## **Vox Urbane** **(a Charitable Incorporated Organisation)** ## **Financial Statements** **For the year ended 7[th] July 2024** ## **Vox Urbane CIO** **CONTENTS** |Administrative information|3| |---|---| |Report of the trustees|4| |Receipts and payments accounts|11| ## **Vox Urbane CIO** ## **ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** **Trustees** Noel Williams (Chair) Poppy Kemp Helen Kihmm-von Preyss Amena Zaman – from 19/1/2024 **Charity number** 1199588 **Registered office** 145 Marsala Road London SE13 7AE **Bankers** The Co-operative Bank PO Box 250 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT ## **Vox Urbane CIO** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 7[th] July 2024** The trustees present their report together with the financial statements for the year ended 7[th] July 2024. Vox Urbane is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) registered with the Charity Commission. The charity number, principal addresses and details of professional advisors are included in the administrative information on page 3. ## **Constitution, objectives and activities** The charity is operated under the rules of its CIO adopted 13[th] January 2022. The charity’s objects are, for the public benefit, to: To promote, maintain, improve and advance the education of the public in the arts, and in particular (without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing), the arts of choral and orchestral music, by: - a. The presentation of concerts, recitals, recordings, lectures and workshops of high artistic merit; - b. Training a culturally diverse community of children and young people in the art of choral and orchestral music, with a particular but not exclusive focus on those who are underrepresented in the sphere; - c. The provision of education programmes and encouraging programmes of classical music within schools. ## **Organisational structure** The charity is managed by the trustees who are appointed by existing trustees. All trustees receive an induction pack containing the charity’s key documents and attend at least one meeting a year. Throughout the year, trustees receive regular updates on the activities of the charity. Trustees are also strongly encouraged to visit the projects themselves. The Trustees appointed Amena Zaman as a Trustee on 19[th] January 2024. Additionally, Bridget Kennedy joined as Operations and Finance Advisor, on a voluntary basis from 16[th] April 2024. ## **Achievements, projects and performances** ## **Funding** This year we have built on the success of Vox Urbane’s launch concert in April 2023 and pushed forward to raise funds for future projects, using the momentum gained and excellent press coverage that we have received. Additionally, after the success of our first education projects with Vox Roots we have significantly expanded the amount of outreach work that has taken place over the course of the year. Our aim is to launch an Inaugural London Season of Concert in Autumn 2024. To this end, seed funding of £10,000 has been successfully secured from Cockayne Grants for the Arts, as well as a smaller award from the Vaughan Williams Foundation. Further funding was also awarded from the Garrick Charitable Trust for our Vox Next Gen young artists programme, and from Old Possum’s Practical Trust for Vox Roots outreach work in primary schools in Hackney and Newham. ## **Outreach** ## **We engage in outreach through our two youth initiatives, by working with young singers from the classroom, Vox Roots, through to the launch of their early professional careers, Vox Next Gen.** ## **Vox Roots** Our Vox Roots outreach work was fully launched after a successful pilot last year. We were able to work in five schools in Hackney and Newham. Three of these were part of the Mossbourne Federation Schools, and two further schools contacted us independently and funding from the Old Possum’s Practical Trust enabled us to organise a series of workshops in both schools. This specific project culminated in a visit to Citi (the global bank) and combined performance with both schools, members of Vox Next Gen and Citi London Choir, as well as a tour of the trading floor of the bank for the children. The concert and visit were funded by Citi as part of their Global Community Day event. ## Impact Vox Urbane’s mission to tackle the lack of diversity in choral music and remove barriers to access and participation in the arts begins with our Vox Roots programme. Through school workshops and integrated performances, Vox Roots engenders a passion for singing in schoolage children who would not otherwise have access to inspirational music and musicians. |Number of schools visited:|5|| |---|---|---| |Number of children involved in workshops and concerts:||170| |Number of workshops/rehearsals:|27|| |Number of concerts:|10|| |Number of school staff taking part in workshops:|5|| Concert venues included St John at Hackney, St Mary of Charity Church, Faversham and Citi’s London office. Schools visited Secondary Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, Hackney E9 7HD ## Primary Mossbourne Riverside Academy, Hackney E15 2GW Mossbourne Parkside Academy, Hackney E8 1AS Oldhill Community Primary School, Hackney N16 6LR St Francis Primary School, Newham E15 1HB In addition: a new children’s choir was formed in conjunction with the Director of Music at St Mary of Charity