Trustees’ annual report for the period 1[st] August 2024 to 31[st] July 2025
Charity Name The Downland Chorale Registered Charity Number 287877
Charity’s address 40 Ridgemount Avenue, Coulsdon, Surrey, Postcode CR5 3AQ
Names of Trustees who manage the charity: (note: all are still serving as of 31[st] July 2025)
| Trustee Name | Ofce (if any) | Date frst appointed |
Date last elected or appointed |
Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosemary Viggiani | Chair | 13.11.2023 | 28.10.2024 | Elected by Members |
| Deborah Collymore | Treasurer | 12.11.2018 | 28.10.2024 | Elected by Members |
| Penelope Baker | Secretary | 28.10.2024 | 28.10.2024 | Elected by Members |
| Lynda Cole | 05.12.2016 | 28.10.2024 | Elected by Members | |
| Joan Currion | 29.01.2025 | 29.01.2025 | Appointed by Trustees | |
| Paul Eldridge | 12.11.2018 | 28.10.2024 | Elected by Members | |
| Anne Odams | 20.10.2005 | 28.10.2024 | Elected by Members | |
| Elizabeth Wats-Read | 01.11.2021 | 28.10.2024 | Elected by Members |
There are no other Trustees.
All Trustees give their time voluntarily and for no remuneration or other benefits.
| Structure, governance and management | Structure, governance and management |
|---|---|
| Type of governing document |
Consttuton adopted 18thMarch 2024 |
| How the charity is consttuted |
Unincorporated associaton |
| Trustee selecton methods | As set out in the Consttuton |
Additional governance issues
Support and advice The Downland Chorale is a member of Making Music, the industry body for small, voluntary music groups. Making Music provide, or broker, a wide range of support and advice including: − Website and platform for management / admin − Insurance broker − Safeguarding advice / DBS services − Policy templates − Seminars and training on management matters − Networking
Trustees Annual Report 2024-25 The Downland Chorale - Charity registration number: 287877 Page 1 of 11
Trustees’ annual report for the period 1[st] August 2024 to 31[st] July 2025
Objectives and activities
| Objects of the Charity. Summary of main actvites undertaken for the public beneft in relaton to these objects. |
To promote, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by the presentation of public concerts and recitals and by such other ways as the society, through its committee, shall determine from time to time. |
|---|---|
| Our Mission is summarised as_“Providing extraordinary experiences_ _for ordinary people”._We do this by: − Staging four concerts per year that are open to the public for a small fee; − One full-day workshop open to the public for a small fee; − Weekly rehearsals with coaching from our MD with piano accompaniment; open to Members for a fee; free of charge to potental new members on a trial basis with subsidised membership considered when requested; − Choral scholarships for young people aspiring to a future in choral music; − Submission of funding bids to increase uptake of actvites and provide some subsidised fees where necessary; − Fundraising to cover costs of choral scholarships and additonal subsidised fees; − Singing on request at community events and in care homes / sheltered housing at Christmas. |
Additional details of objectives and activities: (optional information)
| e.g. contributon made by volunteers |
We could not functon without our volunteers – not only our Trustees who sit on the Commitee and manage our actvites – but also the many volunteers at our concerts who run the rafe, arrange and serve refreshments etc. We thank them all very sincerely. We also thank our professional musicians who, although paid for their services, ofen go above and beyond our expectatons in delivering high quality coaching and amazing events. Again, thank you! |
|---|---|
Achievements and performance
Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year.
The 2024/25 year has been one in which the Downland Chorale has grown and developed, providing a sound base for the next few years.
Trustees Annual Report 2024-25 The Downland Chorale - Charity registration number: 287877 Page 2 of 11
Trustees’ annual report for the period 1[st] August 2024 to 31[st] July 2025
Concerts and Events
Our amazing professional team comprising our Music Director, Thomas Chapman, supported by the greatly talented accompanist, Duncan White, has really stretched us with Dido and Aeneas, surprised us with the difficulty of the Rutter Gloria and given us a fun experience with the Beatles Workshop culminating with two fun concerts in partnership with the Euphonix Community Choir where the combined strength of more than 90 voices truly lived up to our mission “ to provide extraordinary experiences for ordinary people.” The audiences, first in Kingston and then in Coulsdon, really lifted our performance leaving indelible memories for us all.
