Trustees Annual Report for the period 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020
A) Reference & Administration details
Charity Name: The West Gallery Music Association
Other names the charity is known by: WGMA, West Gallery Music Association Registered Charity No. 1171664
Charity's principal address: 4 Grove Road, Shawford, Winchester, SO21 2DD
Trustees
| Trustee name | Office if any | Dates acted if not whole year |
Name of person or body entitled to appoint trustee, if any |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bailey, Mike | Chairman | Trustees, AGM | |
| Flockton, Heather | Newsletter Editor | Trustees, AGM | |
| John, Pete | Trustees, AGM | ||
| Patten, Jacqueline | Data Control Officer | Trustees, AGM | |
| Percival, Richard | Treasurer | Trustees, AGM | |
| Seymour, Jean | Membershipsecretary | Trustees, AGM |
B) Structure, Governance & Management
Type of governing document: Constitution (PDF available on www.wgma.org.uk )
How the charity is constituted: Charitable Incorporated Organisation with voting members other than the trustees.
Trustee selection methods (Constitution Section 13): Trustees are appointed by the members or the
trustees. One third stand down each year in rotation.
The Constitution was amended in November 2019, changing the quorum at general meetings from 10% to 5% of the membership.
C) Objectives & Activities
Summary of objectives (extract from Constitution)
The advancement of education and the promotion of the arts in particular by:
-
promoting, sustaining, and increasing individual and collective knowledge and understanding of, the sacred and secular music and song of Britain and its colonies, with particular reference to what has become known as West Gallery music ...
-
advancing the education of the public in the sacred and secular music and song of West Gallery and allied traditions and their social and historical context in Britain and its colonies; and
-
supporting and encouraging a revival of interest in West Gallery music both nationally and internationally.
WGMA 27[th] July 2021
page 1 of 4
Trustees Annual Report for the period 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit
The trustees having had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit, members of the WGMA had planned a programme of events, including educational workshops, research meetings, concerts and singing days in many parts of England.
Given the Covid-19 pandemic, live events were cancelled from March onwards, and online Zoom events gradually became regular.
Online events were publicised in the quarterly newsletter, on the WGMA web site, and by email. Reports of events were often included in the newsletter.
A few research reports and other editorial articles were included in the newsletter.
Publications including music CDs, music anthologies and text books are available through the web site.
Legacy Policies in effect, formally adopted 12 Jan 2018
Policy 140723 Grants to assist funding of workshops ( PDF on www.wgma.org.uk )
Policy 120801 Grants to assist attendance at WGMA events ( PDF on www.wgma.org.uk )
140616 Terms of Reference Research subcommittee
120613 WGMA Job Specification – Music Director ( PDF on www.wgma.org.uk )
D) Significant events, Achievements & Performance
The trustees congratulate the many members who contrived to spread the knowledge and enjoyment of West Gallery music.
Live events
At least 10 concerts attended by significant numbers of non-members were given before lockdown, and three live workshops. The last live event of the year was on Saturday 7[th] March.
Optimism remained high throughout the year, but only sporadic small instrumental groups were able to meet live. Singing remained a high risk and essentially banned activity.
Zoom
During the course of the next few months, members of many choirs organised regular online events using Zoom. As expertise grew, the online attendance became more widespread. It spread beyond the usual attendances of the choirs concerned, in some cases to members outside the UK, and to their friends and contacts.
Those choirs with the largest libraries of recordings of concert or workshop performances were the best placed to offer a varied session of tracks for a Zoom sing-along. It was a rewarding experience for some, to see familiar faces on the screen, and to sing along with recordings of events that many of us had originally enjoyed.
Pleasing feedback was given to the trustees by people living alone or as couples, who valued these Zoom sessions not only for the music, but also for the social contact in chat rooms, and the chance to meet friends old and new. This contribution to well-being was unexpected, and proved to be
WGMA 27[th] July 2021
page 2 of 4
Trustees Annual Report for the period 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020
important.
Some members who don't belong to member choirs have asked for Zoom events to continue after live events started.
Celebratory sings
On August 2[nd] , to celebrate our usual presence at Sidmouth Folk Festival, a small number of people gathered outdoors in Sidmouth, joined via Zoom by members and friends from many parts of Britain. Singing was from the anthology, Seaside Harmony, which had been launched in 2019.
On 30[th] December, to mark the 30[th] anniversary of the WGMA, a Zoom sing took place using the Gold Book, our 20[th] anniversary anthology. The 2010 event had been recorded, and we sang along with ourselves enthusiastically.
Lockdown Choir
Phil Price encouraged members and friends to contribute to a series of online projects. He provided sheet music and guide tracks online, and mixed and published the results on YouTube. Singers and players from many countries contributed.
Statistics
We were not able to gather statistics comparable with previous years.
