Report and Financial Statements
For the period from 17 September 2020 to 31 August 2021
A CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION
REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1191335
REGISTERED BY THE CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Charity Name:
Fantasia Orchestra
Charity Number:
1191335
Address of Principal Office:
115 Brondesbury Road London NW6 6RY
Trustees:
The trustees during this inaugural period were (in alphabetical order):
Julian Hardwick David Kerr (treasurer trustee) Jennifer Tyson (legal trustee) Charles Wolcott
All were appointed with effect from the date of registration on 17 September 2020.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, which was registered on 17 September 2020.
Governing Document:
The charity has a Constitution (Governing Document), dated 22 June 2020.
Trustees:
The charity's policy on the appointment of trustees is to be found in the Constitution. The founding Trustees have agreed role descriptions for their activities within the organisation. During this period, no changes were made to the personnel on the Board of Trustees.
New trustees are appointed based on their relevant skills and experience for the organisation. Nominations are discussed and appointed by the board of trustees.
Management:
The orchestra’s affairs were managed throughout the period by its CEO and Artistic Director (Tom Fetherstonhaugh). The Director of Operations (Conor Carleton) worked alongside the CEO and Artistic Director during this period.
Bankers:
The orchestra’s bankers are HSBC UK Bank plc, 1 Centenary Square, Birmingham B1 1HQ
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Fantasia Orchestra Charitable Objectives (as stated in the charity's Constitution):
To advance the education of the public in the art of music, particularly but not exclusively through:
-
1) audience engagement with classical and/or contemporary compositions; and/or
-
2) broadening the reach and accessibility of music in the UK, particularly, but not exclusively, to young people.
Main Activities Undertaken:
Concerts:
Sheku Kanneh-Mason/Fantasia Orchestra @ Wells Cathedral & St Mary Abbots Kensington (16 & 19 September 2020)
Tasmin Little/Fantasia Orchestra @ Wells Cathedral (18 & 19 December 2020) Thomas Gould/Thomas Mole/Fantasia Orchestra @ Proms at St Jude's (4 July 2021)
Recordings:
DaCapo Primary Music (18 & 19 February 2021)
Educatonal actvites:
Schools Prom @ Proms at St Jude's (30 June 2021)
Statement on Public Benefit
It is the belief of the charity trustees that Fantasia Orchestra has had due regard to guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission of England and Wales.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
The reporting year 2020-2021 was a highly unusual period owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Government restrictions and limited audience capacities proved challenging across the performing arts, and this was no different for Fantasia Orchestra. Despite the complicated and ever-changing picture during this season, the charity nevertheless managed to carry out its objectives throughout the year.
September 2020 saw Fantasia Orchestra give some of the UK's first orchestral concerts with audiences since the end of the first national lockdown. Sheku Kanneh-Mason joined us as soloist for Dvorak's Cello Concerto, and we performed two concerts in Wells Cathedral and twice at St Mary Abbots, Kensington, London. We were happy that students of the DaCapo Music Foundation attended a rehearsal and had a Q+A session with the soloist and conductor afterwards.
Fantasia Orchestra returned to Wells Cathedral in December 2020 for two concerts with Tasmin Little, which were to be her final concerto performances before her retirement from violin playing.
The charity's partnership with DaCapo Music Foundation continued to flourish during this year. In February 2021, Fantasia Orchestra musicians recorded for the first phase of DaCapo Primary Music , a software for music education that will be rolled out to primary schools across the country.
We returned to Proms at St Jude's in June/July 2021, where we performed both the Schools' Prom and the Last Night of the Proms. For the Schools' Prom, we performed In Time by John Ashton Thomas and Tracey Mathias. Dan Bottomley was the narrator, and the concert was filmed and shared with the partner primary schools of the festival. For the Last Night of the Proms, we gave two concerts on 4 July and were joined by violinist Thomas Gould and baritone Thomas Mole.
Concerts were conducted by the Fantasia Orchestra's CEO and Artistic Director, Tom Fetherstonhaugh. The charity's operations were run by the Director of Operations, Conor Carleton.
The reach of the charity's activities was wide. Fantasia Orchestra's work was shared with live audiences and online ones alike, across a number of locations, contexts and settings.
Despite the challenges and difficulties of the pandemic, the trustees are satisfied that Fantasia Orchestra met its charitable objectives across the season, and that it was successful in discharging its aims and activities for the public benefit (according to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit).
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Reserves and Financial Risks Policy:
Board meetings were held regularly, approximately every quarter. The Treasurer Trustee, in conjunction with the charity's management, kept the trustees informed of the organisation's financial position, allowing financial risk to be assessed on an ongoing basis. Of particular importance was assessing financial risk during periods of uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic: this assessment continued throughout the 2020-2021 period.
With this being the first year of the charity's registration, and with limited reserves available, the Board of Trustees and the management have a policy to build reserves steadily across the first few years of Fantasia Orchestra's charitable status. The aim is to try to build reserves to the level equivalent to at least half of the estimated expenditure required to carry out the charity's activities for a 6-month period.
Trustee responsibilities:
The trustees are responsible for the preparation of these financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal controls as they determine necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing as applicable matters related to going concern.
The trustees are satisfied that the statements made herein represent a true and fair view of the financial position of the Charity and that it can continue as a going concern.
Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.
In preparing these Financial Statements, the Trustees are required to: -
-
Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
-
Observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP.
-
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
-
State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures that must be disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
-
Prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
-
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ascertain to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with the regulations under the Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations, and the provisions of the Trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the Trustees on 20 June 2022 and signed on their behalf by:
David A Kerr
Treasurer Trustee
Trustee commentary on finances:
Grants: A number of unrestricted grants were received in the period. Gift Aid @ 25% on eligible amounts is in the process of being claimed, but this was outstanding at the period end.
The Charity generated £6,295 from ticket sales (for self-promoted concerts), and also received a further £22,295 from the provision of charitable services, including recording fees and other concert/performance fees (for concerts which were promoted by a third-party promoter).
Performance/musician fees totalling £19,430 were paid. These did not include any payments to trustees.
Other expenses included an insurance premium, which in part covered a period beyond the period end (prepayment).
FNANCIAL STATEMENTS
Statement of Financial Activities
For the period from 17 September 2020 to 31 August 2021
| Income £ Restricted income 0 Unrestricted income Donatons Gif Aid Events Ticket sales direct Charitable services – concert & recording fees Contributon towards expenses Total income (all unrestricted) |
£ 0 7058 550 6295 22295 202 36400 |
|---|---|
| Expenditure Events Performance/ musician fees 19430 Venue, staging, music hire & purchases 2121 Music arranging 550 Travel & accommodaton 1433 Administraton 1950 Other including PPE 99 Total event expenditure Insurance/memberships Independent examinaton Total expenditure Surplus |
25583 230 250 26063 |
|---|---|
| 10337 |
Balance Sheet
31 August 2021
| Assets | £ Notes |
| Cash at bank | 9923 |
| Debtors & prepayments | 664 1 |
| Total assets | 10587 |
| Liabilites | |
| Amounts falling due within 1 year | 250 |
| Total liabilites | 250 2 |
Total net assets |
10337 |
| Charity funds | |
| Restricted reserves | 0 |
| Unrestricted reserves | 10337 |
| Total reserves | 10337 |
| Notes |
| 1 | Insurance premium expenditure in the period includes an amount relatng to the |
|---|---|
| accountng period afer 31 August 2021. £550 is due from HMRC re gif aid. | |
| 2 | The independent examiner’s fee was outstanding at the period end. |