## **Trustees’ annual report (including Directors’ report) for the period**
**From: 01 July 2022**
**To: 30 June 2023**
**Charity name: Farnborough Symphony Orchestra**
**Charity registration number: 293178**
## **Company number:**
## **Objectives and activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The object of the orchestra is to advance the
aesthetic education of the public by the
study and practice of orchestral music and
the public performance of such music.|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|The orchestra performed four public
concerts during the 2022/23 season at two
local venues:
**Concert 1**: 12-11-2022 Princes Hall,
Aldershot
Rosamunde Overture – Schubert
Flute Concerto – Reinecke *
Symphony No. 8 - Dvorak
_Christian Paquette (Flute)_
_William Carslake (Conductor)_
**Concert 2**: 21-01-2023 Princes Hall,
Aldershot
Candlewright – Gooderham *
Violin Concerto – Korngold
Symphony in D minor - Franck
_So-Ock Kim (Violin)_
_Daniel Hogan (Conductor)_
**Concert 3**: 11-03-2023 Farnham Maltings
Symphony No. 4 – Brahms
Gaelic Symphony - Beach *
_Benedict Collins Rice (Conductor)_
**Concert 4**: 10-06-2023 Princes Hall,
Aldershot
Froissart Overture – Elgar
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings –
Britten *
Enigma Variations - Elgar
_Ruairi Bowen (Tenor)_
_Alison Wyld (French Horn)_
_William Carslake (Conductor)_|
|||(* denotes music never before performed by
the orchestra)|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|In presenting this concert series, the trustees
had regard to the guidance issued by the
Charity Commission on public benefit. The
concert season included:
- a number of works never before performed
by the orchestra (many of which will have
been unfamiliar to the audience as well),
- a performance of a new composition by a
young local composer,
- a work by a female composer (continuing
the orchestra’s aim to champion the
compositions of female composers in its
programming),
thus fulfilling the educational remit of the
orchestra.|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|**n/a**|
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|**n/a**|
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|**n/a**|
|Other||The activities of the orchestra fall into two
parts: the process of rehearsing and
preparing for a concert and the public
concert itself.
The first of these activities is funded through
the subscriptions payable by the members of
the orchestra, which are set at a level to
cover the costs of the rehearsal venue and
the rehearsal fees of the professional
conductor and leader.
The costs of the concert itself are covered
partially from ticket sales and partially from
sponsorship and donations. It is almost
impossible to fund a public classical music
concert in a concert venue from ticket sales
alone. Losses on FSO concerts generally fall|
between around £300 and £3,000, and the orchestra relies on sponsorship, patronage and donations to cover these losses. During the 2022/23 season the orchestra received two small grants, each worth £500, one from the Elgar Society and one from the Humphrey Richardson-Taylor Charitable Trust.
## **Achievements and performance**
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|The orchestra’s objective of advancing the
aesthetic education of the public was met
through the mix of familiar and unfamiliar
orchestral works presented during the
season. The season was overseen by the
Artistic Director of the FSO, William
Carslake, and included two guest conductors
and a number of distinguished soloists.
The FSO began its 2022-23 season with a
birthday concert celebrating 100 years since
the orchestra’s first performance on 13th
December 1922. The opening work on that
auspicious occasion was Schubert’s
Rosamunde Overture and it was fitting that
we started this 100th birthday concert with
the same piece, which brims over with
Schubert’s infectious melodies. We were
also excited to welcome Christian Paquette,
winner of the 2020 Marina Piccinini
International Concerto Competition, to play
the Reinecke Flute Concerto. A first for the
FSO and its local community, this
opportunity came about as a result of
ongoing links with Marina Piccinini, the
internationally-renowned flautist who played
the Ibert concerto with the orchestra in 2017.
Canadian by birth, Christian is Principal
Flute of the York Symphony Orchestra in
Pennsylvania and it was a great privilege for
the FSO to welcome him as a soloist. The
concert concluded with Dvorak’s 8th
Symphony, which was composed in 1889 on
the occasion of the composer’s election to
the Prague Academy and is dedicated “To
the Bohemian Academy of Emperor Franz
Joseph for the Encouragement of Arts and
Literature, in thanks for my election.” The
music is cheerful and optimistic and was
wholly appropriate for a birthday concert.
