## **BRECON BEACONS MUSIC TRUST** Registered Charity Number – 1172155 Annual Report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 1 |**Index**|Page| |---|---| |Information about the charity|3| |Charity structure, governance, and management|4| |Objectives, Activities and Public Benefit|4| |Charity overview|5| |Financial overview|5| |Chair’s report|6| |Income and Expenditure|8| |Independent examiner’s report|10| 2 ## **Information about the charity** **Charity Name** : Brecon Beacons Music Trust **Registration Number** : 1172155 **Registered address** : Hendre, Merthyr Cynog, Brecon, LD3 9SG **Trustees** : Anne Morgan (Chair) Dorcas Slaney (Treasurer) Andrew Sutherland Cornelia Rahdes **Bank** Lloyds Bank, 38 High Street, Brecon, LD3 7AR 3 ## **Charity Structure, Governance and Management** Originally established in 2012 as a registered charity (1146283) governed by a trust deed, in 2017 Brecon Beacons Music Trust changed its constitution and on 20 March 2017 was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), number 1172155. The Brecon Beacons Music Trust delivers the annual Brecon Baroque Festival and supports the chamber ensemble, Brecon Baroque, where appropriate. The Brecon Beacons Music Trust was managed during the period by the four Trustees. No Trustee was paid for their work as board members during the year. The Artistic Director of Brecon Baroque Festival is Rachel Podger and she is supported by Festival Producer Alison Giles, PR Consultant Kate Gedge and Community Coordinator Kate Lewis. The Trustees are also actively involved as volunteers in the running of the Festival. Brecon Baroque chamber ensemble is managed by a professional agent, Percius Management, which also manages Rachel Podger. ## **Methods for Recruitment of Trustees** The Chair and Trustees of Brecon Beacons Music Trust put forward names of suitably qualified people, whom they know to be interested and to have relevant experience to assist the organisation, for discussion by the Trustees as possible candidates for election. New Trustees – if they have not done so in any event – are encouraged to attend the Brecon Baroque Festival each year and to familiarise themselves with the duties of a Trustee with guidance from the Charity Commission and Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO). ## **Trustees’ activities** The Trustees meet at least four times per year and oversee the running, financial and artistic management of The Brecon Baroque Festival, which takes place annually in October, and associated musical events with particular reference to its objectives. ## **The Objectives and Activities of Brecon Beacons Music Trust** (i) The advancement of public appreciation and knowledge of classical music through the promotion of live performance of the highest standard including the Brecon Baroque Festival and Brecon Baroque ensemble; (ii) The promotion of musical education, knowledge and performance skills of children and young people in Powys and beyond; (iii) Such other charitable purposes beneficial to the public consistent with the objects above as the trustees in their absolute discretion determine. ## **Public Benefit** Brecon Beacons Music Trust increases access to high quality live music by bringing internationally acclaimed musicians to a small mid-Wales town and providing affordable 4 tickets in well-known local venues. In attracting significant cultural tourism it also supports the local economy, while its education programme provides valuable training and performance opportunities for young musicians in Powys and the UK conservatoires. The community programme, including workshops and performances, ensures that the Festival benefits as wide a range of local people as possible, including those with disabilities and those who have limited access to high quality music and arts experiences. ## **OVERVIEW 2021-22** We were very pleased to be able to resume live concerts in 2021, despite audience capacities being reduced to 40 / 45% of normal levels by the need to meet Covid regulation on social distancing. All concert programmes were shorter than usual, with no intervals, so that the main concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday could be performed twice. The Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening performances were put out as an online festival the following weekend. The aim was to cater for people who still felt unable to travel to venues in person, and also to keep in the loop new listeners around the world, who had become aware of the BBF last year for the first time when our major _Goldberg Variations_ project went online. Fewer tickets were sold for the online festival in 2021 than in 2020. This has been the experience of most festivals of BBF-like scale that have returned to live performance in 2021. Rachel Podger and five Brecon Baroque mentors undertook a weekend's coaching in partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in early October, in preparation for the festival. With support in kind from RWCMD (use of their premises and keyboard instruments) this enabled mentees to gain a richer experience than ever before and prepared them well for the rehearsal sessions and Brecon Baroque Festival Orchestra performance during the festival itself. We are grateful to funders for the period, including The Welsh Government Cultural Recovery Fund, Arts Council of Wales, Community Foundation Wales, The Gibbs Trust, The Fidelio Charitable Trust, The Gwendoline and Margaret Davies Charity, The Leche Trust, Mid Wales Music Trust, Brecon Town Council, The Community Foundation Wales, The Moondance Foundation, Idlewild Trust, Tŷ Cerdd and the D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust. Some of these funders had held their grants over from 2020, when activity was halted by the pandemic. ## **Financials** The Trustees are extremely grateful to the public funders, trusts and foundations, individuals and sponsors whose generous support has made our artistic programme during this year possible. Public and trust funders for the period included the Arts Council of Wales, Mid Wales Music Trust, Brecon Town Council, The Gibbs Trust, National Lottery Awards for 5 All, Community Foundation Wales / Powys Community Endowment