|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod**||||||||
|**From**|Period start date|||**To**|Period end date|||
||**1**|**Aug**|**2024**||**31**|**Jul**|**2025**|
Section A Reference and administration details
**Charity name** Chester Orchestral Society
**Other names charity is known by** Chester Philharmonic Orchestra
|**Registered charity number (if any)**
**Charity's principal address**|1181355|1181355|
|---|---|---|
||
c/o Mrs Susan Taylor||
||77 Mill Lane||
||Upton||
||**Postcode**|**CH2 1BS**|
**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 (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Mrs Diana
Anderson|Chairman||Members of Society|
||Mrs Alex Stubbs|Secretary||Members of Society|
||Mrs Susan Taylor|Treasurer||Members of Society|
||Mrs SallySlater|Librarian||Members of Society|
||Mrs Jane Holmes|Chair, Music
Committee||Members of Society
Members of Society|
||Dr James Warwick||||
||Mrs Jemma Clark||Until 11 November 2024|Members of Society|
||Miss Abbie Parr||Until 11 November 2024|Members of Society|
||Mrs Madeleine
McCraight||From 11 November 2024|Members of Society|
||**Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)**||||
||**Name**||**Dates acted if not for whole year**||
||N/A||||
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|
|---|---|---|
|**Type of adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|||
|Independent financial
examiner|Angela Moulton|3 Hareswood Close, WINSFORD, CW7 2TP|
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** N/A
**TAR- COS**
**Oct 2025**
1
**Section B Structure, governance and management**
## **Description of the charity’s trusts**
Constitution Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) Charitable Incorporated Organisation - Association How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company) Elected by Society members at AGM or appointed by Trustees. Trustee selection methods
- (eg. appointed by, elected by)
## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about:
- 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;
- relationship with any related parties;
- trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
Chester Orchestral Society is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation that runs Chester Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Trustees of the Society are the members of the Main Committee, all of whom have signed that they are eligible to be charity trustees under current regulations. The Trustees meet regularly, usually 4 times a year, to discuss, implement and approve actions related to Society business. The Main Committee members are all elected by Society members at an Annual General Meeting held in late November. To assist in the musical activities of the Society, the Main Committee appoints a separate Music Committee with members chosen from the Society who have particular, relevant knowledge or expertise with respect to musical repertoire. The Chairman of the Music Committee is also a member of the Main Committee to ensure good communication. All operational aspects of the Society, including reporting, finance, membership, ticket sales, publicity and concert management are the responsibility of the Main Committee.
New Trustees are generally trained by former post-holders who in past years have generally remained playing members of the Society. The Chairman takes overall responsibility for ensuring that Trustees are aware of their Charity Commission obligations.
All Trustees and committee members give their time freely and on a voluntary basis.
The Society is a member of Making Music, a national organisation that represents and supports over 2,900 voluntary and amateur music groups throughout the UK.
## **Section C Objectives and activities**
The object of Chester Orchestral Society is 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 that the trustees see fit, including **Summary of the objects of the** through the presentation of public concerts and recitals. **charity set out in its governing document**
**TAR- COS**
**Oct 2025**
2
The Society runs Chester Philharmonic Orchestra, a non-professional orchestra drawing its members, aged from 18 to 70+ from the North West of England and North Wales. Members pay an annual subscription to the Society and rehearse weekly from September to June. The orchestra performs 4 main concerts a year, open to the paying public. In addition, the orchestra collaborates in joint concerts with other local amateur music organisations. We aim to perform music that is both interesting and challenging to players and audiences alike, with a mix of familiar and unfamiliar works.
The Trustees consider that the aims and activities of Chester Orchestral Society fulfil the public benefit requirement of the Charities Act, 2011.
The activities of the Society provide the following main public benefits:
**Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)**
- An orchestra with the opportunity for people to be involved in a creative, enjoyable and fulfilling educational activity by rehearsing and performing concerts whilst developing orchestral repertoire and musical technique.
- Orchestral concerts for people to be presented with exciting, high quality performances that are a pleasurable experience but will sometimes challenge and educate them by extending their musical knowledge.