In summary we have staged five concerts and one workshop: November 2024: Purcell: Dido and Aeneas December 2024: A Christmas Cracker in partnership with Keston Junior School Choir February 2025: Workshop: Come Sing the Beatles March 2025: Rutter: Gloria; Chilcott: Jubilate and Brucker: Geistliche Chöre July 2025 (Kingston & Coulsdon): A celebration of Summer with the Euphonix Community Choir
Conductors Report
Our 2024 – 2025 season was dramatic, comedic, morose, reflective, festive, bombastic and joyful in equal measure. The range of repertoire and concert programming allowed us to explore 400 years’ worth of music; this season, spanning from Henry Purcell through to Eva Cassidy, shows how diverse and eclectic the music we sing can be.
The choir provided drama and comedy in our November 2024 performance of Dido and Aeneas. It is the first time we have performed an Opera and members of the choir enjoyed the occasion with witch costumes, ably supported by be-cloaked professional soloists Rebecca Hardwick, Natasha Page, Billie Robson and Thomas Castle. It was comedic, dramatic and thoroughly enjoyable. In the first half the choir performed Purcell’s Funeral Sentences and The Bell Anthem , all accompanied by professional string players. The Funeral Sentences are achingly beautiful although proved to be a significant challenge for the choir; despite this they were performed admirably well.
For our Christmas Concert we again collaborated with Keston Primary School Choir, led by Alma Burcombe. It was an energetic performance, full of joy and festive spirit. Highlights included Malcolm Sargent’s Two Christmas Spirituals , Mathias’ A Babe was Born and a rousing encore of Jingle Bells . There were readings performed by members and piano music from Duncan. The earlier start time of 6pm is a real bonus as well as it allows a more family feel and time for mulled wine and mince pies.
Our workshop this year was dedicated to songs by The Beatles. It was the first time I’ve chosen to do a mixture of learning styles throughout the day with some songs learned by ear and others learned with music, depending on length and complexity. There was even room for a few sing a long style Karaoke songs which was fun for everyone to just sing out without thinking about it. It meant for a more varied day and I feel was probably the most successful workshop I’ve done with the choir in terms of participant enjoyment.
Our Easter concert was a spectacular affair accompanied by professional brass band. We performed Rutter’s Gloria alongside Chilcott’s lesser known Jubilate and motets by Bruckner, including Ecce Sacerdos . The Rutter and much of the Bruckner posed various challenges, such as the large vocal range and rhythmic and harmonic complexity. The music and spirits of the choir was significantly enlivened by the volume of the brass instruments and the concert was terrific.
Trustees Annual Report 2024-25 The Downland Chorale - Charity registration number: 287877 Page 3 of 11
Trustees’ annual report for the period 1[st] August 2024 to 31[st] July 2025
Much like the Funeral Sentences and A Babe was Born from previous concerts it is good to have some more challenging pieces which provide us with that wonderful sense of achievement. I urge the choir to remember this as over the years we have performed some tricky pieces and they always come good with hard work and dedication. The Rutter Gloria was thrilling and Ecce Sacerdos , in particular, was incredibly loud.
The summer was a personal highlight and was the first time I had brought together two of my choirs for joint performances. The choir collaborated with Euphonix, a community choir which I lead in Kingston. We performed the same programme on the Thursday at All Saints, Kingston and hosted Euphonix two days later at St John’s, Old Coulsdon for the return leg. It was a wonderful opportunity for the choir to sing as part of a bigger chorus and gain an insight into the differences in styles of my choir leading. The choir performed Vaughan Williams’ Five English Folk Songs on their own and collaborated with Euphonix on songs by Eva Cassidy, Johnathan Willcocks’ Sing Africa and a medley from West Side Story which was a scintillating end to both concerts. It was some of the best feedback I’ve had from audience members after concerts and was a truly joyful occasion.
Thank You to Duncan who continues to be a fantastic talent as well as a wonderful colleague and friend. He has treated us to some very technically challenging solo items this year and never bats an eyelid when I ask him to play something that’s not really meant for the piano; like organ parts or harpsichord realisations for example. Thank You for your great musicianship and hard work with the choir.
