## Viola da Gamba Society
# Charity number 258544
**Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts to 31[st] December 2025**
## **1. Alison Crum, President**
2025 saw many celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the death of Orlando Gibbons. Most of us will have enjoyed playing his music for many years, and this anniversary provided more opportunities than usual to feature his music in performance, including many events hosted by the VdGS during the year.
The VdGS has continued to provide meetings both ‘live’ and on ‘Zoom’, and the viol hire scheme is flourishing, however the running of the society is not getting any easier, and we are in constant need of more volunteers, especially younger ones, to help. We do have a number of officers supporting us (and I am very grateful to them all), but as John writes in his chair’s report, we still need more offers of help, especially with the co-ordinating of meetings.
At the VdGS we do particularly wish to focus on developing younger players. There are a few, thanks to universities that have instruments which students can borrow, and some of these young people, when they can no longer rely on their institutions, are pleased to be able to use viols from our special student hire collection. But we do need to encourage more players, and what better way than helping them to buy their own instrument? Thanks to a number of very generous donations in the last couple of years, we have more viols in the hire scheme than we need, and we have taken the decision to sell some of the older instruments at an affordable price. This also helps finance building a collection of wellmaintained higher quality ones for hire.
I hope that all our members enjoy being part our society, and that it will continue for many years. But, for that to happen, we need more volunteers (of all ages) and a new generation to keep the flame alive.
## **2. John Bryan, Chair**
I would like to use my report this year primarily to thank and commend those trustees and officers whose enthusiasm and dedication keep the Society’s activities engaging and relevant for all members. A year ago I noted that a vacancy had arisen for the essential role of meetings organiser. No-one has come forward to volunteer at the time of writing, and our meetings have been planned by a small team of trustees (Ibrahim Aziz, Mary Iden and myself) joined more recently by Esha Neogy. We hope we have continued to provide
interesting meetings both face-to-face and online, but would really welcome someone to take charge of planning as a new meetings organiser, supported by the current team.
Other non-trustee officers continue to play a vital role in taking a lead on various aspects of the Society’s operations. While it is invidious to mention particular individuals, I would still like to do so. Linda Hill has offered particular help with the oversight of the viols in our hire collection, enabling us to identify those which are surplus to requirements and might best be sold to generate funds to invest in better quality instruments. Her work in maintaining strong contacts with universities and colleges where viols are taught, and the young people who are learning there, enables us to develop our membership. David Blazey [a trustee from April 2026] is now deputy editor of _The Viol,_ our excellent quarterly journal, and it is good to have his expertise and enthusiasm in this role. I thank all of our volunteers, together with all the officers and trustees.
There will inevitably be periodic changes as individual’s circumstances change: this year Ibrahim Aziz has decided that his professional commitments as a player and teacher preclude him from standing for re-election as a trustee. Ibi has been a vital member of the team of trustees whose contribution, especially to the planning and operation of our meetings has been exemplary, and we will miss his input hugely. Ibi has always given us sound advice and wise opinions when we have had difficult issues to resolve, and we wish him well in his performance career.
As in previous years, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our Administrator Sue Challinor, who continues to be the first point of contact for many members. She has been doing sterling work in encouraging members to renew their subscriptions and provides the lead on the Society’s presence at the annual exhibition at LIFEM.
## **3. Margaret Woodruff, Honorary Treasurer**
## **2025 Accounts**
The result for the year to 31[st] December 2025 was a surplus of £1,541, leaving the VdGS a healthy overall reserve of £26,718.
During the year 2025 income from members’ subscriptions totalled £7,506, somewhat lower than 2024 (£8,007) but as a result of timing differences in receipts. A total of £2,198 in miscellaneous donations and other receipts was recorded, as well as an impressive £1,862 from sales of second-hand music which went towards the Joy Dodson Music Fund.
Viol hire fee receipts were slightly higher than 2024. The insurance charge for hirers covers our insurance costs and provides a little towards any repairs that are needed in between hires. Our charges remain modest and allow students of all ages to access instruments in support of their studies, both the Advanced Student viols and the main stock of hire viols. Some older instruments which had been in stock for a long time and had not been hired out were offered for sale and we were able to realise a total of £2,750 from this.
The VdGS stall at the London International Festival of Early Music (LIFEM) in November was very successful, attracting record sales of second-hand music, which came largely from donations and bequests, as well as the sale of two surplus trebles from stock.
On the expenditure side, distribution costs for _The Viol_ have once more risen steeply with the increases in postal rates whilst printing costs for _The Viol_ have again stayed about the same.
Hire scheme expenses have gone down considerably, as expected, after the much-needed overhaul of a large part of our hire stock in 2024. During 2025 numerous generous donations of instruments of all sizes were received for the hire scheme and we were most grateful for these. Naturally all donated instruments need assessment and, where necessary, repairs and setting up. As ever, we rely upon the excellent services of Bridgewood and Neitzert in London for making this service possible.