Church, Faversham, especially to perform with Vox Next Gen young singers. A new carol was written by our Musical Director Dan Ludford-Thomas and the world premiere given on 10[th] December 2023 in Faversham. ## Feedback Survey feedback from children who have taken part in Vox Roots workshops and concerts has been excellent: 100% of the children enjoyed taking part in both the workshops and concerts. Furthermore, 100 % of the children reported that their wellbeing had improved as a result of being in the workshops and concerts, with 53% feeling ‘lots better’. ## Testimonial ## May 2024 _Music has always been an integral part of teaching and learning at Mossbourne Federation academies. Vox Urbane’s choral workshops not only foster the development of key competencies that support academic achievement (e.g., listening skills, collaboration, self-regulation), but also enhance the social and cultural capital of our pupils._ _Although there is clear evidence of the positive relationship between participation in school-based music programmes and academic performance, this was not our sole motivation for engaging Vox Urbane to work with our primary and secondary school students._ _Our main aims were to inspire creativity and to give young people from communities underrepresented in the world of classical choral music the chance to develop the interest, skills, and self-belief needed to access the genre fully._ _In our primary schools, Vox Urbane introduced and reinforced strong singing technique and musicianship in a way that was inclusive and fun, laying a solid basis for progression. The workshops have increased the number of pupils who develop the interest and skill needed to join a choir at secondary school._ _The goal of the secondary school workshops was to continue to improve singing technique but achieved much more. Working with professional musicians from diverse backgrounds boosted the confidence of our senior choirs and inspired a new passion for sharing their voices and performing._ _Only a few of our secondary school students will go on to pursue careers as musicians. However, all of those who have worked with Vox Urbane will leave school with broader horizons and an established creative interest and artistic outlet as they move on to university and beyond._ Rebecca Thomas Philanthropy and Sponsorship Manager Mossbourne Federation ## **Vox Next Gen** The Vox Next Gen young artists programme has been increasingly busy, with the ensemble taking part in collaborative concerts with Lewisham Choral Society, London City Singers and Voices of Singapore Children’s Choir. Additionally, members of the programme were offered the opportunity to work with Music and Theatre for All on their production of the community opera ‘Our Street’, premiered in late July 2024. Furthermore, individual singers from the programme have been offered professional solo work with Lewisham Choral Society, and the Hackney Singers. Other Next Gen singers have been trained by Vox Urbane professional mentors to lead outreach workshops for the Vox Roots programme. ## Testimonial May 2024 _At Music and Theatre for All, we've been fortunate to work with the young singers of Vox Next Gen on a number of occasions. Not only does Vox Urbane's philosophy of nurturing talent and giving a platform and paid experience to as wide a group of young people as possible, chime with our own mission, but the energy, quality and enthusiasm that these young artists bring to their work adds a huge amount to our projects. We have been hugely impressed not only with the great care Vox Urbane takes to nurture their young singers, to train and make tailored demands on them, but also to make sure that any projects such as the ones we have collaborated on are ones which will be a genuine benefit to them, and in which their young artists can flourish. Seeing the young singers of Vox Next Gen grow in confidence, skills and experience is a joy, and long may it continue._ Thomas Guthrie, Artist Director of Music and Theatre for All ## **A summary of key events** - July 2023, Sinfonia Smith Square, Vox Next Gen with Lewisham Choral Society. - December 2023, Church of the Ascension, Blackheath, Vox Next Gen, candlelit carols. - December 2023, St Mary of Charity, Faversham, Vox Next Gen, candlelit carols. - April 2024, St Matthew's, Wimbledon, Vox Urbane with guest treble Leo Ogungbemi. - June 2024, St Mary's West Kensington, Vox Next Gen/ with London City Singers. - June 2024, St John at Hackney, Vox Roots and Mossbourne Federation Schools. - June 2024, Canary Wharf, Vox Roots/Vox Next Gen/Citi London Choir. - June 2024, Sinfonia, Smith Square, Vox Next Gen with Voices of Singapore. - Vox Roots workshops and concerts from November – July in 5 schools in Hackney and Newham. ## **Future Plans** ## Vox Urbane - 2024 Inaugural London Season of concerts with world premiere works commissioned from Shiva Feshareki, Emily Hazrati and Barbara Dudek. Venues to include The Fellowship Inn, Stanley Arts and Hackney Church (formerly, St John’s at Hackney). - 2025 we aim to make commercial recording of the new commissions. - Dancing in the Mirror. Collaboration with Tom Guthrie at MTFA in 2025. - A collaboration with Marque Gilmore with an initial performance at the CLF Art Lounge in Peckham, with further plans including a cultural exchange in association with the New England Conservatory, USA. - Autumn 2025 London Concert