The Charity’s beneficiaries are all those in the Chester region and elsewhere who wish to experience its activities as performers or audiences.
The following people specifically benefit from Chester Orchestral Society:
- Non-professional orchestral players who join as members of the Society and rehearse and perform in concerts.
- Any member of the public who attends concerts mounted by the Society.
In addition, young professional musicians benefit from the opportunities provided by the orchestra for them to gain exposure and educational experience as soloists and conductors.
Opportunities to benefit as players and audiences are promoted by ensuring that subscriptions and tickets are priced only to ensure that the Society does not incur financial loss and are subsidised wherever possible by other donations and fundraising activities. There are discounted playing membership rates for students and instalment options by agreement with the Treasurer for playing members experiencing financial hardship. Reduced ticket prices are available through an Associate Membership subscription scheme and heavily discounted tickets provided for all students and children.
## **Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)**
You **may choose** to include further statements, where relevant, about:
- policy on grantmaking;
- policy programme related investment;
- contribution made by volunteers.
Members, including Trustees, contribute freely of their time in relation to Society playing activities and volunteer to undertake additional tasks connected with running the orchestra, including providing refreshments for members at rehearsals, ticket selling, promotion of events, more formal committee tasks and concert management. In addition, a number of friends and relatives of members provide additional voluntary support, including programme and ticket selling and clearing up after concerts. Without such volunteers, to whom the Society is very grateful, the orchestra could not function.
Other volunteers include extra non-professional players for concerts who, although not members of the Society, perform in concerts for no fee.
**TAR- COS**
**Oct 2025**
3
Section D Achievements and performance
The November concert featured Richard Howarth conducting Vaughan **Summary of the main** William’s Job : A masque for Dancing and it launched CPO’s 2024-25 **achievements of the charity** season of Song and Dance. The concert also included Doreen **during the year** Carwithen’s Men of Sherwood Forrest Overture thereby showcasing music by a female composer which had been requested by members. Lucy Holmes played Prokofiev’s 1[st] Violin Concerto to complete the programme. Lucy is a talented violinist who had recently graduated in performance and composition from the Royal College of Music in London. The Orchestra again joined forces with Chester Music Society Choir for their annual “Christmas Crackers” concert in mid-December , for which we were delighted that our new President, Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason was the guest presenter . A large audience enjoyed the usual mix of seasonal music and readings. Another young performer, Stefan Cucullo, played Mozart’s 1[st] Flute Concerto in the March concert. Stefan was the winner of the 2024 RLPO international flute competition. Jonathan Small made his conducting debut with CPO for this programme in which he chose to guide the orchestra through Mahler’s 1[st] symphony. This work is scored for very large forces and the performance was enjoyed by both performers and audience. The Concert opened with Suite Rustica by the talented but little-known female Czech composer Vitezslava Kapralova. The suite was based on Czech dance tunes. Kapralova was influenced by Stravinsky and his Firebird Suite was one of the works featured in April’s concert. Stephen Thelfall worked the orchestra very hard to get this piece to performance standard and, combined with music from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet suite and Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance and Masquerade waltz, it made for a challenging concert. Feedback from the audience was very positive and the orchestra felt a collective and deserved sense of achievement after the performance. By way of a complete contrast, June’s concert was a programme of operatic overtures and arias conducted by Juan Orturno. Ukranian Soprano Khrystyna Makar and Norwegian-Australian Baritone Marcus Dawson enthralled the audience with operatic excerpts from Wagner, Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti. The concert was dedicated to the memory of Roger Gibson who had died shortly before the concert. Roger was a bassoonist in CPO for many years and served the orchestra as Chairman, treasurer and librarian. He also established links with the RNCM, Chetham’s School of music and the BBC Young Musician’s Charity, all of which have been of significant benefit to CPO. We believe the 2024-25 season was another successful one whilst acknowledging that the inclusion of several challenging and lesser-known works led some members to comment that they had found it less enjoyable than other seasons. This feedback has been discussed by the Trustees in committee meetings and adjustments made for the current season’s programme. Attendance at our concerts this year has been more variable and so we continue to review our marketing and publicity, as well as our programming, to try retain our current audience as well as to attract new people to the concerts. The Trustees consider that our activities have met our stated objectives and we will continue to run the Society in a similar manner going forwards.
