## GERMAN CHOIR OF LONDON
Charity Number: 1162894
## Board of Trustees Annual Report 2022
## **Content and Purpose of Annual Report**
This report summarises the work of the Board of Trustees of the German Choir of London (“the Choir”), including changes to the Board and key achievements. It serves to inform all associate members of the Choir of the work going on ‘behind the scenes’ to create transparency and a sense of ownership. The summary is based on the minutes kept of all Trustee meetings. Any associate member can request to view the meeting minutes (written in English) by emailing any Trustee at any time. Associate members are also permitted to attend the Board Meetings upon request. This is the 8th summary report since the registration of the Choir as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2015.
Period covered Author January – December 2022 Elisabeth Minkner
## **Content**
1. Main choir events in the reporting period
2. Changes to the Board of Trustees in the reporting period
3. Summary of the activities of the Board of Trustees in the reporting period
4. Summary of the Annual General Meeting of Associate Members
5. Financial Summary
6. Acknowledgements
7. Upcoming concerts and events currently planned for 2023
## **1. Main choir events in the reporting period**
## **St Matthew/Sophie Scholl Passion**
## **17 March 2022 at Southwark Cathedral, London**
## **19 March 2022 at Coventry Cathedral**
These 2 concerts presented J.S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion interspersed with texts by and about Sophie Scholl, a key member of the German resistance, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth. The choir was joined by an orchestra, soloists, actors and the Coventry Cathedral Choir, and the concert was sponsored by BayernLB and Schroeder Bank. This was the biggest and most innovative project the choir has undertaken in its 13 year history and received an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience, participants and on social media. Especially given the challenges posed by the still lingering Covid pandemic, it was bordering on a miracle and to no small extent due to the hard work of the board of trustees that both concerts went ahead as planned.
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## **15 July 2022 – A Cappella Summer Concert at St. Mary-at-Hill**
Concert of full choir and solo ensemble choral works by Bach, Rheinberger, Schubert and Mahler
## **2 September 2022 – Beethoven 9[th] Symphony at the Proms**
Members of the Choir were part of Chineke! Voices to perform Beethoven’s 9[th] Symphony (Choral) with the Chineke! Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall
## **23 October 2022 – Mass at German Catholic Church St. Boniface**
## **28 October 2022 - The Lethal Requiem at St. Mary-at- Hill**
Mozart Requiem (accompanied by Organ) and selection of Corona Commissions (Stephens, Cryne, McKevitt).
The concert theme ‘Fear’ was given expression by performing in near darkness and an actress narrating the story of the Mozart Requiem from the view point of Mozart’s wife Constanze.
## **27 November 2022 – Advent service at Christuskirche Knightsbridge**
Mendelssohn Christus and Vom Himmel Hoch
## **3 December 2022 – Carol Singing at German YMCA**
## **13/15 December 2022 – Carol Singing at Tube Stations for Charity**
## **Throughout the year:**
Solo ensemble rehearsals for Summer concert
Voice coaching sessions (open to all members)
## **2. Changes to the Board of Trustees in the reporting period**
Melanie Allmendinger - Chair of the Board of Trustees (resigned 6 December 2022)
Richard Loeser – treasurer Rebecca Dittrich – communication, new members
Christian Anders - events coordinator
Susanne Thiele - marketing, minutes, concert programmes, newsletters (paused Aug-Oct 2022) Dagmar Gauweiler (appointed 6 December 2022)
Elisabeth Minkner (appointed 6 December 2022)
## **3. Summary of Trustee work in the reporting period**
## **Trustee Meetings in 2022 (zoom unless stated otherwise):**
23 January 3 August 11 March 10 September (in person) 9 June 14 October 6 July 30 November
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The focus of the trustees in the first quarter of the year was meeting the unprecedented challenge of preparing for the Sophie Scholl passion concert planned for March 2022 whilst at the same time managing the response to the continuing Covid pandemic.
Following the very successful March concerts, the trustees focussed on planning the rest of the year’s concerts.