Season to include performances at The Fellowship Inn, Heartbeat, Embassy Gardens, CLF Art Lounge Peckham and further venues tbc. - Hay Music Festival, winter concert December 2025 - A Crypt Close-Up concert at St Martin in the Fields concert, date tbc. ## Vox Next Gen - Annual tour in August 2024 to the Dordogne Valley. Next Gen’s tour to France in 2025 will be supported in 2025 by Ferrandou Musique - The Divine Feminine: Vox Next Gen are due to take part in a project with the BBC Singers with a working title Divine Feminine. This is an opera to be written by Shiva Feshareki planned for March 8th, 2026, International Women's Day. - Collaborative performances with both Lewisham Choral Society and the Hackney Singers as part of our ongoing partnership with these two community choirs. - A pop-up performance at Birmingham NEC April 2025 - Candlelit carol concerts in Blackheath, Deptford, and Kent. - A performance in St John’s College, Oxford, as part of their Gibbons Festival summer 2025. ## Vox Roots - Ongoing work with the Mossbourne Federations schools during the 24/25 academic year - A new Vox Roots project based in a school in Southwark funded by the Newcomen Collett Foundation - A three-year project in schools in Hackney funded by the Skinners Company - An animated version of ‘Snow Days’ (composed for Vox Next Gen and St Mary of Charity Choristers in 2023) to be created, with a sound-track recorded by Vox Next Gen and children from the Vox Roots projects programme. ## **Vox Urbane CIO** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 7[th] July 2024 (cont’d)** ## **Financial review** Total income for the year amounted to £21,226. The trustees’ charitable activities of promoting and enhancing charitable work amounted to £11,492. This resulted in a surplus for the year of £9,734. Cash funds at the end of the financial year were £12,101 which included £10,000 restricted funds relating to the Inaugural London Season of concerts taking place in November 2024 and for which costs were incurred after the financial year-end. The trustees’ policy is to retain a level of reserves which will provide a stable base for its continuing activities while at the same time ensuring that funds are not accumulated. ## **Risk management** The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and in particular those relating to the specific operational areas of the charity and its finances. The trustees believe that by ensuring controls exist over key financial systems and by examining the operational and business risks faced by the charity, they have established effective systems to mitigate those risks. ## **Trustees** The following trustees have held office during the year: Noel Williams – Chair Poppy Kemp Helen Kihmm-von Preyss Amena Zaman ## **Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements** The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable organisation’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable organisation and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: - Observe the methods and principles in the Statement of Recommended Practice (Accounting and Reporting by Charities – the Charities SORP); - Prepare accounts on a consistent basis; - Ensure that valuations of assets and liabilities, if provided, are relevant, reliable and understandable; - Prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business. Since the charity’s turnover for the financial year was less than £250,000, Receipts & Payments accounts and a Statement of Assets & Liabilities have been prepared, as permitted under Section 133 of The Charities Act 2011. Approved by the trustees on 30[th] January 2025 and signed on their behalf by: Poppy Kemp ## **Vox Urbane CIO** ## **RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 7[th] July 2024** S•cllon B Stat•m•nt of ass•ts and Ilablllll•s at th• •nd of th• perlod Um¥trlct•d R•¥trSctsd Ermlowrnant to w••t £ t• w••¢ ¢ t• rw••l t B1 C*ghfund# C*h at I￿* IlQ1 Total cash funds 2,101 10,000 Lknstrlcknd R•strlclwd Endowrnont D•talls B2 (Xh•r mon•tary a•••t• t*1￿ch asa•t b•1 valu• D•talls B3 Inv•1lm•nt ••••t• TA1￿ch aso•t b•1 valu• Detalls B4 A4••ts r•taln•d lor th• ¢h•rlty's own u•• con¢qrt LthY•ythct•d which lIa￿lIty r•l4t•s l**loMII {op¢ion•ll B5 Llftbllltl•* Sipn•d by 000 or l*¥J tyust••s on behal of al lh• Iwsl••s Dato of oval Poppy Kery 2610112025 l.The Charfjtable Incorpornt*d I￿nIsatIon IGenual WulatlonslOI2 wulrethelollowlngln1ormatl￿ to be ven by wayof note.. al partiCul￿OIanVgUarantee giv￿ by theCIO, where any potential liailrty under theW¥￿te￿i$0Utsta￿dIn#8t thedate ol thestatement of assets and liabilitie5. Ther* ** none. bl particulasof anyéebt outstandln8at theéate of thestatement ofassets and liabilltleswhlch isowed bytheCIO d which issLrured by an expre55 chaT8eon of thea55et5 of the CIO. ThEre1SnDdebt outs&*￿1￿. 2. Rtstrfctal Grantsof £13,900 wererecefjved duflngtheyearcompri&ni.' Old Possum's Prxtlcal Trust £1.500 forvox Roots The GarTickCharitableTrus1£2,400 lorvox NErftGen Cocka¥neGrants lor the Nrts£lO,000 forvox urbanel0￿￿ra london Se3son Il*J¥wnber 20241 At year•id there wttt Re5trfcLtd Cash Funds of £IO.000, reprekentln8theCocWne8rant forwhich e¥wse5 hal notyei bew incurral. 3. Earfied Incomt- F*$ of£5,000 reprtstht feÈs re£tived from Mossbourne Federation forvox Rootssth¢)ol workshopsddi¥ered as p¥t of Mossbourn¥sextrxurri£ularand enriChM￿t pro8ramme.