THE CARICE SINGERS
Registered Charity Number 1170689
TRUSTEES’S REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021
CONTENTS
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisers
Trustees’ report
Independent examiner’s report
Statement of financial activities
Balance sheet
Statement of cash flows
Notes to the financial statements
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
Trustees
D M GRIMLEY D HODGES C KING G PARRIS P SPICER J SYNGE M TATTERSALL
Charity registered number
1170689
Charity registered address
Fexloe House, Main Street, Oxhill, Warwickshire, CV35 0QR
Charity staff
George Parris – Artistic Director Jacob Ewens – Projects Administrator
Honorary Treasurer
James Synge
Independent examiner
John McKail
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THE CARICE SINGERS
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
The trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements of the charity comply with the current statutory requirements for charities. The financial statements have been reviewed by an Independent Examiner as required by statute.
Objectives and Activities
a. Policies and objectives
The objectives of the charity are for the public benefit:
To advance the education of the public in the arts and in particular the art of choral music by British composers of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
Mission Statement
The Carice Singers exists to connect music to people of all ages and backgrounds through its performances, recordings, and outreach work throughout the UK and beyond, often visiting less familiar venues. Named after Elgar’s daughter, the charity is committed to promoting curiosity and appreciation for its ever widening repertoire among audiences and performers alike while also supporting the early careers of the young professional musicians it engages. The charity strives for the highest artistic calibre in all its work, and is proud to be gaining a reputation for imaginative concert programmes.
Background
The Carice Singers is emerging as one of the most distinctive professional vocal ensembles in the UK, defined by its unique sound and imaginative choice of repertoire. Founded in 2011, the ensemble began life giving concerts in Cotswold churches and focusing on the choral music of Edward Elgar, naming itself after the composer’s daughter and only child. Securing a contract with the Naxos label in 2013 for a three-part series of CD recordings gave the ensemble new momentum and confidence to develop ambitious artistic projects while also remaining loyal to audiences based in rural areas of the UK.
Since 2018, the choir has accepted invitations to perform at prestigious UK music festivals including Cheltenham Music Festival and the Oxford Lieder Festival and to record its chosen repertoire for the BBC Music Magazine . At the same time, the charity has undertaken its own special projects aimed at enchanting and inspiring audiences as well as developing the skills and professionalism of its members. Partly through the diverse and far-reaching interests of Artistic Director, George Parris, cultivated during his time at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, The Carice Singers now occupies a unique space among the UK’s professional vocal ensembles as it strategically presents its specialist repertoire within a wider artistic arena, taking listeners on journeys that forge poetic links across nations and centuries.
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THE CARICE SINGERS
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
b. Strategies for achieving objectives
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To inspire our audiences with work of the highest artistic calibre
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To provide our audiences with pre-concert talks and workshops which contextualise our chosen repertoire and encourage them to draw their own interpretations from the music
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To cultivate new audiences for choral music by undertaking our work in an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere
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To undertake projects which enable the ensemble to travel out of the metropolis and bring our performances to areas of the UK that normally do not have access to a high level of music-making
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To support the artistic and professional development of young freelance musicians by securing performances at prestigious venues and festivals and by creating artistically demanding programmes within a supportive atmosphere
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To develop an ethical and environmentally sound approach to all aspects of our work
c. Main activities undertaken to further the charity’s purposes for the public benefit
The Trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing their aims and objectives and planning future activities. Below is a record of the public benefit activities for 2021.
The Carice Singers undertook 10 public engagements in its tenth anniversary year, including a week-long residency at the Cheltenham Music Festival. During the first part of the year any form of artistic planning remained virtually impossible, and many Spring events were automatically postponed to the autumn or beyond. Once the UK Government announced its plans for a ‘road map’ out of lockdown, the first engagements were scheduled for the end of May to coincide with the easing of Covid restrictions. While some events, such as a debut concert at Kings Place, were added with only 2 months to go before the concert, the charity’s approach was still one of optimistic caution for the remainder of the year.
The charity’s first action of 2021 was to revive a previously derailed project ‘’Tis Nature’s Voice’. The first performance took place in St Mary’s Church, Richmond, for Richmond Concert Society, on 25th May and then two concerts were given back-to-back at St James’ Church, Chipping Campden, to allow for greater audience numbers in a safer environment.
