2023-02-28-accounts

High Barnet Chamber Music Festival Trustees’ Annual Report 2022–2023

High Barnet Chamber Music Festival, 7 Byng Road, Barnet, EN5 4NW

07896675129 www.hbcmf.co.uk [e-mail] Registered Charity No. 1193517

Structure, Governance, and Management

The charity is a CIO governed by a constitution.

Trustees are selected according to the needs of the CIO with regard to particular skills and knowledge they may have. Prospective trustees are interviewed by a sub-group and then appointed by the passing of a resolution by the board of trustees.

Trustees

Joshua Ballance (Resigned 7[th] March 2022)

Danica Bila (Appointed 7[th] March 2022)

Anahita Falaki

Matthew Freedman (Resigned 27[th] March 2022)

Rhian Morgan

Pey Kan Su (Appointed 7[th] March 2022)

The Trustees confirm that they have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

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High Barnet Chamber Music Festival, 7 Byng Road, Barnet, EN5 4NW

07896675129 www.hbcmf.co.uk [e-mail] Registered Charity No. 1193517

Purposes of the Charity

For the public benefit, to promote and advance for the public the appreciation of and education in music, through concerts and other musical activities, particularly in, though not restricted to, the area of High Barnet.

Main Activities

The charity put on a festival comprising five concerts in two venues: St John the Baptist Church, and Queen Elizabeth’s School. These concerts were well-attended by an audience of over 300.

The concerts were designed to be both enjoyable and educational, specifically through adventurous programming and a detailed and accessibly written programme handed out free to all attendees.

Alongside this we ran a Student Ambassador Scheme, a work experience programme for a sixth form student, and put on a day of masterclasses at a local school.

Main Achievements

Appreciation of Music

We had a wide range of performers, drawn from amongst the UK’s best early-career musicians, and they performed a diverse set of programmes spanning music from the 18[th] century through to 2014. Indeed, adventurous and representative repertoire is a key artistic goal of ours. We have a specific commitment to ensuring each of our programmes is mixed gender, and in fact the overall split approached parity with 7 female composers and 8 male composers.

A post-concert survey, answered by 10% of our audience, gave more details on our audience:

• Almost 75% of respondents are Barnet residents, indicating that we are successfully cultivating a local audience. This was helped by our engagement with local cultural and community institutions (e.g. Barnet Society, Barnet Borough Arts Council).

• Approximately 1/3 of respondents attend classical music infrequently, showing that we are attracting and developing new audiences for this genre.

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High Barnet Chamber Music Festival, 7 Byng Road, Barnet, EN5 4NW

07896675129 www.hbcmf.co.uk [e-mail] Registered Charity No. 1193517

• 95% of respondents rated the festival either 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale (5 being the highest), demonstrating the success of our activities.

• Over half of respondents specifically praised the ‘varied and interesting’ programming. Our programming has been portrayed in some quarters of the press as risk-taking, but clearly it is a risk that pays off.

• We received very positive acclaim in the press, both local (e.g. Barnet Society, Camden New Journal) and specialist (e.g. Classical Music Magazine, Artsdesk). This included both previews of the festival, and a review which described ‘an enterprising festival, characterised by this ambitious and intriguing concert which I was very glad to hear.’

Education in Music

We have a partnership with a local state school, with which we organised a charity concert in support of the victims of the war in Ukraine. This was well-attended and a fundraising success, bringing in over £300 for UNICEF. An exceptional music student from the school was also given the opportunity to watch the rehearsals of the ensemble Mad Song, and received mentoring from the conductor, including an opportunity to conduct the ensemble briefly in rehearsal. We also ran a day of masterclasses at the school with performers from the recital series, including a lunchtime concert.

Our education work also extended to our Student Ambassador Scheme, which is a unique work experience opportunity for local students. This year a sixth-form student from a local school volunteered with the organisation and gained invaluable first-hand experience of running an arts organisation, including everything from fundraising to programming to hands-on concert management. These programmes were all wholly subsidised.

Volunteers’ Contribution

Volunteers play an integral part in the success of the festival. Beyond the Trustees and Artistic Director, all of whom act on a voluntary basis, volunteers also steward the concerts.

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High Barnet Chamber Music Festival, 7 Byng Road, Barnet, EN5 4NW 07896675129 www.hbcmf.co.uk [e-mail] Registered Charity No. 1193517

Financial Review

The charity is in a safe financial position and continues as a going concern. The vast majority of costs take place after fundraising has been secured, and as such the annual budget is prepared in line with funds already raised.

The charity has reserves of £1407.

The charity holds reserves primarily in order to cover annual logistical expenses (e.g. insurance, website) and also as contingency in case of any unforeseen expenditures or low ticket sales.

The principal financial risk facing the charity is income from trading activities. Every effort is made to ensure much of the charity’s income is derived from sources which are fixed in advance of charitable activities (grants, donations, sponsorship), however the charity will always rely on ticket sales to fund part of its activities and while the charity makes careful and considered projections, there is inevitable risk involved. On a medium-term basis we are aiming to build up reserves equal to projected ticket sales, so that the financial risk is minimised.

Fundraising Activities

The charity successfully raised sufficient funds to carry out its activities. These come from three principal sources: grants from grant-giving organisations (state and private), individual and corporate donors, and trading activities (principally ticket sales). The first two categories make up the majority of funding, which allows us to keep ticket prices at an accessible level. We are also focussed on ensuring our fundraising does not become dependent on any individual ‘key’ donors but is diversified across a pool of funders.

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High Barnet Chamber Music Festival, 7 Byng Road, Barnet, EN5 4NW 07896675129 www.hbcmf.co.uk [e-mail] Registered Charity No. 1193517

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Danica Bila, Trustee

Anahita Falaki, Trustee

Rhian Morgan, Trustee Monday 30[th] October, 2023

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High Barnet Chamber Music Festival

Profit and Loss

March 2022 - February 2023

	TOTAL
Income
001 Grant income	6,540.00
002 Donations	1,967.99
003 Concert sales	2,141.18
Total Income	£10,649.17
GROSS PROFIT	£10,649.17
Expenses
310 Production cost	1,315.41
312 Musicians fee	7,710.00
320 Advertising & marketing cost	166.66
326 Insurance	110.72
335 Lighting cost	150.00
338 Venue hire	850.90
371 Bank charges	20.00
383 Charitable contributions	151.96
Total Expenses	£10,475.65
NET OPERATING INCOME	£173.52
Other Income
411 Interest earned	3.82
Total Other Income	£3.82
NET OTHER INCOME	£3.82
NET INCOME	£177.34

Accrual Basis Wednesday, 10 May 2023 10:30 am GMT+01:00

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