2022-08-31-accounts

Dark Peak Music - Accounts 2021-2022 -Summary

INCOME		Young Players		DPLO	Total
Earned Income
	Suscriptions Total	13,958	Subscriptions	3,552	17,510
	Ticket Sales	3,994	Ticket Sales	900	4,894
	Projects	441			441
Merchandise	Refreshments	5	Refreshments	186	191
FundingBodies	Grants	16,930			16,930
	Donations	953	Donations	700	1,653
Other	Trip	35,499			35,499
	Gift Aid	3,223	Gift Aid	701	3,924
	Fundraising	299			299
	Theory	1,266			1,266
	Dalcroze	816			816
	Minimusic	1,503			1,503
	Misc/Float	3,087	Misc/Float	30	3,117
TOTAL INCOME		81,974		6,069	88,043
					-
EXPENDITURE					-
Artistic					-
	Fees Total	25,411	Fees Total	2,490	27,901
	Music/Equipment Total	2,042			2,042
Production					-
	Venue Hire total	6,091	Venue Hire total	1,020	7,111
	Refreshments	9	Refreshments	131	140
	Other eg. Van	70			70
Marketing	Brochure/Web	257			257
Administration	Fees - Administrator	3,000			3,000
	Bank	348			348
	Office expenses	460			460
	Expenses(Refreshments / Gifts)	219			219
	Misc./Float	68			68
	Trip	52,094			52,094
	Misc./Float 2	2,984	Misc./Float	1,430	4,414
TOTAL EXPENDITURE		93,052		5,071	98,124
OpeningBalance		39,651		1,400	41,051
ClosingBalance		28,572		2,398	30,970
Surplus/(Deficit)		(11,079)		998	(10,081)
Check: Inc- Exp		(11,079)		998	(10,081)
	Income Total 81,974 Income Trip 35,499 Income minus trip 46,475 Exptotal 93,052 Exptrip 52,094 Exp minus trip 40,959 Balance excluding trip 5,516
Excluding trip note	Income Total	81,974
	Income Trip	35,499
	Income minus trip	46,475
	Exptotal	93,052
	Exptrip	52,094
	Exp minus trip	40,959
	Balance excluding trip	5,516

Commentary

Dark Peak Music Foundation's Expenditure for 2021-2022 is shown in the spreadsheet above.

The Accounts are segmented into the Youth and Adult wings of the organisation, and there is no cross-subsidy betwenn the two parts.

DPLO is self-sufficient now, showing a surplus of £998 over the year, with expenditure of £5,071 on Artistic fees and Venue Hire. Misc Income/expenditure relates to small items and transfers between accounts. DPLO is funded entirely from members' subscriptions, donations and concert income.

The Youth Wing, the larger part of the organisation, shows expenditure of £93,502 over the year, more than half of which (£52,094) was for our bi-ennial trip abroad. This trip was delayed due to Covid, so payments totalling £16,595, made by students in previous years were carried forward in the openng balance.

Income was largely from Subscriptons (£13,958) and Grants (£16,930.) We are , as ever, grateful to Derbyshire Music Education Hub for our core funding, and this year to Tameside Action Together for supporting our Music in the Community Programme.

Other than the trip, expenditure was largely on Artistic Fees (£25,411) and Venue Hire (£6,091). Other items of expenditure shown in the spreadsheet include Administrator Fee (£3,000) . Misc Income/Expenditure relates to small items and transfers between accounts

The in-year deficit of £11,079 becomes a surplus of £5,516 when the carry forward of trip monies is taken into account.

Please note we are still waiting for auditor to send in report.

Will send revised version when they do

Thank you

A Zuntz Chair 20/6/23

Principal Musical Director’s Review of the Year October 2022

We reach the end of our first complete and un-interrupted year since the pandemic and it’s great to see how well all our ensembles are doing. It is in no small part down to our maxim of flexibility and positive thinking through the pandemic, coupled with an extraordinary effort by our team of directors, that we have not lost any players and indeed have even been able to grow our numbers. The Concert Band in particular has bounced back as strong, if not stronger than ever. The year concluded with the concert tour to Spain , which must go down as one of the highest points in our history. With 68 young musicians and 6 staff crammed onto a bus for 30 hours we gave three concerts in stunning venues, receiving standing ovations at all three performances. The trip has bonded the ensemble socially and musically and we are well-placed now to enter both the Intermediate and Concert Band for the National Concert Band Festival and National Festival of Music for Youth.

I’d like to start with a massive thankyou to all involved in making last year a success. Our brilliant and creative team of directors and teachers, including all the extended family of instrumental tutors in the area, our steadfast team of Trustees and of course our parent helpers. But I must give a special mention to three key figures, our amazing Chair, Andy Zuntz, our Vice-Chair Emma Blaney (who has spearheaded the community orchestra) and our Treasurer Clare Hennessey, who has been so efficient with everything. I’d also like to extend many thanks on behalf of us all to Carole Reed who is stepping down as a Trustee after many years. Carole has been a tremendous support, always willing to turn out and help in any way possible.

