## **HUTTON & SHENFIELD CHORAL SOCIETY** ## **REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR** ## **1 AUGUST 2024 – 31 JULY 2025** 1 ## **HUTTON & SHENFIELD CHORAL SOCIETY** ## **Trustees’ Report for the year to 31 July 2025** Hutton & Shenfield Choral Society is governed by a Constitution dated 17 January 1972, as subsequently amended on 7 October 1991 and again on 29 October 2001. The Charity is registered with the Charity Commissioners, No 273001. The Charity’s postal address is Hillboro, Ongar Road, Fyfield, Ongar, Essex CM5 0RB and its website address is www.hscs.org.uk . A Committee of Officers and ordinary members comprise the trustees of the Charity. The Officers are elected annually and the ordinary committee members are elected for terms of three years. During the year the Committee was as follows: Richard Randall (Chair, resigned 14 October 2024) Jane Davenport (Chair from 14 October 2024) Robert Scott (Vice Chair) Ian Hollocks (Treasurer) Esme Burton (Secretary) Pat Clark Deborah Gill John Kelk Marina Maher David Philpott The Independent Examiner is Christopher Watkins MCSI. ## **Objects, Organisation and Activities** The Society aims to foster the public’s knowledge and appreciation of music, particularly choral music, by the study, practice and public performance of such music. In furtherance of these aims, the Society rehearses from September to July and usually stages 4 or 5 concerts each season for which it engages professional soloists and orchestral players. Members of the Society pay an annual subscription fixed at the Annual General Meeting and social events are held during the year for members and friends to help raise additional funds. ## **Review of Progress and Achievements** The Society’s aims of spreading public appreciation and knowledge of music have been met this year through the performance of two major choral/orchestral works, a Christmas concert, and an evening of operatic music. The major choral concerts were very well received and involved a large orchestral ensemble and professional soloists as well as the choir itself. The performances of the Mozart Requiem at Brentwood Cathedral in November and Handel’s Israel in Egypt at Chelmsford Cathedral in April were both delivered to the Society’s usual high standard. The Handel piece is particularly demanding and great credit should be paid to the work of the Director of Music, Tim Hooper, in leading the choir through the 2 complexities of the score. The Night at the Opera was similarly demanding, involving as it did the pronunciation of the librettos in French and Italian, and again the work of Tim Hooper should be duly applauded. Audience numbers remain steady, with good numbers attending particularly the performance of the Mozart Requiem. It would be pleasing, however, to see higher ticket sales, given the quality of these concerts and the sharp increases in costs. In the coming year the Society will continue to seek ways in which to boost attendances and will consider whether an increase in ticket prices is called for. The Christmas concert at the Brentwood Centre was once again very popular, and involved a local school choir and a ballet school. Membership of the choir continues to increase slowly and is now roughly at pre-pandemic levels. In the coming year the Society will continue its efforts to attract new singers and to diversify the membership. During the year the Society received an extremely generous bequest from the estate of Angela Harris. Angela was one of the founders of the Society and was a mainstay of the choir for many years. Her passing was met with great sadness, and the 2024 performance of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius was dedicated to her memory. On behalf of the Society I would like to express our deep gratitude for the legacy that Angela left to us. ## **Policy on Reserves** The Society remains committed to maintaining a level of financial reserves comparable to approximately half of the annual concert turnover. As at 31 July 2025 the Society’s reserves stood at just over 1.9 x annual concert turnover, comfortably exceeding the target. ## **Bankers** The Society’s bankers are The Co-operative Bank, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP Jane Davenport Chair On behalf of the Trustees of Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society 3 ## **BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JULY 2025** |**Fixed Assets**
**Current Assets**
Debtors & Prepayments