To prepare for the planned resignation of the Chair from the board by the end of the year, the board recruited two new trustees who were officially appointed during the December AGM but already attended meetings and took on work throughout the year.
In September the trustees met in person including a workshop to set the priorities for the 2[nd] half of the year. Focus areas were how better to communicate with and involve members and section leaders to spread the workload of organising the choir activities.
## **Social media activities**
2022 social media posts drew attention to upcoming concerts and new member recruitment by using various hashtags such as #MeetTheChoir; #schollpassion including 8 videos posts; questionnaire on favourite Christmas carol.
## **4. Summary of the Annual General Meeting of Associate Members**
## **6 December 2022, 19.30 Christuskirche Knightsbridge**
Full General Meeting of Associate Members (AGM) was was held to conclude the year 2022 and attended by 34 Associate Members. The choir approved the work of the Trustees and new members of the Board, elected section leaders for 2023, and discussed a number of ideas relating to rehearsals and the running of the choir. Minutes of this meeting are available (in English). The main agenda items were:
- Update by Trustees (see above section 3)
- Update by the Musical Director (see above section 1 and below section 7)
- Election of section leaders (see below)
- Approval of Board of Trustees
- Questions by and discussion with choir members
Section leaders were elected as follows:
- Soprano: 1.Margarethe Falk 2.Nathalie Nötzold
- Alto: 1. Charlotte MacDonald, 2. Renate Kemp
- Tenor: 1. Eckart Marchant, 2.Richard Boeckel (Acting Stimmführer Januar bis April 2023: Richard Loeser)
- Bass: 1. Michael Erras, 2. Ben Krueger
Approval of Board of Trustees by members and updates: All trustees were approved and (re-)elected. See section 2 above for details.
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## **5. Financial Summary**
Please see separate document for details.
- Receipts this year were £38,213, of which £13,204 associate membership fees, £10,686 ticket sales income and a grant of £14,000 from the BayernLB (see below).
- Payments in 2022 year were £56,483, of which £15,470 fees for the Musical Director, £1,910 fees for other conductors, £24,901 instrumentalist and soloist hire fees, £8,130 venue hire fee and £5,112 other concert and marketing expenses.
- In 2022 there was no increase in the associate membership fee, which thus was held at £20 per month (£10 discount for students and singers without regular income).
- At the end of the prior year 2021 the choir had £36,613 of savings which included a donation of £15,000 by Schroeder Bank. This donation and the above mentioned grant of £14,000 from the BayernLB substantially funded the St. Matthew Passion/Sophie Scholl project in March 2022.
- • At the end of 2022 the choir had savings of £18,343.
- During the year the choir had approximately 50 active fee paying members.
- Solo ensemble, section and voice coaching rehearsals will continue to be financed by the whole choir as these contribute to the quality of the choir as a whole.
## **6. Acknowledgements**
Aside from the Trustees, several associate members have significantly contributed to the development of the choir during 2022 as volunteers which we wish to acknowledge:
- Margarete Falk: prepares the attendance register and reviews attendance
- Uta Bergner-Sington: responsible for ordering the music for the choir and providing midi files which help the members rehearsing at home
- Julia Jennings/Jenny Eckner/Charlotte McDonough: social media posts
- Luke Nicholson: help with creating new website
- Nathalie Nötzold/Amadea Heitmann: section leader soprano
- Marianne Rencken/Elisabeth Minkner: section leader alto
- Eckart Marchand/Felix Richter: section leader tenor
- Paul Dichtl / Michael Erras: section leader bass
- Renate Kemp: pianist for St. Matthew Passion rehearsals
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## **7. Upcoming concerts and events currently planned for 2023**
