## **Trustees' Annual Report for the period** ||Period start date|Period start date|||Period end date|Period end date|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**1**|**APRIL**|**2024**||**31**|**MARCH**|**2025**| |**From **||||**To**|||| Section A Reference and administration details > **Charity name THE SITAR MUSIC SOCIETY** ~~pO~~ **Other names charity is known by** > **Registered charity number (if any) 1170299** ~~——~~ > **Charity's principal address 93 EMPINGHAM DRIVE, LEICESTER** > **Postcode LE7 2DL** ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for**
**whole year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (if any)**| |---|---|---|---| |D. S. Dhadyalla|Chairman||| |Atul Patel|Treasurer||| |Anita Mistry|||| ||||| **Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)** **Name Dates acted if not for whole year** NONE ~~a~~ **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address NONE** ~~a~~ **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** **NONE – VOLUNTEERS ONLY** ~~OO~~ **Section B Structure, governance and management** **Description of the charity’s trusts** Type of governing document CONSTITUTION (eg. trust deed, constitution) How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company) CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION (CIO) Trustee selection methods - (eg. appointed by, elected by) Appointed By Governing Body CC Reg# 1170299 Page 1 of 5 ## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)** You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about: All Trustees give their time voluntarily and can receive reasonable expenses incurred in the course of their duties but do not receive any remuneration. A number of Volunteers help to programme, promote and run our events. Volunteers can receive reasonable expenses incurred in the course of their duties and may receive token honoraria for services rendered. - policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees; - the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works; - Declarations of Interests are made by Trustees and Volunteers, as - • relationship with any related applicable, and maintained in a register. Payments to one related - parties; party have been previously cleared with the Charity Commission. - • trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system SMS is a member of Making Music through which it has access to - and procedures to manage training resources, policies, and various insurances. - them. ## **Section C Objectives and activities** - (a) To advance, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the trustees see fit, including through the presentation of public concerts and recitals. - (b) To advance the education of all aspects of Indian classical - **Summary of the objects of the** music and dance, for the general public in Leicester and the **charity set out in its** United Kingdom. **governing document** (c) To create opportunities for teaching, mentoring, training, and gaining qualifications at all levels of sitar playing and related instruments. - (d) To promote excellence in all aspects of performance of the sitar and related instruments for UK-based musicians and the wider public. ||SMS has no staff or premises but relies on volunteers, and| |---|---| ||partnerships with established institutions. The programme is| ||carried out in hired premises, or volunteers’ homes, or the| |**Summary of the main**|premises of partner organisations.| |**activities undertaken for the**|| |**public benefit in relation to**
**these objects (include within**|In devising our programme of activities, we have had regard to the
Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. Our events are| |**this section the statutory**|open to the general public, and some are free. Partner| |**declaration that trustees have**|organisations are public bodies or charities or non-profits.| |**had regard to the guidance**|| |**issued by the Charity**
**Commission on public**
**benefit)**|We have an Artistic Policy and Strategy that informs each year’s
programme of events and performances. The Trustees have an