The FSO opened the New Year by
welcoming guest conductor, Daniel Hogan,
currently studying with a full scholarship for a
Master’s in Conducting at the Royal College
of Music. The concert celebrated the|
|---|---|---|
bicentenary of the birth of César Franck, a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modernday Belgium on 10th December 1822. The Symphony in D minor is his best-known orchestral work and the only mature symphony written by the composer. The work premiered in 1889 and received a mixed reception (Gounod called it “the affirmation of impotence taken to the point of dogma”) but it grew in popularity throughout the twentieth century until it became a stalwart of the symphonic canon. In recent years performances have declined so it was good to be able to reintroduce this masterwork to our local audience. The concert also included Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto, unfamiliar to most, which was written in the early twentieth century and draws on the composer’s hugely popular melodies from his successful film scores. To play this wonderful work, we welcomed back So-Ock Kim, who has become a muchvalued friend of the FSO, most recently helping us to celebrate our return to musicmaking after the pandemic. The opening work of the concert was a short work written by Sam Gooderham, with which he won the inaugural FSO Young Composer’s Competition in 2020. Inspired by the Illuminated River installation on Cannon Street bridge, this contemplative piece depicts the transition between south London and the city. We were delighted to have this opportunity of giving the first orchestral performance of this work and encouraging this aspiring young composer, particularly after this premiere was also postponed due to the pandemic. To preside over the FSO’s Spring concert, which was supported by the Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust, we welcomed guest conductor, Benedict Collins-Rice, who has performed throughout Europe and America, recorded for several record labels and TV companies, and broadcast live on Radio 3. The Gaelic Symphony, written by Amy Beach, was first performed in 1896 and was the first symphony by an American composer to use folk songs as thematic material. It was also the first symphony to be composed and published by a female American composer and helped her gain widespread acknowledgement of her talents in a maledominated profession. The work draws on several Irish melodies because of what Beach called “their simple, rugged, and unpretentious beauty.” The other work in the
concert was Brahms’ well-known Symphony No. 4 in E minor. Written in the same key as the Gaelic Symphony, it was first performed just over a decade earlier in 1885. The last of Brahms’ symphonies, it has an undeniably tragic character despite its warmth and beauty. It was inspiring to share the depth and beauty of these two late-nineteenthcentury masterpieces with our local audience. The FSO concluded its 2022-23 season with a programme of English music. We were particularly excited to be performing Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with our very own Alison Wyld (FSO Principal Horn) as soloist. Alison pursued a career as a freelance horn player for thirteen years before becoming a primary school teacher and latterly headteacher. She was joined by tenor soloist, Ruairi Bowen, a finalist in the International Handel Singing Competition in 2020, who is much in demand as an interpreter of Baroque repertoire in the UK and abroad, collaborating with some of the leading conductors in the field. The Serenade is a song cycle on the theme of night, which was written in 1943 and first performed by horn player, Dennis Brain, at whose request the work had been composed, and the tenor, Peter Pears, Britten’s partner. The programme also included two works by Elgar and we were extremely grateful for the support of the Elgar Society, whose financial assistance enabled us to perform this beautiful music. The Froissart Overture was the composer’s first large-scale work for full orchestra and is less well-known than many of his later works. Inspired by the 14thcentury chronicles of Jean Froissart, the concert overture contains, in embryonic form, many of the hallmarks that Elgar was to perfect in his mature output. The Enigma Variations was composed some nine years later and needs little introduction as it has become established as one of the composer’s most famous works. Elgar dedicated it “to my friends pictured within”, each variation being a musical sketch of one of his circle of close acquaintances. The ‘enigma’ of the title remains a subject of much speculation, and we invited the audience to mull over this conundrum while listening to this delightful programme of English music.
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
**n/a** Para 1.41 Achievements against objectives set **n/a** Para 1.41 Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set **n/a** Para 1.41 Investment performance against objectives **n/a** Other
## **Financial review**
|**Financial review**|||
|---|---|---|
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|The orchestra generated a profit of £2.7k on
the 2022/23 concert season, which is the
first time that income has exceeded
expenditure for many years.
The reserves created as part of a generous
legacy received by the orchestra a number
of years ago mean that the orchestra can
plan concert programmes not solely on their
popularity and familiarity, but provide
genuine challenge and new experiences for
our concert-going audience, in pursuit of its
charitable aim.|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|The orchestra aims to hold minimum
reserves equivalent to around twice the
annual income from sponsorship, patronage
and donations. This provides security for at
least two seasons in the event that these
sources of funding either disappear or
reduce substantially.