I’d like to thank Rosemary for her tireless efforts to keep The Downland Chorale invigorated and for dragging the choir into the 21[st] century. She truly goes above and beyond for us and it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. The funding bids and work to introduce our choral scholarship scheme are very exciting and I hope herald a new age of diversifying the makeup of the choir. She is ably supported by the committee who are so crucial in keeping the choir running behind the scenes and we all owe a great debt of thanks to you all. Thanks also to those who volunteer to help out and also to those who get involved in fundraising. Sadly, we’d be nowhere without money and fundraising never ends so thanks to those who are coming up with new and clever ways to keep the choir’s finances ticking over.
The next season is very much underway with our first choral scholars and a good handful of new members, especially in the sopranos. All new members are very welcome and we’re delighted to have you on board. We’ve only had one bass join and stay since I joined the choir in 2017 and quite a few have left in that time. We very much treasure our basses but these statistics are bleak. I wonder if as a collective we can change that this year?
Best wishes for another great season.
Thomas Chapman
Membership and our wider charitable ambitons
As Thomas has alluded to above, we have sadly said goodbye to a number of long-standing Members during the year which has emphasised the need for us to diversify and attract younger voices to ensure our sustainability in the medium to long term.
We have also reached out for funding and, with support from The Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust (HRTCT) and Croydon Voluntary Action (CVA) in partnership with Centrale & Whitgift and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, we have been really pleased to extend our marketing and welcome several new Members during the year. As a result we have seen a small net growth in Membership whilst also setting the ground for Choral Scholars to join us next year. To support this
Trustees Annual Report 2024-25 The Downland Chorale - Charity registration number: 287877 Page 4 of 11
Trustees’ annual report for the period 1[st] August 2024 to 31[st] July 2025
we have strengthened our safeguarding practices ensuring that all necessary policies and DBS Checks are in place.
In support of our ambitions to grow and diversify we have developed our marketing materials and we have increasingly reached out through social media and also through other local organisations including many schools and colleges. These relationships led to our performing festive music in partnership with Coulsdon College students at the Toldene Court sheltered housing facility and also singing at the Coulsdon Yuletide celebrations to entertain families intrepid enough to venture out on a very stormy December afternoon!
Financial Review
| Financial Review | Financial Review | Financial Review |
|---|---|---|
| P | olicy on Reserves | We aim to keep enough in reserve to cover costs for one term (four months). Details of our reserves are covered in the secton below. |
| D d |
etails of any funds materially in efcit |
Not applicable |
| F O T T i d n c s A f £ A y t T t I i O f p t s I e |
inances: Annual statement of accounts for 2024/25 ur annual statement of accounts for 2024/25 is shown at the end of this report (pages 10 and 11). hanks are given to Daniel Pyke for his independent examiners report shown on pages 8 and 9. his is a year where we have seen an increase in costs slightly above infaton and a signifcant ncrease in income giving rise to a signifcant surplus for the 2024/25 year. The reasons for this are iscussed below, the most signifcant factor being the one-of catch up in Gif-Aid claims which had ot been made for the past three years due to a lack of capacity in the Commitee. These historic laims amounted to £3,969. It is therefore expected that the turnover for the2025/26 year will be omewhat lower than the 2024/25 year without causing concern. ccountng for these historic gif aid claims, it can be seen that this year has been a good year nancially with the underlying income of £27,194 stll being a signifcant 21% (£4,777) increase on 2023/24. signifcant part of this increase has come from the successful funding bids awarded during the ear totaling £3,351. A development which we hope can be contnued and which we are confdent o build into the budget for 2025/26. he budget for 2024/25 was predicated on a number of assumptons which have been monitored hroughout the year allowing us to learn from experience and adjust as appropriate for future years. n reviewing the year-on-year changes it is useful to consider these assumptons and how they mpacted on the fnances. ne signifcant change was with regards to the Membership Subscriptons. In 2023/24 the core Membership Subscripton was £69 per term but all Members were obliged to purchase three tckets or the main concert each term whilst acceptng that not all these tckets would be used. This ractce was seen to be unfair, unrealistcally infated the income from tcket sales and suppressed he membership fees thus also having an impact on the gif aid that could be claimed – as tcket ales are not eligible for gif aid. n 2024/25 we addressed this issue by increasing the Membership Subscriptons to £90 with no nforced tcket sales. The impact that this has had on the accounts can clearly be seen with |
Trustees Annual Report 2024-25 The Downland Chorale - Charity registration number: 287877 Page 5 of 11
Trustees’ annual report for the period 1[st] August 2024 to 31[st] July 2025
subscriptions increasing from £9,596 to £12,305 – an increase of £2,709. Whilst some of this increase can be attributed to increased Members, the majority of this increase is due to the rebalancing of the fee / ticket structure. The counter effect to this can be seen in the Concert finances where the income has dropped from £11,702 to £8,482 – where the largest income from concerts is the ticket sales.