Fund, D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, the Gwendoline and Margaret Davies Charity, Tŷ Cerdd, The Moondance Foundation and Fidelio Charitable Trust. We were also fortunate to secure Welsh Government Cultural Recovery Fund support. Brecon Beacons Music Trust and Brecon Baroque Festival is supported by a wide range of income streams and this variety minimises financial risk by ensuring there is never too much dependency on a single funding source. The total income for 2021/22 was £76,846 (£106,599 in 2020/21). The Festival Friends and Patrons scheme raised £4,985 (£5,935 in 2020/21) while funding from trusts and foundations contributed £19,210 (£20,600 in 2020/21) and individual donations £7,965 £ (£16,400 in 2020/21). Public funding was £20,017 (£46,800 in 2020/21) whilst box office income was £20,978 (£8,230 in 2020/21’s online festival). At the year end the Trust carried forward funds of £55,369 which puts the charity in a strong position to face the challenges of what remains, as Covid-19 continues to have powerful effects across the UK and world, an uncertain future for performing arts organisations. The trustees have considered and amended the figure to be kept in reserves to £8,000. ## **Chair’s report for Brecon Baroque Festival 2021** We were very pleased to be able to resume live concerts this year, albeit in restricted circumstances because social distancing was still required; all concert programmes were shorter and each of the main concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were performed twice. Some of these were completely sold out well in advance, others nearly so, and feedback from our audiences principally expressed delight in being able to come to the festival in person. Theatr Brycheiniog catered well for social distancing, but seating for the Cathedral concerts took considerable organisation on the part of our producer and marketing manager – nonetheless this worked well, and members of the audience were particularly appreciative of the efforts made to ensure their comfort and safety. The second of each performance was filmed for streaming, partly for the benefit of people who still felt unable to travel to Brecon in person, and also to keep in the loop new listeners around the world, who had become aware of the Festival last year for the first time. Probably not as many tickets were sold online this year as last time, but that was an exceptional year for lockdowns. Because of Covid restrictions, we were unable to carry out our usual educational events with Penmaes School for children with special educational needs, and other local primary schools. During the autumn, we were able to work with Accessibility Powys to create a programme of visual art and craft workshops that culminated in display at the festival's popup café at The Muse operated, as in previous years, by The Hours. On the advanced education front, Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque undertook a very successful weekend's coaching at the Royal Welsh School of Music and Drama in early October, in preparation for the Festival itself. 6 The Festival this year, A Walk with Bach, was based on his early years and the influences he encountered during this period of his life, including his monumental journey on foot from Arnstadt where he was employed in 1705 to Lübeck, to meet and learn from Buxtehude. We were fortunate that Lindsay Kemp, who worked with Horatio Clare on this project, was able to come and talk about their venture. For the Friday night Rachel’s brother Julian Podger assembled a stellar cast of singers for Trinity Baroque’s performance of music by Schutz and Buxtehude, and the following evening Brecon Baroque gave a lively and entertaining programme of music by various relations of Bach’s, as well as other composers he would have known. The centrepiece of this was a solo harpsichord prelude by Buxtehude, played with brilliance by Marcin Świątkiewicz, and JS Bach’s Contrapunctus from the Art of Fugue, putting all Bach’s influences in perspective. Fretwork’s Saturday lunchtime concert of arrangements of Bach for viol consort was wonderful. Sunday’s concert introduced us to the extraordinary soundscapes of the archaic “Trumpet Marine” – a very welcome return to the Festival by the Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments. The Monday night orchestra was reduced in size, again due to Covid restrictions, but gave a rousing performance of music by JS Bach to begin and end, also pieces by Geminiani and Albinoni. These framed Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel’s Bist du bei Mir, sung beautifully by John Liddington, a young baritone student currently at Cardiff University, but who was a long time double bass player in South Powys Youth Music, so has a significant local following. We were truly delighted that he was part of the festival this year. 7 ## **Income & Expenditure** |**BRECON BEACONS MUST TRUST**
**Profit and Loss Report for Year ending 31st March 2022**|| |---|---| |**INCOME**|**£**| |Friends|1,705| |Patrons|3,280| |Gift Aid|0| |BBFO Fees|0| |MISC inc. testingof card machines|1,464.14| |Tickets net of commission/venue hire|20,978.26| |Public funding|20,017.5| |Grants|19,210| |Compensation fund|0| |Donations FF Fund|2,227.07| |Donations(Individuals)|7,965| |Recording|0| |Programme adverts|0| |**TOTAL**|**76,846.97**| ||| |**EXPENDITURE**|**£**| |Catering|649.44| |Musician/Artist fees|31,959.95| |BBFO/RWCMDproject inc. expenses|4,698.31| |Bank charges|75| |Travel,accommodation & subsistence|12,035.3| |Materials|71.54| |Sundry|967.23| |Management|22,200| |Venue hire|3,060| |Digital services|276,31| |Comms:printing/design/adverts|5,311.02| |Sheet music|552.34| |Postage/stationery|3.85| |Instrument hire/tuning|2,175| |Recordings|0| |Insurance|965| |Mozart Fund|120| 8 |Filmingcosts|6,600| |---|---| |Community project|5,394.95| |Trainingand other specialist services|50.1| |**TOTAL**|**97,165.34**| ||| |**Surplus/Deficit for theyear**|**-20,318.37**| ||| |**BALANCE**|| |Balance at start ofyear|75,688.09| |Surplus/deficit|-20,318.37| |**Closing balance**|**55,369.72**| ||| Signed on behalf of the Board 9 Annedd Wen uan￿bI LatDpeter Ceredi8ion SA48 8NB Dorcas Slanry Breeon Beacts￿ M￿lC Trust Date: Ilth November 2022 Brecon Beaeotts Mus&c Tn* A