## **Chair’s report 2023/24** 

With regard to the timeline for this report, I will be reflecting from June 2023. 

The choir was invited to sing at the city’s Armed Forces Day. As a few of our singers are cadets and the significance of the event, we were delighted to accept. They sang Will Remember Them and Brother James Air beautifully and received a lot of positive comments and feedback from the Mayor. This was a truly special occasion for the choir and the parents. 

In July, we took part in Craig’s concert that happens every June/July in Campbell Park. This event brings together many choirs from all over the city to perform. They were happy to take part in such a big event and have the opportunity to watch other choirs perform. The parents were glad for a lovely sunny day! 

The year-end was celebrated with a small concert for parents, family and friends followed by a party which allowed the children to really bond outside of the confines of choir rehearsal. 

The concert in December marks the season of Christmas and has become one of the regular events in the lead-up to the end of the school year. As usual, the event was well attended with support from The Big Band. The donations of cakes and raffle gifts from parents added to the event and the choir funds. Set in such a beautiful venue, our singers never fail to add to the spirit of Christmas. 

On a more light-hearted note, the annual carol singing event took place at the Kingston Centre in Kingston. As well as the current choir repertoire, they added in some well-known Christmas favourites along with festive hats and jumpers helping spread the Christmas cheer. 

The choir started 2024 by taking part in Young Voices, the largest children's choir in the world. Many of the singers have taken part with their schools and those who hadn’t, wanted the  chance  to  experience  the  event.  14  singers,  along  with  parents,  took  the  trip  to Birmingham, having practised the songs and dance moves for a few weeks. Everyone really enjoyed the experience; the parents got the best seats in the house whilst the choir were directly behind the stage. Everyone who came along agreed that it was such fun and an experience. We look forward to attending again in 2025. 

The choir continues to offer expert musical tuition from Penny and Craig, friendship and fun, but most importantly, it helps the singers form relationships and find some relief from the challenges of modern life. 

Next year there are some challenges ahead. With Craig retiring and the search to fill this huge loss and some exciting concerts ahead, it will be a busy year. However, the singers continue to inspire the committee. Thank you to all the parents for their support, the singers for their enthusiasm, commitment and beautiful singing, Craig and Penny for being the backbone and the support of the committee to keep the choir functioning. 

Claire Corkill 

Chair of the MKYC 



|**Income**||
|---|---|
|Subs|2592.21|
|Transfer from previous Charity|8982.43|
|Donation|188.48|
|Grant-Young Voices|700|
|Concert|242.81|
|Concert Donation|173.94|
|**Costs**||
|Accompanist|-1112.25|
|Conductor|-2306.36|
|Costs|-634.1|
|Church Hire|-600|
|Young Voices|-549.05|
|Grand Total|**7678.11**|





||Total|
|---|---|
|Income|12879.87|
|Costs|-5201.76|
|Split for submission||
|Donations and legacies|362.42|
|Charitable activities|2835.02|
|Other|9682.43|