It is of interest to note that the General funding from HRTCT is driven by their recognition that Choral Societies like ours who sing the most challenging pieces with instrumental / orchestral accompaniment find it difficult, if not impossible, to make their concerts break-even. The change in our business model has brought this reality to the fore-front and allows us to better understand and better plan for the future with a more realistic understanding of the underlying financial assumptions.
We thank all our funders for their support and hope that they will continue to support us in the coming year.
Other optional information
– Looking Ahead: 2025 26 and beyond
The Budget for 2025/26 has been developed and approved by the Trustees and is available on request. This is based on a continuation of the activities carried out during 2024-25 and we look forward to welcoming our new Choral Scholars.
The budget is based on some key assumptions drawn from recent experience. At the current time we are able to keep the Membership fees the same at £90 per term whilst accommodating increased prices and offering a raise to our professional team. However, this is dependent upon fundraising – both through our own efforts and also through funding bids to charitable trusts – continuing the success achieved in 2024-25. This will be reviewed termly and will be adjusted if necessary. The impact that the accounts for 2024/25 and the budget for 2025/26 have on the reserves are shown below, both year-on-year and as a three year rolling average.
The trends in the reserves have been downwards over the past 10 years. The downward trend since the Covid years of 2020 / 2021 have been due in large part to the missing gift-aid claims. The stabilisation of the accounts through 2024/25 clearly show the recovery in the reserves to pre-Covid levels with an improving three-year trend continuing with the proposed budget for 2025/26.
A small drop in the planned reserves between 2025-26 is due to the funding raised for Choral Scholars through Go Fund Me in 2024-25 being used to fund our first Choral Scholar joining us in 2025-26. This still leaves our reserves in the target area of one-third of our annual turnover.
----- Start of picture text -----
Reserves:
Downland Chorale Reserves
3 year rolling average
£20,000
£15,000
£10,000
£5,000
£0
2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
----- End of picture text -----
Trustees Annual Report 2024-25 The Downland Chorale - Charity registration number: 287877 Page 6 of 11
Trustees’ annual report for the period 1[st] August 2024 to 31[st] July 2025
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Signature(s) Full name(s) Rosemary Vivien Viggiani Position(s) Chair
Date 29[th] October 2025
Trustees Annual Report 2024-25 The Downland Chorale - Charity registration number: 287877 Page 7 of 11
| Independent Examiner's report on the accounts | Independent Examiner's report on the accounts | Independent Examiner's report on the accounts |
|---|---|---|
| Report to the Trustees / Members of: On accounts for the year ended: Charity no Set out on pages Responsibilities and basis of the report: Independent examiner's statement: Signed: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body: Address: |
||
| TheDownlandChorale | ||
| 31st July 2025 | ||
| 287877 | ||
| 7 and 8 of the Trustee's accounts | ||
| I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts for the year ended 31 July 2025. As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under s145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission unders145(5)(b) of the Act. |
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| I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or - the accounts do not accord with the accounting records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. |
||
| Date: | 17/10/2025 | |
| Daniel Pyke | ||
| ACCA | ||
| 95 Grosvenor Road | ||
| Epsom | ||
| KT18 6JF |
Downland Chorale – Independent Examiner Report YE 31 July 2025
Disclosure section
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern
Items that the examiner wishes to disclose:
