |
| Workshops | 2220 | 1742 | |
| Concerts | December | -37 | -162 |
| Usk | - | 216 | |
| Summer | 297 | 196 | |
| Chamber Choir | 61 | 60 | |
| Overheads | 214 | 313 | |
| Surplus for the year | -1270 | -270 |
| Balance sheet | 22/23 | 21/22 |
|---|---|---|
| Opening balance | 9210 | 8940 |
| Surplus for the year | 1270 | 270 |
| Closing balance | 10480 | 9210 |
| Represented by: | ||
| Cash - current account | 5586 | 4534 |
| Cash - deposit | 5030 | 5000 |
| Debtors/creditors | -136 | -324 |
| 22/23 | 21/22 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Music Director | 3040 | 3150 | |
| Accompanist | 2297 | 2376 | |
| School hall | 1615 | 1875 | |
| Workshops | 2220 | 1742 | |
| Music | 1053 | 1070 | |
| Subscriptions | -8998 | -8305 | |
| Gift Aid | -1806 | -1506 | |
| Music subs | -1227 | -1295 | |
| -1806 | -893 |
| Concerts | Gloria | Rossini |
|---|---|---|
| Music Director | 300 | 300 |
| Accompanists | 200 | 400 |
| Singers | 450 | 1000 |
| Hall | 270 | 300 |
| Publicity/programme | 49 | 44 |
| PRS/license | 89 | 89 |
| Other | 55 | 88 |
| Ticket sales | -1432 | -1848 |
| Refreshments (net) | -18 | -76 |
| -37 | 297 |
| Overheads | 22/23 | 21/22 |
|---|---|---|
| Making Music/insurance | 186 | 183 |
| Website | 103 | 103 |
| Other | 35 | 27 |
| Prior year adjustment | -80 | |
| Interest | -30 | |
| 214 | 313 |