The Athenaeum Singers
Registered Charity No 1197561
Report of the Trustees for the period from 1[st] September 2023 to 31[st] August 2024.
Objectves
The purpose of the Charity is to promote, improve, develop, encourage and maintain the education and appreciation of choral singing and of music in all its aspects, by performance at public concerts, recitals, workshops and in other ways that the Charity through its Executive Committee deem appropriate.
Actvites and Achievements
The year 2023/24 has been both a successful and challenging year for the choir, our MD continues to develop the confidence and choral ability of the choir, and rehearsals are generally a joyful experience leading to increasingly confident performances.
This year’s season began with rehearsals for our Remembrance concert which took place on Remembrance Day. We were pleased to welcome representatives from the local army barracks as well as local dignitaries and patrons, to a moving concert that was well received by an appreciative audience.
In December we held our annual Carol concert and a group from the choir along with our MD visited two local care homes to sing a selection of carols, our audience enjoyed the opportunity to join in with those they knew. Later that month the choir were invited to sing with our local Philharmonic Orchestra at their annual concert.
At the beginning of 2024 the choir began rehearsing for our St John Passion concert; this was to be the culmination of our Chilcott Fest. The events began in early February starting with a weekend with Bob Chilcott leading a composition workshop for music students at a local school; this was followed in the evening by a talk given by Bob Chilcott. The following day the choir hosted a Come and Sing day lead by Bob Chilcott which drew a large number of attendees and was declared a great day. The St John Passion concert in March was much enjoyed by an audience who particularly appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the performance.
We were very fortunate to have had substantial sponsorship for these events.
The summer concert in June featured a selection of choral music taking the audience on a journey through Europe; this was a successful concert with many of the audience eager to
express their appreciation. Following this a small group of singers again visited one of our Christmas venues to sing a well-known medley of songs involving audience participation.
Through the continuous review of their Strategic Plan, the Executive Committee continue to plan for the long term future of the Charity, working on ways to retain and increase membership numbers as well as how to ensure and encourage increased audience engagement through greater variation in concert programmes as well as continuing to broaden what the Charity can offer the wider community through engagement with other choirs, schools and community organisations.
The choir continues to improve communication through the website
www.athenaeumsingers.com and Facebook page, Instagram and X, as well as in the local community press and media.
Financial Review
The Receipts and Payments account for the period 1[st] September 2023 to 31[st] August 2024 shows an overall surplus of £483.
This year we managed to gain substantial sponsorship for the Chilcott Fest which overall helped to ensure that we were ending the year with an actual surplus rather than deficit. However, we did experience losses for both our Autumn workshop and concert as attendance at both was lower than anticipated
Expenditure in the year totalled £12,513, the Musical Directors and Accompanists fees making up two thirds of this at £8,345. Music hire and church hire for rehearsals cost a further £2,579 less than the previous year, the remaining £1,589, substantially less than the previous year, covered the cost of bank charges, advertising and general expenses.
Policies Reserves and Risks
The Charity has had to use further amounts of our £7000 reserves. The Executive Committee is conscious of the need to explore all avenues to further increase membership and concert attendance. They continue to look at finding other possible income sources including grant applications as well as sponsorship and fund raising.
The Charity has decided on a substantial increase in membership fees this year to bring them in line with other similar organisations.
Sound financial controls are exercised by the setting of budgets and their stringent review.
Trustees
The Trustees are put forward from within the membership of the Athenaeum Singers based on their relevant skills; they form the Executive Committee who is elected annually.
The members elected at the last AGM
Mrs J Adams ( Chair ) Mrs A Arthur Mrs E Light ( Vice Chair ) Mr D Darby Mrs J Laugher ( Joint Treasurer ) Mrs B Luscombe Mrs C Mullins ( Joint Treasurer ) Mrs S Peachey Mrs J King ( Secretary )
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by
Mrs J Adams ( Chair )
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