The charity then organised a performance of ‘Nordic Reflections’ at Kings Place on 3rd June, featuring choral songs by Elgar and Sibelius. Audience capacity was set at 33%.
A long-term plan to be Ensemble in Residence at Cheltenham Music Festival between 3rd - 9th July was realised. On 3rd July the choir gave the world premiere of its tenth anniversary commission, ‘Songs of Travel’ by Matthew Whittall, in a concert with a theme of travel and migration. George Parris led a guided ramble of the Highnam Estate, once home to the composer Hubert Parry, and then at short notice the choir took part in the Classical Mixtape event in Gloucester Cathedral where it gave the premiere of Lillie Harris’ piece ‘The dusk of thee’.
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THE CARICE SINGERS
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
8 Singers and George Parris stayed on for a week to participate in Composer Academy, where works by Aileen Sweeney, James Batty, Will Harmer, Electra Perivolaris, Claire Victoria Roberts, and Michele Deiana were workshopped under the tutelage of course director Daniel Kidane. The six new works were then premiered to an audience of industry specialists at the Composium in the Pittville Pump Rooms on Friday 9th July.
In early September the choir gave two tenth anniversary concerts under the title ‘A Bridge of Song’. The first took place at the Newbury Autumn Festival and the second at the Church of Holy Sepulchre in London. This time, Matthew Whittall was able to be there in person to hear two live performances of his ‘Songs of Travel’.
The charity was then due to give two Christmas concerts, one in aid of The London and Slough Run at Eton College Chapel, and the other for Leamington Music, but in the end only the one in Leamington went ahead due to an increasing concern in rising covid cases.
In 2021, the charity engaged 25 early-career freelance singers. The singers were required to rehearse and perform challenging repertoire from many different nations and centuries, to work in the Finnish and Swedish languages, to negotiate, interpret and communicate complex poetry and subtextual meanings, and use all their technical-vocal skills while also bouncing back from a devastating pandemic. For the 8 singers who participated in the Composer Academy, furthermore, there was the constant pressure of interpreting and performing unseen material to a high artistic standard while constantly in the public eye. They were also asked to give direct feedback to composers and voice their own opinions to industry professionals during the concluding Composium event.
The charity continued to employ its members of staff, George Parris, and Jacob Ewens, throughout the year without any assistance from the UK Government’s Furlough scheme.
Achievements and performance
a. Key financial performance indicators
The accounts are prepared on the accepted basis of receipts and payments. The overall cash flow was £728 positive, on a total income of £47,202. This compares with £6,111 and £26,059 respectively in the prior year. The onset of Covid-19 in 2020 was less “damaging” in 2021, with
Income received from music festivals and music venues/societies remains a core element of the charity’s financial stability. In 2021, this figure made up 56% of total income. Ticket income made up 9% of total income this year. Donations given by individuals or Trusts and Foundations supported 39% of the charity’s total income, bringing in a total of 18,229 (without Gift Aid).
In terms of expenditure total direct costs of all events were 84% of total expense. Singers’ fees alone were 67%. In 2020 these were 78% and 58% respectively.
For the detailed financial statements please see the end of this report.
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THE CARICE SINGERS
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
Review of activities
2021 was a generally very successful year for the The Carice Singers, not only in comparing its achievements and performance to previous years, but also in the way that it was able to return to some degree of normality in its activities from May onwards, support a good number of early-career musicians, and even open up new possibilities of artistic scope from the perspective of what has already been achieved over the past 10 years.
The charity achieved a number of milestones, including a sold-out debut concert at a prestigious central London Venue, a productive residency at a major summer music festival, and the commissioning of an extended new work for its tenth anniversary which it performed to live audiences on three separate occasions.
The above increases in the level of activity, together with the support received from individuals or Trusts and Foundations not only provided vital security to the year as a whole but also gave considerable encouragement to future planning.
One area in which the charity’s impact fell short was the number of audience members attending a number of key concerts, and therefore the potential for our activities to benefit a significant number of the general public. In some cases this was due to actual restrictions on capacity, and in others a sudden post-lockdown flurry in the number of events together with a remaining caution surrounding the attending of public events increased competition with ticket sales suffering as a result. However, some of it may be attributed to limits on the amount of marketing able to be done in the run up to events and less than the preferred amount of visibility more generally.
