Trustees’ Annual Report
For the Year Ended 30 June 2025
Wokingham Choral Society Registered Charity No. 274853
Charity address: is as reported
Trustees: are as reported
Structure and management of Wokingham Choral Society
The business of the Society is managed by a Committee of volunteers elected annually by the Society’s membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held just after the end of the financial year. These same Committee members are also the Trustees of Wokingham Choral Society. All members of the Committee are drawn from the Society’s membership. The Committee meets not less than every three months to discuss and plan the business of the Society. Full details of the make-up, election and operation of the Committee are set out in Wokingham Choral Society’s Constitution.
Objectives and Activities of Wokingham Choral Society
The objectives of the Society are to educate the public in the art and science of music, the presentation of concerts and other activities.
To achieve these objectives, funds are raised by charging annual subscriptions to the members, the sale of concert tickets to the public and the organisation of fundraising activities, to enable the Society to employ the services of the best possible professional Musical Directors, Rehearsal and Concert Accompanists, Concert Orchestras and Soloists.
Achievements and Performance of Wokingham Choral Society
At the 2024 AGM of the Society (hereafter referred to as “the choir”), our Librarian stepped down from the role and the Committee, and a new Librarian was elected to the Committee by the choir’s membership. There were no other changes to the makeup of the Committee. Our professional Musical Director and our professional Rehearsal and Concert Accompanist continued in post throughout 2024-25 season.
Our Autumn Concert, entitled English Masters , was a collaboration with pupils from St George’s School Windsor Castle. The main work performed was Britten’s cantata Saint Nicolas , which features a children’s choir. In the first half of the concert, there were
performances of works by Purcell and of contemporary English composers by both the choir and pupils from St George’s School. The concert was held in the refurbished All Saints Church, Wokingham, which has now become our main concert venue; the church was filled with a capacity audience, which included friends and supporters of the choir, and parents and other relatives of the pupils from St George’s School. The Autumn Concert was followed in December by our annual, popular Christmas Carol Concert.
The Spring Concert was another collaboration, this time with Bracknell Choral Society. The two choirs joined forces to give a performance of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius , which neither choir could feasibly mount independently. The work requires a large choir, which includes a semi-chorus, and also a large orchestra. We also needed to find a venue large enough to accommodate the ca. 180 singers, 60-piece orchestra and – it was hoped – large audience for this popular work. In the event, we chose to perform the work in Guildford Cathedral. Planning for this concert had begun in the previous season, and involved a considerable amount of additional work. Therefore, it was gratifying that the concert was a great success, attracting an audience of nearly 480 people.
We were back in All Saints Church, Wokingham for our Summer Concert, which included Mozart’s Coronation Mass and pieces by Parry, Haydn, Brahms and Handel. The concert also showcased four young soloists, who, for the main part, were still studying music at undergraduate level. Again, audience numbers for this concert were relatively healthy, further vindicating our move to a performance venue in Wokingham from Reading, where we’d customarily performed in previous seasons.
Membership numbers were again down on the previous year, from the mid-nineties to 90 by the end of the 2024-25 season. This is concerning, not least because of the impact on income from subscriptions. However, it is hoped this number will increase next season.
Wokingham Choral Society is a hard-working, welcoming and forward-looking choral society and though an auditioned choir, it is open to anyone from 16 years upwards who meets the musical standard required.
Now in its eighth decade, the choir continues its long tradition of bringing high quality performances of classical choral works to the residents of Wokingham and the surrounding area. The 2025/26 season will start with a concert of works by the Baroque masters, Bach and Handel, featuring five soloists and a period-performance orchestra.
Financial Review:
Wokingham Choral Society has continued to face rising costs. In response to this, we increased our standard ticket prices for the 2024/25 season, such that they are in line with the prices charged by other local choirs. These price increases do not appear to have negatively impacted ticket sales; indeed, these have probably received a boost from the change of performance venue to Wokingham. Despite ongoing financial pressures, the choir finished the season with a relatively modest profit, thanks in large part to the hard work and generosity of its members.
Wokingham Choral Society’s Reserves at 30 June 2025 stood at £44,689 and accounts are available to support this figure.