A total of £920 in Joy Dodson Music Fund bursary awards to individual students was made during the year. Other costs remained broadly the same despite the inevitable pressures from general inflation on our overheads.
## **4. Trustees**
The Trustees who served during 2025 were as follows:
Alison Crum, President
John Bryan, Chair
Margaret Woodruff, Hon. Treasurer
Ibrahim Aziz [to 25 April 2026]
Nicolas Hyde
Mary Iden _From 25 April 2026:_
David Blazey
## **VIOLA DA GAMBA SOCIETY**
## **Year ended 31/12/2025**
|**RECEIPTS**
**Voluntary receipts**
Subscriptions received
Donations for meetings speakers
Other Donations
Sally Morris donations
Other receipts
**Receipts for services to members**
Viol hire scheme fees
Viol hire insurance
Sale of hire viols
'The Viol' advertising
Sundry Sales incl. Music Editions
LIFEM income (non-JDF)
**Investment income**
Bank interest
**TOTAL Receipts**
**PAYMENTS**
**Cost of membership services**
'The Viol' - printing
- distribution
Hire scheme expenses
Hire scheme insurance
Hire scheme commission 2024
Hire scheme commission 2023
Purchase of hire viols, bows, cases
Joy Dodson bursaries
Meetings & Exhibition costs
**Cost of generating funds**
Cost of goods for sale
VdSG Music Edition costs
Exhibition stand etc.
**Support costs**
Administration: fees
Website & video conferencing
Postage, stationery and sundries
PayPal and bank charges
Other support costs
**TOTAL payments**|**General Fund**
**Viol Hire**
**Joy Dodson**
**Total £ 2025**
**Total £ 2024**
**Music Fund**
**YEAR**
**YEAR**|**General Fund**
**Viol Hire**
**Joy Dodson**
**Total £ 2025**
**Total £ 2024**
**Music Fund**
**YEAR**
**YEAR**|
|---|---|---|
||£
£
7,506
7,506
8,007
218
218
514
519
1,862
2,381
1,737
30
30
1,276
1,432
1,432
519
11,566
12,053
5,854
5,854
5,356
3,559
3,559
3,669
2,750
2,750
0
12,163
9,024
218
218
246
694
694
870
1,209
1,209
752
2,120
1,868
59
59
87||
|||11,566
12,053
5,854
5,356
3,559
3,669
2,750
0|
|||12,163
9,024
218
246
694
870
1,209
752|
|||2,120
1,868
59
87|
||**11,883**
**12,163**
**1,862**
**25,907**
**23,032**||
||£
£
1,381
1,381
1,345
2,653
2,653
1,979
1,621
1,621
8,459
1,388
1,388
1,298
1,339
1,339
0
2,665
2,665
0
300
300
750
920
920
225
2,744
2,744
2,548
15,010
16,605
0
0
575
0
0
548
602
602
560
602
1,683
7,862
7,862
7,488
0
0
170
333
333
870
163
163
201
396
396
363
8,754
9,091||
|||15,010
16,605
0
575
0
548
602
560|
|||602
1,683
7,862
7,488
0
170
333
870
163
201
396
363|
|||8,754
9,091|
||**16,134**
**7,312**
**920**
**24,366**
**27,380**||
||**Surplus / (Deficit)**|**1,541**
**(4,348)**|
## **Viola da Gamba Society Year ended 31st December 2025**
|||**Unrestricted**|**Society**||**Joy Dodson**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Funds**|**Reserve**||**Music Fund**|**Total £**|**Year**||
|Balances at|31/12/2024|22,638||-|2,539|25,177||2024|
|Balances at|31/12/2025|8,237||15,000|3,481|26,718||2025|
## **STATEMENT OF CASH ASSETS AT 31 DECEMBER 2025**
|Treasurer's Account
Music Editon Account
Deposit Account
PayPal Admin Account
PayPal Hire Account
Total Cash at Bank|**Unrestricted Joy Dodson**
**Total £**
6,968 3,481 10,449
5,048
5,048
7,467
7,467
3,729
3,729
24
24|
|---|---|
||23,237 3,481 26,718|
## **Notes to the accounts**
The insurance value of the hire instruments owned by the society was £178,875 on 22nd January 2025
The hire scheme commission payable for the year 2025 is £1,463.
## **Joy Dodson Music Fund**
The Joy Dodson Music Fund is a restricted fund. The fund comprises the balance of a legacy plus receipts from donations of various kinds and is earmarked to be spent on student bursaries.
|Bfwd 01/01/2025
Donatons rec'd
Bursaries made
Cfwd 31/12/2025|2,539
1,862
- 920|
|---|---|
||3,481|
## **Independent Examiner’s Report**
I report on my examination of the accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2025.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: (a) which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect, the general requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with UK accounting principles have not been met, and (b) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Caroline MacBrayne
19[th] March 2026