Membership and Support
The Carice Singers is enormously grateful to its many Friends, Benefactors and other donors whose support is vital to realising artistic ambitions and helping to secure the future. In 2021, the number of our supporters was 53.
Along with donations from individuals, we are extremely grateful to the Trusts and Foundations who supported the charity in 2021.
b. Investment policy and performance
Under the Charity’s Constitution the charity has the power to invest in any way the Trustees see fit.
The charity has so far not made any major investments nor does it plan to in the foreseeable future.
Financial Review
a. Going concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the
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THE CARICE SINGERS
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
financial statements.
b. Financial risk management objectives and policies
The financial objective of The Carice Singers is to raise sufficient annual income to cover the expenditure of the year whilst generating surplus funds to maintain reserves at levels which match potential future liabilities and risk so that the financial viability of the charity is assured.
The charity aims to spread financial risk across the main sources of income including performance fees, ticket sales, philanthropic donations, and money from Trusts and Foundations. The charity continues to regularly review its plans to increase these levels of income, across all main sources, as well as further economising on expenditure where possible.
c. Principal risks and uncertainties
The principal risks facing The Carice Singers include:
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The expense of putting on events and making recordings, especially in high-profile or metropolitan venues, and the accompanying costs involved with being an emerging vocal ensemble which is larger than most others (e.g. singers’ fees, transportation, accommodation)
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Financial uncertainty related to Brexit particularly with regard to the impact on securing engagements in Europe (which are often more financially generous than in the UK) as well the impact on financial support from individual donors
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Financial uncertainty related to the COVID-19 Pandemic with regard to the restrictions and continued caution or volatility preventing the charity’s activities from taking place (either as a whole or in their fully realised versions) and the general recovery of the cultural sector as a whole
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Competition from other arts organisations, in particular professional vocal ensembles, that could impact the number of engagements, donations, ticket sales, and the availability of musicians
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Practicalities of working with musicians at the beginning of their careers, with regard to the prospect of financial strains and or other professional hardships facing these persons, made all the more uncertain by the recent volatility of the cultural section in general.
d. Reserves policy
Reserves are generally no more or less than the bank and cash balance. As such these funds are not restricted and for the use of the charity as working capital. If funds have been received as donations for specific purposes, then such amounts will be shown in the accounts as used or held as restricted.
e. Principal funding
The principal funding sources for the charity include a) funds received from music festivals or music venues/societies who wish to engage the charity for a performance for an agreed
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THE CARICE SINGERS
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
amount b) revenue collected as ticket of CD sales which comes from the general public at the charity’s own events c) donations given by individuals or Trusts and Foundations d) Gift Aid received as a result of these donations.
Structure, governance and management
a. Constitution
The Charity, also referred to as ‘the Charity’ is registered as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) whose only voting members are its charity trustees.The Charity was incorporated on 12 December 2016 and commenced trading on that date. The principal objects of the CIO are for the public benefit: to advance the education of the public in the arts and in particular the art of choral music by British composers of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.
b. Method of appointment or election of Trustees
The management of the Charity is the responsibility of the Trustees who are responsible for the appointment or election of new Trustees under the terms of the Constitution.
c. Policies adopted for the induction and training of Trustees
New Trustees receive a copy of the current version of the Constitution as well as a copy of the Charity’s latest Trustees’ Annual Report and statement of accounts before his or her first appointment or trustees’ meeting. Thereafter, the new trustee is introduced to key employees and other Trustees and is invited to upcoming performances given by the charity.
d. Organisational structure and decision making
The Trustees are responsible for the overall governance of the charity and all key decisions affecting direction of the charity. The Board of Trustees delegates the day to day management of the charity to the charity staff members including the Artistic Director, Projects Administrator, and the Treasurer.
e. Pay policy for staff
The remuneration of staff is reviewed annually by the Board of Trustees and is kept in line with other similar arts organisations.
f. Connected persons
In his role as Artistic Director, George Parris receives artistic fees from each engagement as well as a small stipend as agreed by the trustees and as per clause 6. 2. a. of the Charity Constitution.
g. Trustees’ indemnities
If the CIO is wound up, the charity trustees have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.
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THE CARICE SINGERS
TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
Plans for future periods
Following a review of staffing and work loads, the charity plans to employ a third member of staff on a freelance basis from the beginning of 2022. This new member of staff will be mainly responsible for the coordinating and developing the charity’s marketing and communications, however they may also become involved in other areas of the charity’s operations as per their specific skill set.
