## **Music in the Castle - Charity number: 1187306** 

**Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending** 

## **31 December 2023** 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

**To advance the education of the general public and, in particular but not exclusively, schoolchildren in the arts by providing and assisting in the provision of classical music concerts, recitals and workshops in Devon and the surrounding areas.** 

**Six evening concerts and three workshops for schoolchildren had been planned and advertised on the website for 2023. The events had been carefully considered to create a wide variety, thereby appealing to as many schoolchildren and the wider general public as possible. They included a String Quintet; a Saxophone Quartet; Organ and Voice; an Early Music Ensemble; a Piano Duo and Messiah.** 

**The concerts began in early March with the Waldstein Quintet from London. Having originally booked a Quartet we were advised that a Quintet offered more scope of repertoire and it was decided that funds could stretch to five performers on this occasion. They also presented an afternoon concert for our local school children. Our next dual event for schoolchildren and the paying public was in April and featured the Yugen Saxophone Quartet from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. They were well received by both the schoolchildren and the evening audience.** 

**The third planned concert was an evening event only, and for the general public, with local Organist and Pianist David Davies. Always an entertaining individual, he brought a local tenor with him to provide a suitable summer evening of music.** 

**The second half of the year began in September with the Amyas Ensemble directed by Dr. Emily Baines. This was to be an evening only concert. This was then to be followed by the Willshire Piano Duo in October who completed the third of our afternoon concerts for schoolchildren, as well as a full length evening recital.** 




**To conclude the year, the now traditional biennial Messiah from Powderham Consort were asked to present two consecutive performances, further bringing local talent to Music in the Castle and creating an attractive and varied yearly programme for our audiences.** 

**All events were agreed by the Trustees and given due and careful regard for the policies outlined in the governing document.** 

## **Achievements and Performance** 

**The March concert with the Waldstein Quintet brought nearly 100 local schoolchildren to the Music room eager as ever to hear live music. The hour long concert enlightened all to the complexities of playing a stringed instrument and the questions and answer section at the end was enjoyed by all. The evening concert was thrilling and it was, as always, good to see professional musicians thoroughly immerse themselves in great music and impart their own interpretations on a responsive audience.** 

**The April concert took the same format and once again the popularity of free hour long concerts to schoolchildren saw another hundred or so arrive with their teachers for the next professional event of the year.** 

**These young Saxophone players from The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire bonded well with the youngsters and created a fine interactive event before delighting the general public in the evening with their youthful enthusiasm, vitality and competent team work.** 

**The intimacy of the Music Room was the perfect setting for David Davies and Michael Graham to interact with an audience seated at tables in an informal setting as a trial. The whole evening worked well and will be considered for another suitable occasion.  There was wide variety of music enjoyed, culminating with audience suggestions of popular pieces and inviting David to make a compilation of all and improvising on these in a varied and impressive number of styles and genres at a moments notice. This was extremely well received by all.** 

**After the summer break the Amyas Ensemble were excited to perform in such an historic setting and aptly chose their programme to compliment the surroundings. With recorders, theorbo, harpsichord, organ and baroque cello this quartet captivated the audience with their exquisite nuanced performances, interpreting popular baroque repertoire in a unique and fascinating way, that still retained authenticity.** 




**The penultimate concert of the year brought the Willshire Piano Duo to Powderham, for the final concert for schoolchildren of 2022. It was a real pleasure to welcome this married couple to Powderham, having had to cancel at very short notice due to the pandemic. They captured the imagination of the children in the afternoon and gave those willing, the chance to improvise, which was fascinating to watch for us all and there were those with a significant flair for this skill.** 

**The evening concert saw some very fine playing from these players and their rapport with the audience made for a very natural and relaxed evening.** 

**The final concerts of the year were two performances of Handel’s Messiah. Such is the popularity of this event, it has been necessary to repeat the performance on two consecutive nights. The Powderham Consort came together with the Haldon Ensemble to present this iconic work on a small scale in the apt setting of the Music Room. Both evenings were sold out and the room came alive with wonderful music and excitement from the audiences, which brought everybody beautifully into the festive season.** 

## **From our Schools Co-ordinator.** 

The year 2024 has involved three concerts specifically programmed for the hour long Friday afternoon concerts we mount for school children. Average attendance is 95. They continue to be free to attend and the cost of coach transport for approximately 50 are both covered by ongoing private sponsorship. The young people range in age from 8 - 16 and come from both state and independent schools in Devon. Below is recent feedback from a state secondary school in East Devon which regularly attends. 

