EALING SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Trustees’ report for the year 2022-23
The orchestra met its aims by promoting five public concerts in its home borough, as well as contributing to the cost of a sixth Ealing concert promoted by the Ealing Music and Film Festival.
In October the orchestra took part with the London Chorus under past ESO conductor Ronald Corp in a very successful choral and orchestral concert in the London Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral.
A highlight of the year was a tour to Worms in Germany to accompany the St Albans Chamber Choir and the Wormser Kantorei at their biennial joint concert. Members paid their own way, and the trip made no demand on the ESO’s funds thanks to the generosity of our hosts and members not claiming allowable expenses.
There was a small-scale Christmas concert in Ealing Green Church, where the orchestra rehearses; the proceeds of this were shared between the orchestra, which covered its costs and so did not use charitable funds, and the church, which runs a winter night shelter for the homeless.
Members of the orchestra and its Voice Section presented the annual chamber music concert for the Friends of St Mary’s Perivale.
The Voice Section – a small choir which meets before the orchestra’s Thursday evening rehearsals under experienced vocal coach (and ESO violinist) Melanie Crompton – is separately funded. This non-orchestral activity does much to further members’ enjoyment and musicianship.
One Saturday afternoon rehearsal on a concert day was opened without charge to families, to allow children to experience the sound of a full orchestra without having to sit – and keep quiet – through a full concert. This was much appreciated by those who came.
The relationship with the competitive Ealing Festival of Music, Dance, Speech and Drama continued with the award of a performance with orchestra to the overall winner of its concerto classes, and the 2023 winner, Firoze Madon, will perform with the ESO in July 2024.
The orchestra’s cohesiveness is supported by social activities for which a separate, non-charitable fund is maintained. August 2022 bank holiday weekend (so theoretically at the very end of the 2021-22 ESO year) brought a weekend ‘Jaunt’ to Great Haseley in Oxfordshire, by the kind invitation of the orchestra’s musical director John Gibbons, who lives there.
As usual, the orchestra programmed music which needs to be heard but tends to be played rarely by professional orchestras. In particular, the projected complete cycle of George Lloyd’s symphonies reached No. 3, and as always with Lloyd’s music there were many in the audience who wondered why his music was not more widely heard. Other examples included Malcolm Arnold’s Homage to the Queen , Trumpet Concerto and Divertimento No. 2, the suite Arctic Adventure by ESO member Martin Jones, Sheldon Bair’s moving The Homefront , Jailhouse Graffiti by another ESO member, Laura Rossi, Williams Wordsworth’s Divertimento, Lutosławski’s Variations on a theme of Paganini with the 2022 Ealing Festival prizewinner Reuben Moisey as soloist, and Josef Suk’s Fairy Tale Concert Suite. Generous support from a private donor was received towards the Lloyd symphony. The need for such music to be played in public is part of the justification for the orchestra’s charitable status.
Naturally, many better-known works were played alongside the rarities. Challenging highlights were the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique , Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, Richard Strauss’s Don Juan , and Walton’s First Symphony. The full programme can be found on the ESO website.
The orchestra owes much to its leader, Peter Nall, and especially to the personal commitment of its conductor John Gibbons, who goes well beyond the call of duty. The orchestra is known for its friendliness, and the pub is once again well-patronised after rehearsals, but good players want to combine enjoyment with giving the best they can, and the orchestra currently maintains its fine reputation.
| Unrestricted funds |
Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Totalfunds | Lastyear | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tothenearestt | to the nearestf | tothe nearest€ | tothenearest€ | tothenearestf | ||
| AlRece | ||||||
| Players Subscriptions | t | 1,305 | 11,305 | 9,645 | ||
| MemberTourPayments | 6,170 | 6,170 | 9,925 | |||
| Non ESO Concerts | 1,911 | 1,911 | 5,800 | |||
| Concert Proceeds | 12,961 | 12,961 | 10,717 | |||
| Granis | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | |||
| CD sales,adveds | 3,267 | 3,267 | 2,189 | |||
| Dividends/lnterest | M8 | 448 | 156 | |||
| Friends, Donations, Fundraising | 6,676 | 6,676 | 6,508 | |||
| TaxRefunds | 2,699 | 2,699 | 3,'t03 | |||
| Misc | 813 | 813 | 947 | |||
| iubtotal(Gross incomefot AR] |
47,250 | 47,250 | 49,990 |
| A2Asset and investment sales, | A2Asset and investment sales, | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (seetable). | ||||
| Totalreceipts | 47,250 | 47,250 | 49,990 | |
| A3 | ||||
| Tour Costs | 7,580 | 7,580 | 8,273 | |
| Conductor, Leader, Principals | 10,182 | 14J.82 | 10,524 | |
| Musician Fees, lnstrument Hire | 14,422 | 10,422 | 13,611 | |
| Rehearsal Hall Hire | 1,840 | 1,840 | 2,342 | |
| Music Hire | 3,318 | 3,318 | 2,435 | |
| Publicity, Postage. Printing | 2,175 | 2,175 | 2,255 | |
| ConceriHall hire | 3,363 | 3,363 | 3,622 | |
| Non ESO Concerts | 510 | 510 | ||
| Misc | 2,330 | 2,330 | 1,249 | |
| Subtatal | 41,719 | 41,719 | 44,311 | |
| Asset and investment | ||||
| to ESO ProductionsLtd. | 10,000 | |||
| Total payments | 41,719 | 41,719 | 54,311 | |
| Netofreceipts/(payments) | 5,531 | 5,531 | 4,32( | |
| A5Transfershetween | funds | |||
| A6Cashfundslastyearend | 48,497 | 48,497 | 52,817 | |
| Cashfundsthis | yearend | 54,028 | 54,028 | 48,497 |
| SectionBStatement | of assets andliabilitiesat | theendof t | he | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | ||
| Details | funds | funds | funds | |
| tonearest € | tonearest € | tonearestE | ||
| 81Cashfunds | Current Account (Barclays) | 2,939 | ||
| Business Saver Account (Barclays) | 5,078 | |||
| One year account (Hampshire Trust) | 15,606 | |||
| 40 day notice account (Charity Bank) | 30,205 | |||
| Petty Cash | 200 | |||
| Totalcashfunds | 54,028 | |||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | ||
| funds | funds | funds | ||
| Details | tonearest € | tonearestf | tonearestf | |
| 82Other monetary assets | ||||
| Details | Fundto which | Cost{optional) | Current value | |
| 83lnvestment assets | Loan to ESOP.oductionsLtd | 17,000 | 17,000 | |
| --+ | ||||
| eta | Fund towhich | Cost{optional) | Current value | |
| 84 Assets retained for the | ||||
| charity's ownuse | ||||
| Fund towhich | Amountdue | When due | ||
| Details | ||||
| B5Liabilities | ||||
| Signedbyoneortwo trustees on behalf ofallthe trustees |
Signature | Name | ||
| David | Smith | |||
| Richard | Partri |