Artistic plans include a UK tour of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams to mark the composer’s 150th anniversary. As part of this, the choir will be looking to feature and raise awareness of composers whom Vaughan Williams taught, mentored and promoted during his lifetime. These include Ina Boyle, Jane Joseph, Gustav Holst, Imogen Holst, Elizabeth Maconchy and Michael Tippett.
The charity will also be looking to connect Vaughan Williams’ output to wider European musical trends. In May 2022, a Choral Discovery Day at Chiltern Arts will allow audiences to learn about the Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén (who will also be 150 in 2022), and even offer an opportunity to sing in Swedish.
Influenced in equal measure by its tenth anniversary commission and Cheltenham Music Festival's Composer Academy, the charity is keen to explore ways of working more frequently with composers at every stage of their career. This will begin with a commitment to give the London premieres of the six new Composer Academy works in summer 2022, and to perform a new Requiem by Derek Smith in February (postponed from November 2021).
Alongside this, the charity plans to begin working on projects with two composers in particular. The first is Electra Perivolaris who hopes to compose a set of pieces inspired by her home on the Isle of Arran and which will focus on Scottish island communities and the relationship between people and the land. The second is to give the UK premiere of Galina Grigorjeva’s Vespers and to profile her unique compositional voice and background as a Ukrainian composer who now chiefly lives and works in Estonia and Finland.
The charity is currently in discussion with a number of festivals and music promoters regarding future performances in 2022 and beyond. One aim is to search for every opportunity where a pre-concert talk or audience workshop can be attached to a performance, therefore maximising the potential of engaging audiences in non-concert settings.
Finally, the charity will be looking for every opportunity to increase the financial support and professionally valuable opportunities it can offer to early-career musicians in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Information on fundraising practices
The Carice Singers applies the standards and good practice as set out in the Code of Fundraising Practice by the Fundraising Regulator.
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[Charity no. 1170689]
THE CARICE SINGERS
RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
| 2020 £ RECEIPTS 13,564 Engagement Fees received in year (restated) 1,080 Tickets and Programmes 32 CD Sales 8,830 Friends and Benefactors 2,553 Other Donations 0 Gift Aid Recovery 26,059 TOTAL RECEIPTS LESS PAYMENTS 16,807 Artists fees & expenses 655 Venue Hire 48 Printing/Stationery/Website 0 Advertising 155 Music & Materials 33 Sundry 2,250 Salaries and Other Administration 19,948 TOTAL PAYMENTS 6,111 NET CASH SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR 951 CASHRESERVES BROUGHT FORWARD LAST YEAR 7,062 CASHRESERVES CARRIED FORWARD THIS YEAR |
2021 £ 21,995 4,129 0 14,639 3,590 2,849 |
|---|---|
| 47,202 | |
| 35,552 3,555 1,516 73 587 840 4,350 |
|
| 46,474 | |
| 728 | |
| 7,062 7,790 |
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2021
| 2020 £ 6,730 332 7,062 951 6,111 7,062 |
Assets Balance at Bank Petty Cash NET ASSETS Reserves Brought forward Surplus /(Deficit) this year TOTAL RESERVES |
2021 £ 7,444 347 |
|---|---|---|
| 7,790 | ||
| 7,062 728 |
||
| 7,790 |
................................
J. Synge - Trustee 28-Jun-2022
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ANO WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of The Carice Singers On a¢¢ounts forthe year ended 31* December 2021 Charfty no lrfany) 1170689 Set out on pages Page headed 'Re¢eipts & Payments Accounv I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above arrty rthe Trusn for year ended 3111212021 ResponsibilFlies and As the charity trustees of the Tnjst. you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Acf). I report in resrect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5){b) of the Act. I have corneted my examination. I confim that no material matters have come to my attention { ") in connection with the examination whith gives me cause to believe that in. any material respe¢t.' accounting records were not kept in accordan with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no con¢ems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. . Please delete the words in the brackets rfthey do not apply. ///< -a Signed: Date: Name: JMF CWCA Relevant professional qualification{s) or body (If any}: Chartered Accountant Address: Brambles. Bad( Lane Oxhill Warwckshire CV35 OQN IER October 2018