important role in maintaining artistic excellence. The Chairman is a| ||professional artist and educator of high standing. Other Trustees| ||and volunteers are also artists or have considerable knowledge,| ||experience and networks in their arts field.| CC Reg# 1170299 Page 2 of 5 Section D Achievements and performance ## **Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year** We are pleased to have maintained the momentum after last year’s emergence from the pandemic. In our 10[th] year, we presented the following events: |•|Baithak Series: A unique ‘Jugalbandi’ concert featuring ‘duets’ from| |---|---| ||emerging young musicians: Kaviraj Singh (santoor and vocal) with| ||Satwinder Pal Singh (sarangi), and Upneet Singh and Rajvir Singh on| ||tabla as accompanists, and soloists. Audience 65/70 (93% capacity).| |•|Our annual Homage to Gurus, Guru Purnima event featuring| ||performances from students of all ages and abilities, as we celebrate| ||the Guru-Shishya Parampara. Audience 33/40 (83% capacity).| |•|Our annual Diwali concert in partnership with Leicester Cathedral.| ||This year we were back in the Cathedral itself after several years of| ||repairs and improvements to the building in a wonderfully refurbished| ||church. We had great pleasure in presenting Debasmita Bhattacharya| ||on the sarod along with Pandit Sanju Sahai on the tabla (now based| ||in Leicestershire). Audience 116/145 (80% capacity).| |•|A rare opportunity to be able to present three events featuring| ||Dhrupad by the esteemed Pandit Uday Bhawalkar, in conjunction with| ||the Dhrupad Music Society and Darbar Leicester. He was| ||accompanied by Kirit Singh on vocals and Sardar Jasdeep Singh on| ||Jori. The concert attracted an audience of 78/100 (78% capacity); a| ||workshop for children at Leicester Namdhari Gurudwara (17/20) and| ||a workshop for adults at the Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre (21/21)| ||were held in conjunction with the Vocal Guru Smt. Gunwant Kaur.| |•|All our events attracted new audience members and workshop| ||participants from the general public. Over six events we attracted an| ||audience of 330 representing 84% capacity.| |Other notable developments:|| |•|We held our annual Tribute to Ustad Vilayat Khan in London under| ||the auspices of the London Sitar Academy at the Bhavan on 15| ||March 2025;| |•|We began collaborating with Darbar Leicester to bring more and| ||wider range of ICM for the Leicester and surrounding communities| ||and for mutual benefit in terms of information sharing, avoiding| ||programming clashes, and developing new initiatives;| |•|We worked in partnership with Sikh Lens to procure sponsorship for| ||their community arts and culture events.| |•|_We received and noted a declaration in respect of DMS sponsorship_| ||_received: Atulkumar Patel is a Trustee of DMS._| |We are grateful to Attenborough Arts Centre - we benefit greatly from|| |their unstinting support, and we are most grateful to them for being our|| |much-valued partner.|| |In addition, our thanks go to the Leicester Cathedral, Leicester Namdhari|| |Gurudwara, Smt. Gunwant Kaur and the Dhrupad Music Society. Most of|| |all, our grateful thanks to all our volunteers and musicians for their|| |enormous support over the year!|| CC Reg# 1170299 Page 3 of 5 ## **Section E Financial review** > **Brief statement of the** Income is sourced from charges for events, which are kept **charity’s policy on reserves** reasonable and affordable, and donations from companies and individuals. Some donations qualify for Gift Aid. SMS is registered with the HMRC for this purpose. We have a prudent financial strategy to ensure each event covers its costs and makes a small contribution to the overall surplus. We do not receive any other grants or public funding. We made a **modest surplus of £79** on the year’s activities. We pride ourselves in investing as much as possible in artis fees. A key metric is the proportion of Artists fees as a % of box office income, which was 86% over the year as a whole. The lowest proportion was for the Diwali concert (49%) due to additional costs arising from the Cathedral’s changed policy of charging us venue hire fees, and the need for external sound tech support. At the end of the year, SMS has **£14,741 in unrestricted reserves** . Reserves are presently maintained as a risk-buffer and for cash-flow management. Our aim was to grow it to £10k for these purposes, and to be able to provide match-funding in grant applications that we may choose to make in future. We are pleased to have achieved this goal. **Details of any funds materially** Not applicable. **in deficit** |**Further financial review details**
You**may choose**to include
additional information, where
relevant about:
•
the charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising);
•
how expenditure has
supported the key objectives
of the charity;
•
investment policy and
objectives including any
ethical investment policy
adopted.|**(Optional information)**| |---|---| ||Following last year’s major donation, the Board decided to open a
savings account with our bank, which yielded an additional income
of £349 in interest. Our policy is to keep at least £10,000 in the
savings account as a general reserve for unforeseen risks and
cash-flow management.