Wokingham Choral Society
Income & Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 30 June 2025
| 2024 | 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Income: | ||||
| Concerts: | ||||
| 9,938 | Ticket Sales | 14,577 | ||
| 532 | Programmes | 449 | ||
| 2,604 | Music - Choral Subscriptions: |
2,365 | 17,391 | |
| 18,278 | Members | 17,370 | ||
| 644 | Patrons | 500 | ||
| 210 | Friends | 270 | ||
| Fund Raising: | 18,140 | |||
| 890 | Coffee Sales | 1,033 | ||
| 577 | 100 Club | 628 | ||
| 862 | Raffles | 1,038 | ||
| 41 | Easy Fundraising | 26 | ||
| --- | Bingo Evening | 882 | ||
| 7 | Miscellaneous Fund Raising | --- | ||
| Other: | 3,607 | |||
| 52 | Folders | 23 | ||
| 876 | Donations | 2,286 | ||
| 3,134 | Gift Aid | 3,090 | ||
| 1,200 | Sponsorship | 1,025 | ||
| --- | Grants | 1,000 | ||
| 567 | Bank Interest | 1,243 | ||
| 700 | Charity Collections | 2,132 | ||
| --- | Miscellaneous Income | 391 | 11,190 | |
| £41,112 | Total Income c/f | £ 50,328 |
Wokingham Choral Society
Income & Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 30 June 2025
| 2024 | 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| 41,112 | Income b/f | 50,328 | |||
| Less Expenditure | |||||
| Concerts: | |||||
| 2,700 | Conductor | 2,553 | |||
| 1,490 | Accompanist | 1,541 | |||
| 2,900 | Soloists | 2,100 | |||
| 9,350 | Orchestras | 9,583 | |||
| 3,249 | Venue | 3,258 | |||
| --- | Cathedral Expenses (Gerontius) | 757 | |||
| 348 | Green Room | --- | |||
| 50 | Music Stands | --- | |||
| 250 | Instrument Hire | 157 | |||
| --- | Instrument Tuning | 130 | |||
| 450 | Music : Orchestral | 259 | |||
| 2,548 | Choral | 2,539 | |||
| 398 | Printing: Programmes | 693 | |||
| 208 | Flyers & Posters | 251 | |||
| 63 | Tickets | 66 | |||
| 13 | Miscellaneous | 62 | |||
| --- | Postage: Orchestral | --- | |||
| --- | Choral | 17 | |||
| 182 | Gifts | 154 | |||
| 986 | Stage Transport | 789 | |||
| --- | Stage Hire | 2,574 | |||
| 295 | PRS Fees | 649 | |||
| 580 | Miscellaneous | --- | |||
| Rehearsals: | 28,132 | ||||
| 6,243 | Musical Director | 6.596 | |||
| 5,204 | Accompanist | 5,493 | |||
| 3,182 | Venue | 3,524 | |||
| --- | Gerontius Workshop Rehearsal | 721 | |||
| Fund Raising: | 16,334 | ||||
| 107 | Coffee | 121 | |||
| 315 | 100 Club | 315 | |||
| 29 | Raffles | --- | |||
| --- | Bingo Evening | 428 | 864 | ||
| £41,140 | Expenditure c/f | £45,330 | |||
| £41,112 | Income c/f | £50,328 |
Wokingham Choral Society
Income & Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 30 June 2025
| 2024 £ £ £ 41,112 Income b/f 41,140 Expenditure b/f 45,330 General Administration; 256 Advertising 229 --- Printing, Postage & Stationery 99 276 Insurance 286 537 Subscriptions 451 164 Meeting Venue 60 --- Miscellaneous --- 1,125 Other: 72 Card Commission 128 49 Folders 23 --- Hospitality 114 700 Charity Payments 2,132 152 Making Music Platform (website) 113 --- Voice Balancing 570 --- Gerontius Photographer 240 261 Miscellaneous 130 3,450 43,607 Excess Income over Expenditure/ ( 2,495) Expenditure over Income |
2024 £ £ £ 41,112 Income b/f 41,140 Expenditure b/f 45,330 General Administration; 256 Advertising 229 --- Printing, Postage & Stationery 99 276 Insurance 286 537 Subscriptions 451 164 Meeting Venue 60 --- Miscellaneous --- 1,125 Other: 72 Card Commission 128 49 Folders 23 --- Hospitality 114 700 Charity Payments 2,132 152 Making Music Platform (website) 113 --- Voice Balancing 570 --- Gerontius Photographer 240 261 Miscellaneous 130 3,450 43,607 Excess Income over Expenditure/ ( 2,495) Expenditure over Income |
2025 £ 50,328 49,905 £ 423 |
2025 £ 50,328 49,905 £ 423 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41,140 256 --- 276 537 164 --- 72 49 --- 700 152 --- --- 261 |
||||
| £ | ( | |||
Wokingham Choral Society
Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2025
£ £ £ |
2024 £ --- 3,935 3,770 39,218 40 46,963 2,857 44,106 £ 46,601 --- 46,601 2,495 44,106 |
CURRENT ASSETS Stock Debtors and Pre-payments Bank Accounts: Current Account Reserve Accounts Cash in Hand £ Less: CURRENT LIABILITIES Creditors, Accruals and Receipts in Advance £ CAPITAL ACCOUNT Accumulated Funds at 1 July 2024 Plus: Capital Introduced Profit for the Year Minus: Loss for the Year Accumulated Funds at 30 June 2025 £ |
2025 £ 38 637 9,739 37,462 40 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47,916 3,227 |
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44,689 |
|||
£ 44,106 160 423 |
|||
| 44,689 --- 44,689 |
INDEPENDE EK4MINER'S REpoiifTO THE ACCOUTrtrs OF WOKINGHAM CHORAL SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2025 I have examined the I)me and Expenditu Account for the Year Ended 30 June 2025, and the Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2025. 1 have a150 reviewed the aC(nting records kept by the charity. examination was rrIed out under sethn 145 of tha Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Acr) and was condu¢ted in a¢xordance with the Dwedions gNen by the Chaiity Commisslon urKler section 145(SXbl of theA In connection wth my examination. I confim that no materbal matter5 have come to my attention whith give me cause to believe that in any matsrial rasped.. 1) the requirements io keep accountirKJ redS in acxixdance secaion 130 of the Act have not been met" or 2) the accounts do not accord with those re¢¢yds. I have no ncernS and have come acmss no other matters In connèction with the examination to which attents.on slM)uld be drawn in order to enabl8 a pn)per understsnding of the accounts to b6 r•aGh8d. J4 21.4......q- 7J- Nail Coupe ACA Dale 50 Easthampstead Road Wokingham Be$hIre RG40 2EF