## **Section E Financial review**
**TAR- COS**
**Oct 2025**
4
The Society seeks to have SuffiCnI income lo cover expenditure during
a gwen playing season. Due to the variability and uncertainty of audien
numbers. we aim to maintain unstricted reserves sufficient to cover the
next three to four planned concerts. Annual budgets are prepared to
inform financial planning and decisions made by the Trustees over the
use of reserves lo support activrties. Any funds surplus to requirements
are hetd in an interest-bearing dep)sit accx)unt and are reviewed on a
ular basis.
Brlef statement of the
¢harity'$ policy on reserves
Details of any funds materially
in deficit
No funds wefe in defictt at any stage during the financial year.
Further flnanclal review detalls (Opllonal Inforniatlon
Funds were raised mainly by member subscriptions (which help offset the
osts associated with running regular VklY reheatsalsl, ticket sales
linduding the Associate Membership scheme). donations {from members
and sponsors), fund-raising Ifrom concerts with other organisats'ons and
member acltvrt> and Gift Aid on e1ible donations Currently, all
surplus income over expenditure goes inlo an Unrestricted Fund and we
have no Restricted Funds.
You may choose lo indude
additional information, where
relevant about".
the charity's pnncipal
sources of funds (including
any fundraisingl.,
how expenditure has
supported the key objectives
of the charity.,
investment policy and
objectives including any
ethical investment policy
adopted.
Expenditure was related lo mounting orchestral rehearsals and concerts
th professional soloisls arKI conductors and the associated
administrative tasks requi. In addition. we also improved the rangè of
our percussion instruments. reducing potential future rental costs and
provided improved storage solutions lo protect these assets. These
activities all fell wthin our charitable aims of furthering education and the
public appreciation of rnus so vRre appropriate usages of our funds.
Our unresln'cted resevrfes supported the experKliture connected with
percussion Improvements. Hov•ever, operational changes in the
Cathedral events business required us to pay VAT on nave hire from
January 2025. increasing our budgeted costs signrficantly In addition.
slwjhtly lower aUdIenS for all our concerts led lo a larger than planned
reduction in unrestricted reserves. Thus. overall, although the Society
continues lo maintain a heathy level of reserves, rt has not been able to
plan for 2025126 YthOUt an increase in both member subscriplions and
ticket
Section F
Other optional information
Section G
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees. report above.
Signèd on behalf of the charlty's trustses
SIgnare(sI
Diana Anderson
ca
1*2025.Ilm 144lJ)TZ
TAR- COS
Oct 2025
Susan Margaret Taylor **Full name(s)** Diana Mary Anderson **Position (eg Secretary, Chair,** Chairman Treasurer **etc) Date** 29/10/25
**TAR- COS**
**Oct 2025**
6
CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examinerfs
report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the truslee811
members of ' Chester Or¢he$tral Swety
On accounts for tho yoar
ended
31 Juty 2025
Charity no
{if any)
1181355
Sat out on pages
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
charty (-the Trust-) for th8 year ended 3110712024
Rospon81bllit108 and As the charty trustees of the Trust. you are responsible for the preparation
ba•1• of report of the accounts in accordance wrth the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 ('the Acr).
I report in respect of my examinats'on of the Trust's accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I
have followed the applTrcabk Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145{5)(b) of the Act.
I have completed my examination. I confirm thal no material matters have
come lo my attention (other than that disclosed below ") in connection with
Ihe examination which gwes me cause lo believe that in, any material
respect..
accounting records were not kept in arLordance with section 130 of
the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting r8cords
Indop•nd•nt
oxamlnorf$ •tatem•nt
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in contIon
with the examination to whh attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understsnding of Ihe accounts to be reached.