_'Powderham Castle provides an excellent enrichment opportunity for our students to see live musicians in a beautiful setting. It is particularly motivating when the performers are younger musicians as this is more relatable to our students. Not only do they inspire students who are new to music to start instrument tuition, or get more involved with school music opportunities, they also give our already keen and capable young musicians something to aspire to. We have had students come away from the concerts so excited to start learning an instrument or go to more live concerts because they enjoyed it so much. Students are always buzzing afterwards and have so many questions and things to talk about on the way home. The wide variety of music provided is fantastic, and we sometimes suggest certain students attend to enhance their current experience of a genre or instrument. We also have our regular group of students who simply love to listen to anything. It is never a struggle to fill the places on the trip- forms are brought back within a matter of days because the students are so eager to attend. It is an incredibly enjoyable experience for staff too, and provides so many talking points for our music lessons here in school. We are so grateful for this opportunity to extend and share our love for music beyond the classroom.'_ 




The musicians have excelled in their ability to engage and interact with the young audiences during the concerts, both with whole audience involvement and some highly impressive individuals taking up offers to participate in improvisation exercises. 

Schools are given the year's list of concert dates and places are quickly reserved -ensuring that capacity audiences are the norm. Each year we approach new schools to ensure the maximum number of Devon schools can have the opportunity to experience these concerts. 

**Overall evening audience attendance is still less than pre pandemic and despite having capacity audiences for the Christmas events, encouraging people to return for other concerts remains a challenge, despite keeping ticket prices the same. However, those that do attend are always thankful and appreciative for what we provide and leave feeling content and satisfied that they have had an enjoyable evening of music. Live Classical Music is becoming more of a luxury, but an aspect of life that remains vitally important.** 

**Future plans for 2024 include six more concerts throughout the year, three afternoon concerts for schoolchildren and two nights of the Christmas concert event have been scheduled to cope with demand. Concerts will include Jazz, Brass, Voices, Strings and Woodwind, incorporating young musicians embarking on their professional careers.** 

## **Financial Review.** 

**Thanks to incredible generous sponsorships and donations, finances are good. It has also now been possible to reclaim gift aid from HMRC. However, costs have risen significantly, particularly performers fees and their travel/accommodation costs. Funds at the beginning of the year stood at £13,438.09.** 

**Income generated, amounted to £15,001.87 (including donations/sponsorship) with costs arising to £12,581.50** 

**A balance of £15,858.42 at end of December 2023, is now held in reserve.** 




## **Policy on Reserves** 

**Reserves are held to further promote and develop concerts and workshops for young people and the wider public, and to cover any future unforeseen fluctuations in income and expenditure.** 

## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

**Music in the Castle – Constitution was adopted in January 2020 and is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.** 

**Future Trustees are appointed following recommendations presented to the Board of Trustees.** 

## **Reference and Administrative details** 

**Charity Name – Music in the Castle Registered Charity Number – 1187306 Principal Address – 3. Gulliford Cottages, Lympstone, Devon. EX8 5AQ** 

**Trustees: Alison Burnett – Artistic Director Rosalind Mason – Schools Co-ordinator Bernard Hadley** 

## **Declarations** 

**Signature(s) Full name(s)** Alison Burnett **Position (eg Secretary,** Artistic Director **Chair, etc) Date** 3rd September 2024 




## **Statement of Financial Activities as at 31[st] December 2023** 

||**2022**|**2023**|
|---|---|---|
|**Opening balance:**|**£12,882.20**|**£13,438.09**|
|**Income**|||
|**Donations**|**£413.05**|**£500**|
|**Sponsorship**|**£333.18**|**£5,000**|
|**Charitable Activities**|**£7093.5**|**£8215.85**|
|**HMRC Gift aid**|**----------**|**£1,286.02**|
|**Total Income**|**£7,839.73**|**£15,001.87**|
|**Expenditure**|||
|**Charitable Activities**|**£6,249.15**|**£9,470.70**|
|**Instrument tuning, Website, Admin, Printin g**|**£1,034.69**|**£3,110.80**|
|**Total Expenditure**|**£7,283.84**|**£12,581.50**|
|**Total Unrestricted Funds carried forward**|**£13,438.09**|**£15,858.42**|



**The trustees report that Music in the Castle has no outstanding debts against the Charity in this financial period.** 


**3[rd] September 2024**