Pete John was able to gather summaries from 22 member quires. Some of these had already submitted information for inclusion in the Newsletter. The sad, but not unexpected, news arrived that Gloucester Gallery Quire had disbanded, to add to the loss recorded last year of William East and Wolds Apart quires.
Choral music was suspended by central decree in mid-March 2020, and it was not possible to resume live choral activity during the year. Most of our quires took local action to maintain contacts between members, many instigating meetings via Zoom, although this level of technical activity proved too much for many members: of the quires reporting this as having been successful several added that no more than half of their strength were willing to maintain engagement by this medium. For those members comfortable with the technology, however, musical meetings by Zoom were enthusiastically embraced, with significant numbers participating in regular events hosted by The Madding Crowd (TMC) and London Gallery Quire (LGQ).
Other quires which reported using Zoom for local practice or simply for staying in touch were: Bedford Gallery Quire, Bristol Harmony, Called to be Saints, The Greenwood West Gallery Quire, Immanuel's Ground, The Marsh Warblers, Purbeck Village Quire, Sussex Harmony, Vital Spark and The West Gallery Quire (Crediton).
Groups who remarked on participation in TMC and LGQ Zooms were Amber Valley Quire, Beaminster Gallery Quire, Bedford Gallery Quire, Bristol Harmony, Called to be Saints, Immanuel's Ground, Purbeck Village Quire, Sussex Harmony, The Thomas Clark Quire and The West Gallery Quire (Crediton).
Support
Over the 30 years since the WGMA was formed, sound recordings have been made at workshop
WGMA 27[th] July 2021
page 3 of 4
Trustees Annual Report for the period 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020
events and concerts by many people. Over 2500 tracks are available, of hundreds of distinct pieces. Tracks were shared between choirs to help their recorded repertoires.
Thanks are due to the many people who acquired and exploited various IT skills not previously needed, but invaluable in bringing our music to the online audience.
The web site calendar was maintained throughout the year with notices of forthcoming events. We are grateful to Tony Singleton for his voluntary efforts as Webmaster.
The newsletter was published at the equinoxes and solstices, thanks to editor Heather Flockton.
E) Financial Review
No events were run solely by the WGMA.
No funds are in deficit.
Principal income was from members' subscriptions, and from a small volume of sales of music anthologies, books and recordings.
We thank Zuzanna Forster-Fake for services as Financial Scrutineer.
F) Other optional information
It was a difficult year to provide value to members, and a few resigned. All member choirs had a hard time keeping their members in touch and active.
We were unable to offer much to those people who found Zoom unsatisfying, which for some choirs made Zoom unviable, with too few members engaged.
G) Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees' report above.
WGMA 27[th] July 2021
page 4 of 4
The West Gallery Music Association Income Statement
| Year ended 31 December 2020 Income Subscriptions Autumn weekend Sidholme 2019 Income Expense Surplus Net event income surplus Merchandise Sales Cost of sales Net merchandise income Interest on Deposit Accounts Total income/(net costs) Expenditure Web Site Newsletter and directory Paypal fees Liability Insurance Meeting room Cost of meetings Research meetings WGMA publicity & membership leaflet Total expenditure Surplus for the year |
Year ended 31 December £ £ 3,383.00 - 0.00 0.00 0.00 333.40 293.31 40.09 23.54 3,446.63 126.00 2,146.74 12.08 80.00 0.00 - - 0.00 2,364.82 1,081.81 2020 |
Year ended 31 December £ £ 3,821.00 15,823.00 15,710.54 112.46 112.46 920.75 733.42 187.33 78.58 4,199.37 158.26 1,649.91 6.67 80.00 319.00 527.21 176.40 0.00 2,917.45 1,281.92 2019 |
Year ended 31 December £ £ 3,821.00 15,823.00 15,710.54 112.46 112.46 920.75 733.42 187.33 78.58 4,199.37 158.26 1,649.91 6.67 80.00 319.00 527.21 176.40 0.00 2,917.45 1,281.92 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 333.40 293.31 |
112.46 920.75 733.42 |
||
| 126.00 2,146.74 12.08 80.00 0.00 - - 0.00 |
158.26 1,649.91 6.67 80.00 319.00 527.21 176.40 0.00 |
||
| 4,199.37 2,917.45 |
|||
| 1,281.92 |
The West Gallery Music Association Balance Sheet
| Balance Sheet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Inventory of books Deposits for future events Other debtors Cash balances Current Account Business Saver Account Less income for future events Total assets Represented by: Accumulated fund brought forward Surplus/(deficit) for the period Accumulated fund carried forward |
31 December 2020 £ 324.79 200.00 - 3,668.38 30,102.12 0.00 34,295.29 33,213.48 1,081.81 34,295.29 |
31 December 2019 £ 594.10 - - 2,540.80 30,078.58 0.00 |
| 33,213.48 | ||
| 31,931.56 1,281.92 |
||
| 33,213.48 |