Downland Chorale – Independent Examiner Report YE 31 July 2025
The Downland Chorale 287877
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period 01/08/2024 from
To 31/07/2025
CC16a
Section A Receipts and payments
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 12,305 2,694 3,969 157 1,500 1,000 111 131 206 - - 1,228 1,798 2,206 1,392 1,857 30,554 - - - 30,554 4,792 3,568 2,685 234 640 683 42 422 - 60 24 185 220 3,106 1,530 1,051 4,071 1,920 25,233 - - - 25,233 5,321 - 7,616 12,937 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - 609 - - - - - - - - - - 609 - - - 609 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 609 - - 609 |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 12,305 2,694 3,969 157 1,500 1,000 609 111 131 206 - - 1,228 1,798 2,206 1,392 1,857 31,163 - - - 31,163 4,792 3,568 2,685 234 640 683 42 422 - 60 24 185 220 3,106 1,530 1,051 4,071 1,920 25,233 - - - 25,233 5,930 |
Total funds to the nearest £ 12,305 2,694 3,969 157 1,500 1,000 609 111 131 206 - - 1,228 1,798 2,206 1,392 1,857 31,163 - - - 31,163 4,792 3,568 2,685 234 640 683 42 422 - 60 24 185 220 3,106 1,530 1,051 4,071 1,920 25,233 - - - 25,233 5,930 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscriptions | 12,305 | 9,596 | ||||
| Gift Aid for lastyear(2023-24) | 2,694 | - | ||||
| Gift Aid forprioryears(2021-2023) | 3,969 | - | ||||
| Sale of stock | 157 | 220 | ||||
| HRTCT - Seasons Costs | 1,500 | - | ||||
| Croydon VoluntaryAction(CVT)Grant | 1,000 | - | ||||
| GoFundMe(Choral Scholars) | - | |||||
| Easi-fundraising | 111 | 47 | ||||
| General Donations | 131 | 423 | ||||
| Bank Interest | 206 | 215 | ||||
| Event Income(Weddings / Funerals) | - | 150 | ||||
| Miscellaneous rehearsal income | - | 65 | ||||
| Autumn Concert | 1,228 | 2,085 | ||||
| Christmas Cracker Concert | 1,798 | 1,661 | ||||
| FebruaryWorkshop | 2,206 | 1,767 | ||||
| SpringConcert | 1,392 | 3,351 | ||||
| Summer Concert | 1,857 | 2,837 | ||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 30,554 | 22,417 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - | - | ||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
||||||
| 22,417 | ||||||
MD(Rehearsals) |
4,792 | 4,977 | ||||
| Accompanist(Rehearsals) | 3,568 | 3,610 | ||||
| Venue Hire & Heating (Rehearsals) | 2,685 | 2,770 | ||||
| Music Hire(Choir) | 234 | 237 | ||||
| Miscellaneous Rehearsal expenses | 640 | 247 | ||||
| MakingMusic - subs, insurance, website | 683 | 447 | ||||
| Other thirdpartywebsite | 42 | 522 | ||||
| Publicity | 422 | 251 | ||||
| Stock | - | 103 | ||||
| Bank Charges | 60 | 60 | ||||
| Point of Sale Charges(Stripe/SUmUp) | 24 | - | ||||
| CVT - expenditure - other than subs | 185 | - | ||||
| Concert Costs relatingto lastyear | 220 | - | ||||
| Autumn Concert | 3,106 | 2,388 | ||||
| Christmas Cracker Concert | 1,530 | 1,322 | ||||
| FebruaryWorkshop | 1,051 | 1,255 | ||||
| SpringConcert | 4,071 | 3,762 | ||||
| Summer Concert | 1,920 | 1,604 | ||||
| **Sub total ** | 25,233 | 23,555 | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
||||||
| - | ||||||
| - | ||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | ||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
||||||
| 23,555 | ||||||
| 5,321 | 609 | - | 5,930 | - 1,138 | ||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 7,616 | - | - | 7,616 | 8,754 | ||
| 12,937 | 609 | - | 13,546 | 7,616 |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
18/10/2025
1
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the | period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets |
Signature Details Details Cash float Deposit Account Current Account Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 80 - 10,680 609 2,177 - 12,937 609 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - Print Name Rosemary Vivien Viggiani |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| OK | ||||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| When due (optional) |
||||
| Date of approval |
||||
| Rosemary Vivien Viggiani | 29/10/2025 |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
18/10/2025
2