During the 2022/23 season, the orchestra
received investment income from a legacy
donation received during the 2015/16
season. This investment income helped to
fund the hire of music for the less familiar
works programmed.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|The FSO has reserves of a little over £80k|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|n/a/|
|---|---|---|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|n/a|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|None|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|The FSO’s activities are funded through
membership subscriptions, ticket sales for
public concerts, sponsorships, donations,
interest from investments and orchestra tax
relief.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|The FSO holds funds in a COIF Charities
Investment Fund with the interest generated
supporting the costs of performing concerts.|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|The slow decline in the appreciation of live
orchestral music, largely as a result of the
decline in music funding for schools over
several decades, leading to a decline in
ticket sales is the principal risk facing the
orchestra.|
|Other||n/a|
## **Structure, governance and management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:||n/a|
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document:
for example,trust deed,
memorandum and articles of
association etc|Para 1.25|Constitution|
|How is the charity
constituted?
for example limited company,
unincorporated association,
CIO|Para 1.25|Membership society|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Committee (trustees) elected at an annual
general meeting|
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
**n/a** Para 1.51 Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees The FSO is a member of the organisation Making Music Para 1.51 The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works **n/a** Para 1.51 Relationship with any related parties **n/a** Other
## **Reference and administrative details**
|Charity name|**Farnborough Symphony Orchestra**|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|**FSO**|
|Registered charity number|**293178**|
|Charity’s principal address|**www.farnboroughsymphony.org.uk**|
**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Peter Birkett|Chairman|||
||David Nash|Secretary|||
||Gabriel Thomas|Treasurer|Since 01 July2023||
||Alissa Andrews||||
||Robin Chave||||
||Rebekah Shaw||Since 01 July2024||
||Abbie Royston||||
||RoyFalshaw||||
||Suzie King||Since 01 July2024||
||Juliet Balch||Since 01 July2024||
||Karen Hasset||Since 01 July2024||
||Rosemary Heasman||Until 30 June 2023||
|13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20|Magda Middleton|Treasurer|Until 30 June 2023||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Susie Baker||Until 30 June 2024||
||Alison Wyld||Until 30 June 2024||
||Julian Martin||Until 30 June 2024||
||||||
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## – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name None**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
|**Trustee name**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**|
|---|---|
|**None**||
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## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
|Description of the assets
held in this capacity|n/a|
|---|---|
|Name and objects of the
charity on whose behalf the
assets are held and how this
falls within the custodian
charity’s objects|n/a|
|Details of arrangements for
safe custody and
segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own assets|n/a|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (optional information)**
|**Type of**|**Name**|**Address**|
|---|---|---|
|**adviser**|||
**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (optional information)**
n/a
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
**n/a**
## **Other optional information**
**n/a**
## **Declarations**
**The company has taken advantage of the small companies’ exemption in preparing the report above.**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report (including directors’ report) above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees/directors**
**Signature(s) Full name(s)** Peter Birkett Gabriel Thomas **Position (for example** Chairman Treasurer **Secretary, Chair, etc) Date** 06/08/2024
## **Farnborough Symphony Orchestra General Account for Season 2022/2023 Profit & Loss at 30th June 2023**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023
Income
5,493.01 Gain/(Loss) in Concert Accounts 6,852.12
6,414.20 Subscriptions 7,637.63
950.00 Patronage 200.00
500.00 Sponsorship 1,500.00
Grant for Elgar Frossiart Overture performance 500.00
76.61 Donations 1,693.24
- Grant Income 500.00
1,471.14 Reclaimed Income Tax (Gift Aid) 1,632.00
6,445.16 Reclaimed OTR 7,831.88
0.03 Interest from COIF Deposit Fund -
2,250.68 Interest from COIF Investment Fund 1,984.17
30.00 Proceeds from "Coffee" 225.00
23,630.83 30,556.04
Expenditure
- Hire of Rehearsal Rooms -
- Conductor's Rehearsal Fees -
- Leader's Rehearsal Fees -
26,426.06 Concert management fees (FPL) 27,207.53
- -
General Publicity
295.00 Making Music Subscriptions 418.00
- -
New Website Design
309.33 Administrative Expenses 196.50
- -
Committee Attendance Fee (MD)
299.48 Miscellaneous Expenditure -
27,329.87 27,822.03
- 3,699.04 Profit / Loss 2,734.01
Balance Sheet at 30th June 2023
2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023
Liabilities
51,437.64 Balance in General Account 54,171.65
36,134.16 Change in COIF Investment Fund Value 36,134.16
87,571.80 90,305.81
Assets
76,134.14 Cash in COIF Charities Investment Fund 76,134.14
32.98 Cash in COIF Charities Deposit Fund 32.98
- -
Cash at Barclays Bank
4,534.18 Cash at HSBC 7,174.00
50.00 Cash for Front of House 50.00
6,735.50 FSO Productions Ltd Loan £6,414.69
85.00 Accrued income 500.00
87,571.80 90,305.81
**----- End of picture text -----**