We pride ourselves in investing as much as possible in artis fees. A
key metric is the proportion of Artists fees as a % of box office
income, which was 86% over the year as a whole.
Without donations, gift aid and savings interest, we would have
been unable to mount this level of activity. Our grateful thanks to
our donors for their continuing support.| **Section F Other optional information** None CC Reg# 1170299 Page 4 of 5 **Section G Declaration** ~~a~~ **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** **----- Start of picture text -----**
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Dharambir S. Dhadyalla, MBE Atul Patel, MBE
ee
Position (eg Secretary,
Chairman Treasurer
Chair, etc) ee
Date
23 April 2025
|
**----- End of picture text -----**
CC Reg# 1170299 Page 5 of 5 |**Charity Name**|||**No (if any)**||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |**THE SITAR MUSIC SOCIETY**|||**1170299**||| |**Receipts andpayments accounts**|||||**CC16a**| |**For the period**
**from**|**01 April 2024**
Period start date|**To**|**31 March 2025**
Period end date||| |**Section A Receipts and payments**|| |---|---| |**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**Total funds**
**Last year**|| |**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**|| |**A1 Receipts**|| |DONATIONS
**2,685**
**-**
**-**
**2,685**
**7,293**
BOX OFFICE
**4,696**
**-**
**-**
**4,696**
**2,963**
GIFT AID
**209**
**-**
**-**
**209**
**-**
PARTNERSHIP FUNDING
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
OTHER
**1**
**-**
**-**
**1**
**-**
Savings Account Interest
**349**
**-**
**-**
**349**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_**7,940**
**-**
**-**
**7,940**
**10,255**
~~=== ===~~|| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Total receipts_**
**7,940**
**-**
**-**
**7,940**
**10,255**
~~——————~~|| |**A3 Payments**
VENUE HIRE,PR & TECH FEES
**1,444**
**-**
**-**
**1,444**
**187**
ARTISTS FEES
**4,052**
**-**
**-**
**4,052**
**2,103**
ARTISTS T&S
**345**
**-**
**-**
**345**
**67**
INSURANCES
**270**
**-**
**-**
**270**
**158**
OTHER/WEBSITE COSTS
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Marketing& Printing
**0**
**-**
**-**
**0**
**65**
Grantsgiven
**1,520**
**-**
**-**
**1,520**
**-**
Website Costs
**230**
**-**
**-**
**230**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ 7,861**
**-**
**-**
**7,861**
**2,580**
~~22-5~~|| |**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Total payments_**
**7,861**
**-**
**-**
**7,861**
**2,580**
~~———————~~|| |**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**79**
**-**
**-**
**79**
**7,676**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**14,662**
**- -**
**14,662**
**6,986**
**_Cash funds this year end_**
**14,741**
**-**
**- 14,741**
**14,662**
**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
~~_—_—_—_—_~~|**676**
**6,986**
**14,662**| |**Unrestricted**
**Restricted funds**
**Endowment**|| |**Categories**
**funds**
**funds**
**Details**|| |**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**|| |**4,392**
**-**
**-**
**10,349**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**14,741**
**-**
**-**
**_Total cash funds_**
Current Account
Savings Account
**B1 Cash funds**
~~<==~~|| OK OK OK (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) CC Reg# 1170299 25/05/2025 1 **Unrestricted Restricted funds Endowment funds funds** **Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ B2 Other monetary assets - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -** ~~—=——~~ **Fund to which asset Current value Cost (optional) Details belongs (optional) B3 Investment assets - - - - - - - - - -** ~~ne~~ **Fund to which asset Current value Cost (optional) Details belongs (optional) B4 Assets retained for the - - charity’s own use - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -** ~~ese~~ **Fund to which Amount due When due Details liability relates (optional) (optional) B5 Liabilities - - - - -** Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name Date of approval _**ATUL PATEL, TREASURER 23-Apr-25**_ ~~———~~ 2 25/05/2025 CC Reg# 1170299