Festival Voices Trustees’ Report and Accounts Fifteen month period from 1st January 2023 to 5th April 2024 Charity Number 1198403 Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year Ending 5th April 2024 Festival Voices ## **Trustees’ Report and Accounts** Trustees’ Report Receipts and Payments Account Statement of Assets and Liabilities Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year Ending 5th April 2024 Festival Voices ## **Trustees' Report** Charity Name: Festival Voices Charity Registration Number: 1198403 Charity Principal Address: 12 Blake House, London, N19 5AR ## **Objectives** The charity’s principal objective, as laid out in its constitution (approved by the Trustees on 10th January 2022 and registered with the Charity Commission on March 28th 2022) is the advancement of the arts and culture, and the education of the public in the art of music for the public benefit through: a) the performance of high quality, educational choral programmes b) commissions and cross-genre collaborations c) participation opportunities for people from all demographics ## **Review of Activities** In the fifteen months from January 2023 to April 2024, Festival Voices continued its research and planning activities, leading towards three live and one licensed projects in 2024. The board met at regular intervals throughout this period, with particular focus on getting live events going again for the organisation. In March 2024, we licensed the performance of FV and Nico Bentley’s ‘Dixit Dominus Remixed’ (the electronic reimagining of Handel’s Dixit Dominus that FV performed with Nico Bentley at the 2019 London Handel Festival) to Doug Varone and Dancers in New York for inclusion in their two part dance theatre piece “To My Arms / Restore”, touring the US across the next two years. This brought in some initial funds to provide a foundation for FV’s ongoing charitable activities in the UK, and provided a useful blueprint for future licensing of FV and its collaborators’ creations to third parties. Throughout the period, the charity was in the research, development, pitching and planning stages for a season of performances across Summer 2024, including appearances at Bold Tendencies in Peckham, Southbank Centre in London, and Wilderness Festival. These events took place after the financial period in question but much of the preparatory work happened within the period. The performance at Bold Tendencies on 1st June 2024 (after the period in question) involved the premiere of a new choral work by composer Kristina Arakelyan, as well as an electronic remix of Mozart's _Requiem_ by electronic music producer and long-term Festival Voices collaborator Nico Bentley. This project allowed us to fulfil our charitable objectives by working with a range of amateur choirs local to Peckham, in an exploration of Songs of Protest, exploring the political and community possibilities of group singing. The choirs included Citizens of the World Choir, London International Gospel Choir, London Gay Men’s Chorus, London Youth Choirs and the first appearance of the newly-formed Bold Chorus. The performance at Southbank Centre, in which we premiered Nico Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year Ending 5th April 2024 Festival Voices Bentley’s remixes of works for a capella choir and soloists, was part of their public programming Sing Out the Summer Festival, unticketed and open to all, affording a first experience of classical choral music to many in the audience. We opened a bank account in April 2023. ## **Public Benefit** The Trustees have complied with the duty to have due regard to guidance on public benefit published by the Commission, ensuring FV’s meets its charitable objectives through its work. ## **Financial Review** The charity received its first income as a result of licensing Dixit Dominus Remixed to Doug Varone and Dancers. This income has allowed FV to initiate its reserves policy, which is to hold £1,000 at any time in the bank account. The additional £280 received was donations to support ongoing monthly banking costs. Outgoing expenses during the period were a result of banking costs: a) set up costs b) transaction costs c) the monthly fee for subscription to the bank’s commercial platform. The charity’s unrestricted assets at the end of this report’s accounting perfios were £1009.62. ## **Structure, governance and management** Festival Voices is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, governed by constitution. The Trustees are Amanda MacLeod (chair), Jack Furness and Jack Halsey **.** Bob Riley held the position of chair until 4th May 2023 when he stepped down from the role and resigned as a trustee. Amanda MacLeod was appointed new chair on the same date. The charity’s constitution stipulates that there must be at least three charity Trustees and the maximum number of Trustees is twelve. Apart from the first Trustees, every Trustee is to be appointed for a term of five years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the board. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of Festival Voices. There is public recruitment of trustees planned for the period 2024-2025. Board meetings in the period were attended by Mr Gregory Batsleer and Mr Oskar McCarthy (Co-Artistic Directors). ## **Declaration** Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year Ending 5th April 2024 Festival Voices The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees Signed by Name Amanda A MacLeod (Chair) Date 28th October 2024 Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year Ending 5th April 2024 Festival Voices ## **Statement of financial activity** ## Receipts and payments ||**Unrestricted**
**funds 2023-24**|**Unrestricted**
**funds 2023-24**|**Restricted funds**
**2023-24**|**Total funds 2023-24**|**Last year**|**Last year**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**£**||**£**|**£**|**£**|| |**Total Income**|1280.00||-|1280.00|-|| |**Total Expenditure**|(270.38)||-|(270.38)|-|| |**Net income/expenditure**|1009.62||-|1009.62|**-**|| |**Total funds carried forward**|**1009.62**||**-**|**1009.62**|**-**|| |Balance Sheet||||||| |||**Unrestricted**
**funds 2023-24**|**Restricted funds**
**2023-24**|**Total 2023-24**||**Last year**| |||**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**| |**Current assets**||**1009.62**|-|**1009.62**||**-**| |Debtors||-|-|-||-| |Cash at bank and in hand||1009.62|-|1009.62||-| |**_Total current Assets_**||**1009.62**|**-**|**1009.62**||**-**| |||||||| |**Creditors: amounts falling**
**due within one year**||-|-|-||-| |_Net current assets/(liabilities)_||1009.62|-|1009.62||-| |**_Total assets less current_**
**_liabilities_**||1009.62|-|1009.62||-| |||||||| |**Creditors: amounts falling**
**due after one year**||-|-|-||-| |||||||| |**_Total net assets or liabilities_**||1009.62|-|1009.62||-| |||||||| Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year Ending 5th April 2024 Festival Voices |**Funds of the charity**|1009.62|-|1009.62|-| |---|---|---|---|---| |Restricted income funds|-|-|-|-| |Unrestricted income funds|1009.62|-|1009.62|-| |||||| |**_Total funds_**|**1009.62**|**-**|**1009.62**|**-**| Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees Signed by Name Amanda A MacLeod (Chair) Date 28th October 2024 ## **Notes and clarifications** Trustees’ Report and Accounts Year Ending 5th April 2024 Festival Voices