Deposit with Charities Official
Investment Fund
Current Account & in hand
**Liabilities**
PRS Payments due
Sundry creditors
**Net Current Assets**
**Total Assets**
**Represented by:**
**FUNDS**
**Income Funds**
Unrestricted General
Fund|**2025**
**£**
362
44,291
5,559|**2025**
**£**
0
50,212
1,910
48,302|**_2024_**
**_£_**
_0_
_2,106_
_47,051_
_3,027_| |---|---|---|---| ||0
1,910||_52,183_
_232_
_2,488_| ||||_2,720_
_49,464_| |||48,302|_49,464_| |||48,302|_49,464_| |||48,302|_49,464_| 4 ## **HUTTON & SHENFIELD CHORAL SOCIETY** ## **Notes to the Accounts for the Year to 31 July 2025** Accounting Policies ## **General** These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with applicable accounting standards and the Charities Commissioners Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2005) and the Charities Act 2006. ## **Depreciation** In drawing up these accounts, depreciation has not been provided. The Society’s fixed assets comprise equipment (music stands, keyboard, conductor’s podium and a music library) the total costs of which were written off immediately to revenue. The Society’s library and keyboard are insured through the Making Music scheme under a property clause with a maximum payment of £50,000 and a limit of £5,000 for any single item. ## **Trustees’ remuneration and expenses** No remuneration directly or indirectly out of the funds of the charity was paid or payable for the year to any trustee or to any person known to be connected with any of them. No reimbursement of expenses has been made or is due to be made to any of the trustees in respect of the year. ## **Grants** No grants were received during the year. ## **Fund raising** Fund raising activities resulted in the following income flows: |Functions
Coffee at rehearsals (net)
“200 Club”
Other activities|**2024/25**
**_2023/23_**
886
_691_
943
_969_
318
_294_
1,888
_1,698_| |---|---| ||4,035
_3,652_| ## **Retiring Collection at Christmas Concert** Traditionally, the Society has made a retiring collection at the end of its Christmas Concert. This year the collection raised an amount of £1,348 on behalf of the British Heart Foundation. 5 ## **Concert Expenses** ||**2024/25**|**_2023/24_**| |---|---|---| |Professional Fees|29,508|_29,130_| |Hire of Instruments|350|_0_| |Cost of Music Hire|2,123|_1,965_| |Hall Hire (Concerts)|8,799|_6,616_| |PRS|110|_0_| |MAKING MUSIC subs & insurance|700|_700_| |Printing, publicity & Sundry|2,545|_1,785_| ||44,135|_40,196_| |**Management and Administration of the Charity**||| ||**2024/25**|**_2023/24_**| |Postages, phones & stationery|0|_0_| |Newsletter & sundry printing|0|_0_| |Storage of library|720|_720_| ||720|_720_| ## **PRS Payments Due** No accrual has been made at 31 July 2025 for amounts due to the Performing Rights Society since the music performed during the year to 31 July 2025 was either out of copyright or is accounted for by the venue at which the performance took place. 6 ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** _Section A Independent Examiner’s Report_ |**Report to the trustees**
**On accounts for the year**
**ended**
**Set out on pages**|Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society|Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society|Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society| |---|---|---|---| ||||| ||31 July 2025|**Charity no**
**(if any)**|273001| ||||| ||4-6||| I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/07/2024. **Responsibilities and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. **Independent** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **examiner's** come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me **statement** cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. |**Signed:**
**Name:**
**Relevant professional**
**qualification(s) or body**
**(if any):**||| |---|---|---| |||| ||Christopher Watkins MCSI|| |||| ||MCSI [Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment]|| 7 170 Brentwood Rd Herongate **Address:** Brentwood Essex CM13 3PF 8 Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society 7.T2thts) 2S.41S.45 24.4V.78 5ts1_1 687.72 571A2 112193 PI13 7mfy) Ym97 .13482 44.13182 •,JXg5 FqB 112S1.LO 3f230 I￿5? &46 >).47 ).*A5 J,347. 8W41 6A) QL 217£ 45 -288J1 2.159.45 31e J.4fA)S1 207.38 ZS97.Jl om x¢)c 18.W7 18 314S2 43 * 9&14¢ 1&14t27 16.987.la 17.2x73 e6.49) 7T e•.450 71 JS.W7 48.Y2.44 49.4tt39 I￿•5 ofy) ?￿13 1.9IONJ .J)244 ￿.￿$1