As we start another year it feels very much as though we are entering a new era. Speaking to the young people they have a very strong sense of ownership and a real feeling of belonging to Dark Peak. There is an air of optimism and a sense of pride and identity which I think is the mark of a successful organization.

Over the last year we have added two new strands to our activities, the Community Orchestra which has already attracted 40 players and continues to grow, playing music to a standard that I never dreamed we would in the first year. Also we have the new Mini-Music classes for toddlers and parents run by Helen Parkes, and soon to add a new group for babies. We hope this will in time create a pathway through to Supertonics and then onward to instrumental learning, with “Gateway” instrumental lessons hopefully starting very soon. Our strategy is to develop all possible access routes to instrumental learning rather than relying solely on the whole-class primary school route. Both projects are independently financed as they do not involve young people in full-time education.

This year we are also introducing a community music programme which will involve small ensembles taking music into a variety of social and care settings outside the normal performance space. These will include projects for elderly people, people with dementia, children with autism and ADHD, people with sight-loss, a youth club in Gamesley and a host of other settings. There will be a total of nine projects, each tailored to the individual groups and led by one of our team of professional directors. The project is funded through Tameside Health Authority through a scheme called Action Together and is being planned in association with Glossop Bureau (which coordinates all sorts of social and well-being activities in the area).

Connected with this is our flagship project for the year, the formation of a new Youth Choir . Under the expert direction of professional opera singer Claire Surman, with Emma Dixon as project director and Rachel Steadman as accompanist, the venture is funded by Platform 3 (Buxton Festival and Opera House education and outreach programme), Derbyshire Music Partnership and through the Action Together programme. Phase one will see a series of workshops in schools leading to a sharing event and a Christmas Tea-Party for elderly people and people from the Sight Loss Group. In the Spring term it will meet weekly in preparation for a performance in the Octagon Concert in April. The choir will initially be open to children from ages 9 to 13.

Looking forward to the general strategy for next year, we would like to continue our focus on both quantity and quality , building our numbers and also looking at every aspect of our musical and social delivery, as well as our governance and marketing.

With our Project 201 we have set ourselves the ambitious target of getting our membership over 200 for the first time. This will give us an entirely new economy of scale, attracting a substantially higher level of funding, which will open up many possibilities to offer an even richer experience for our players and to develop new strategies for further development.

In terms of our practical planning we would like to increase and strengthen our pool of parents and supporters, forming the Dark Peak Action Team to help at events, eg. with the transportation of equipment, setting up, clearing up and front of house duties. If anyone can volunteer for this please do come forward as it is a crucial role, particularly for our larger and more ambitious events – many hands make light work.

Another area of our management which we would like to strengthen is our social media and press presence. Again we would love to hear from anyone who could take on a role in either or both of these areas.

Our ensembles are all run by professionals with a vast pool of backgrounds and experience, and I believe we have exactly the right balance of skills for each level. Our introductory groups aim primarily to build confidence and enjoyment in playing together, with music and games that focus on the most basic skills. At the other end of the learning curve with the senior ensembles we aim to select rewarding and often quite demanding repertoire, reflecting on what the group needs to develop their musicianship to the highest level. As Directors we are also in many ways challenging ourselves as well as the players, questioning our own assumptions and expectations of what we think they can achieve and trying to develop our own skills to help them as much as we can.

To strike a word of caution, we are strong and confident at the moment, but we will inevitably feel the shockwaves of the pandemic in a couple of years when there may be a drop-off in numbers and a gap in standards. Some children have been unsettled by the experience of the lockdown and I suspect the effects may continue to ripple for some years in a drop in confidence and less willingness to engage in activities. Many may be nervous about their academic exam prospects after two years of disruption to their education and may drop out of extra-curricular activities. I hope they won’t, and we should do all we can to encourage them to continue their creative and social activities. The evidence is that these things actually help to reduce stress and achieve better in academic studies. The financial climate may also have some impact on people’s willingness to pay for music, although hopefully this won’t have too much impact. We have a bursary scheme, but we may need to make this more generous in the future. We must always be aware of the tides. We can plan ahead, redoubling our efforts to introduce more children to music lessons, expanding all first access avenues and steering children onto the full range of instruments so we have complete groups and can continue providing full ensemble experience.

I hope that over the next year we can continue to build the opportunities for children to play music in this area, and that everyone will feel that they have a role in the bigger picture. Whether you are close family (ie. directing ensembles or leading projects for DPMF), the extended family of tutors working in the area, parents of children or players in the groups we want everyone to feel part of this very big musical family and to have a stake in its ongoing success.

To conclude I just wanted to share some of the moving comments we received from leavers this year who have said how important Dark Peak has been to them through their childhood. At the final concert in Spain there was a palpable emotion as several players gave their last official concert with us. I thought I would share just a few of the quotes from the card they gave us: “It has helped shape me into the player and person I am”, “I wouldn’t be who I am without it”, “It has been a lifeline for me”, “It has created many of my best memories and friendships”, “It is a special place”.

That card will certainly have a special place on our shelves and in our hearts.

Jeff Snowdon

25[th] September 2022