18 March 2023 – Coronation Concert at St Pancras Church London
22 April 2023 – Coronation Concert at St … Berlin
21 May 2023 – Service at Christuskirche Knightsbridge (Mendelssohn Denn er hat seinen Engeln) 28 May 2023 – Choral Evensong at St Albans
16 July 2023 – A Grand Night for Singing at Upstairs at the Gatehouse Highgate
18 September 2023 – Tag der deutschen Einheit at German Embassy London
25 September 2023 – Choral Evensong at St Pauls
18 November 2023 – Come and Sing Day at St Boniface German Catholic Church East London
5 December 2023 – Deutsche Handelskammer Christmas Party
10 December 2023 – Bach Weihnachtsoratorium at St Lawrence Jewry London
12 December 2023 – AGM
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GERMAN CHOIR OF LONDON (CHARITY NUMBER 1162894)
Accounts For the year ended 31 December 2022
6
GERMAN CHOIR OF LONDON Receipt and Expenditure account
for the year ended 31 December 2022
|Receipts
Member subscriptions
General donations
Grant income
Concert ticket sales
Interest income
Payments
Conductors fees & rehearsals
Venue hire
Instrumentalists & soloists
Marketing, event & other expenses
Accountancy fees
Expenses
Total expenses
(Shortfall)/surplus of receipts over expenditure
Unrestricted fund:
At 1 January
(Shortfall)/surplus of receipts over expenditure
At 31 December|2022
2021
£
£
13,204
7,711
302
5,390
14,000
-
10,686
98
21
4|
|---|---|
||38,213
13,203|
||17,380
8,781
8,130
360
24,901
200
5,112
2,361
960
900|
||56,483
12,602|
|||
||56,483
12,602|
|||
||(18,270)
601|
||36,613
36,012
(18,270)
601|
||18,343
36,613|
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GERMAN CHOIR OF LONDON Balance Sheet As at 31 December
|Notes
£
Current assets
Cash at bank and in hand
18,343
Net current assets
Net assets
Unrestricted fund:
Fund balance
2
Total funds|2022
£
£
36,613
18,343
18,343
18,343
18,343|2021
£
36,613|
|---|---|---|
|||36,613|
|||36,613|
|||36,613|
Signed by two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Signature:
Print name: RICHARD LOESER
Date: 30/10/2023
Signature:
Print name: ELISABETH MINKNER
Date: 30/10/2023
8
CHARITY IOMM15510N
OR F,IGLAND ,IfilL
Independent examinerfs report on the
accounts
vklLLS
Section A
Independent Examiner"s Report
Report to the trustees
GERMAN CHOIR OF LONtX)N
On accounts for the year
ended
Charity no
(if any)
1162894
Set out on pages
I rewt to the trustees cffi my examinat*Jn of the accounts ofthe atrfe
charity (Ihe Trusn fTh-the year ended 31112r2022.
Responsibilities and
basi5 of report
As the thatitys trustees, you are responsible for the prepar8tw)n of the
accounts in a(rdan wÈth the requirements of the CharrtEs Act 2011
(he W.
I rept in respect of my examination ofthe Trusys accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination. I
have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Chartty CommiSs)n
under sedion 145(5)(b) of the ACL
Independent I have c£rfnpleted my examinat¥)n. I confimi that no material matters have
examinerfs statement come to my attention in connection wilh the examination vthich gives me
cause to believe that in. any material peCt.
the accourrting records were not in ordan wilh section 130
of the Charities Act" or
the accounts did not accord with the acctyjnling records,. or
the accounts did not comply wrth the applicable requirements
conMIng the form and content of a¢counls set out in the Charities
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement
that the w)unts give a In and fail view which ts not a matter
conshgered as part of an independerrt examination.
I have no c()nM$ armd have ¢J)me across no other matters in connection
with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in
order to enab a proFEr understanding of the accx)unts to be reached.
Signed:
2* October 2023
Name:
Dr Michael Erras
Relevant professional
qualifi&*ion(s) or body
(rf any):
nla
Address:
78 Engadine Street
London SW18 5DA
IER
Oct 2018
Section B
Disclosure
Onty ¢omWe rf the examiner rEeds to hpJhlvJht material matters of cOnM
(see CC32, Indewdent examinalion of charity accounts: directb)ns and
guidance for examiners).
Give here brief detsils of
any iterns that the
examiner $heS to
disclose.
IER
Oct 2018