' Please delete the wonls in Iha brnckets if they do not appty.
Signed:
Dato:
3NJw 2015
Name:
OUL Tc)hJ
Relevant professional
qualification{s) or b¢xly
lif any):
FGA
Addres8:
ES aCK)r)
SE
GkEES141 (iE
J? LTP
Section B
Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs lo highlight matters of concern (see CC32,
Independenl examinats.on of charity accounts". directions and guidance for
examiners).
IER
October 2025
Give here brief details of
any items that the
examiner wishes to
disclose.
IER
October 2025
|**Charity Name**||**No (if any)**||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Chester Orchestral Society**||**1181355**||
|**Receipts andpayments accounts**|||**CC16a**|
|**For the period**
**from**|Period start date
01-Aug-24|**To**
Period end date
31-Jul-25||
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|Ticket &programme sales|12,658||||||**12,658**||17,482|
|Concert fees|500||||||**500**||500|
|Member subs|7,298||||||**7,298**||7,691|
|Associate member subs|3,220||||||**3,220**||3,866|
|Bank interest|713||||||**713**||783|
|Gift Aid|1,474||||||**1,474**||1,584|
|Fund raising|349||||||**349**||357|
|Miscellaneous|207||||||**207**||-|
|Ear-marked donations|-||||||**-**||-|
|**A2 Asset & investment sales**
**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|**26,419**||**-**||**-**||**26,419**||**32,264**|
||||||||**-**|||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|||||||||||
||**£26,419**||**£0**||**£0**||**£26,419**||**£32,264**|
||9,644
11,075
3,238
90
2,045
2,859
-
566
64
-||||||**9,644**
**11,075**
**3,238**
**90**
**2,045**
**2,859**
**-**
**566**
**64**
**-**|||
|Professional artists:
conductors/soloists/extras|9,644||||||**9,644**||10,803|
|Concert Hall costs|11,075||||||**11,075**||12,761|
|Rehearsal Hall costs|3,238||||||**3,238**||2,181|
|Instrument costs|90||||||**90**||144|
|Music costs:hire/postage|2,045||||||**2,045**||2,155|
|Printing& advertising|2,859||||||**2,859**||2,587|
|Fund raising|-||||||**-**||-|
|MakingMusic subscription & insurance|566||||||**566**||543|
|Bank fees|64||||||**64**||63|
|Miscellaneous|-||||||**-**||1,950|
|**_Sub total_ **|**29,581**||**-**||**-**||**29,581**||**33,188**|
|**A4 Asset & investment purchases**
**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||**3,216**
**32,797**
**- 6,378**|||
||3,216||**-**||**-**||**3,216**|||
||**32,797**
**- 6,378**||**-**
**-**||**-**
**-**|||||
||||||||||**33,188**|
|||||||||||
||**- 6,378**||**-**||**-**||**- 6,378**||**- 924**|
||**-**||**-**|
|**-**||**-**|||
||36,492||**-**||**-**||**36,492**||**37,416**|
||**30,114**||**-**||**-**||**30,114**||**36,492**|
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at Ihe end of the period
Urbre5tricted
ftjnds
Restrictsd
funds
Et)dowment
fijnds
81 Cash fund•
17
2?,30J
rotaic•sh lunds
30.114
Unwtrkt•d Il•¥tyl¢ts
funds
fundB
Endowmont
lunds
83 Inv••trnont au•ts
Cwr•ni ¥41
B4 A88•ts r•tsln•d lor th•
charity's us•
35
95
bDard
Pércuw w)Xtruir*nis IOC% 2021
BM5 IfOl* A ni 2022
Fir&*rd iJih ZS)
252
urrfeitr**ed
F•b 25
2,825
o* io%
h)M
85 Liabllttl
Cmd
Provkwn
InYty(w not I recavell
.120
207
4J27
T*)t*l trnd
•bior•
Nlusbc hire knr r ••••
2ts
Toi*ld•bl
$yn•d by or• orttlv tr¥•l••* on
O¥te tyf
val
Ciana
Sumn Tayby,