Trustees’ annual report (including Directors’ report) for the period
From: 01 July 2023
To: 30 June 2024
Charity name: Farnborough Symphony Orchestra
Charity registration number: 293178
Company number:
Objectives and activities
| SORP reference | ||
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| 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 2023/24 season at two local venues: Concert 1: Saturday 11 November 2023 Princes Hall, Aldershot Conductor: William Carslake Soloist: Charlie Jones (Tuba) Bacewicz: Overture (composed 1943) Gregson: Tuba Concerto Strauss: Serenade for Winds Brahms: Piano Quartet in G minor (orchestrated by Schoenberg) Concert 2: Saturday 20 January 2024 St Peter’s Church, Farnborough Guest Conductor: Daniel Hogan Soloist: John Myerscough (Cello) Weber: Oberon Overture Schumann: Cello Concerto Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 Concert 3: Saturday 16 March 2024 High Cross Church, Camberley Guest Conductor: Lewis Gaston Soloists: So-Ock Kim (Violin) Sibelius: Finlandia Stravinsky: Violin Concerto Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 |
| Concert 4: Saturday 8 June 2024 4.00 pm Princes Hall, Aldershot, GU11 1NX – Venue Information Conductor: William Carslake Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel Overture Mussorgsky/Rimsky-Korsakov: Night on a Bare Mountain Miklós Rózsa: The Jungle Book Suite Kristen Anderson-Lopez: Music from Frozen Bray: Where Icebergs Dance Away Composition Project: Journey Into Space Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (* denotes music never before performed by the orchestra) |
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| 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), - an educational composition project performed within a Family Concert, - works by three 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. |
- works by three 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. |
- works by three 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. |
- works by three 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. |
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| Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
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| 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.
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’s 2023 season started with a vibrant and varied programme, showcasing two contemporary composers alongside two classical stalwarts, albeit one with a twist! The concert opened with Polish female composer Grażyna Bacewicz’s optimistic Overture (composed 1943), a work that promises hope and victory, with its military fanfares and the morse code for “V” beaten on timpani. A trailblazer in her time, Bacewicz studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, before returning to her native Poland and continuing to compose throughout Germany’s occupation during World War Two. We then welcomed renowned British tuba player, Charlie Jones, to perform Gregson’s popular concerto. Gregson’s beautiful work shines a light on an instrument that more usually takes a back seat in the orchestra, with long lyrical passages as well as snappy, jazz-like tunes. The Serenade for Winds is one of Richard Strauss’s earlier works, and continued the theme of highlighting different sections of the full orchestra, this time paired woodwind, |
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horns, and bass. In turns lyrical and light, it made Strauss’s contemporaries sit up and listen and helped establish his reputation as a leading composer of the time. The concert concluded with Brahms’ wonderful Piano Quartet in G Minor, arranged for orchestra by Arnold Schoenberg. It is beautifully done, so much so that on its first performance a lady is reputed to have opined that she couldn’t see what the “. . . problem is with that Schoenberg . . . that was quite melodic”. Schoenberg himself studied Brahms for years, and wrote that he had been faithful to the original piece and Brahms’ intentions; and that, unlike in quartet form, when the pianist invariably drowned out the strings, his arrangement allowed all the parts to be heard! It is a glorious, almost symphonic end to an exciting programme, and we look forward to seeing you there.
The FSO welcomed in the New Year with a concert of works by well-known composers from the Romantic school. To preside over the orchestra, we were delighted to welcome back Daniel Hogan, who proved immensely popular last season with both musicians and audience alike with his sensitive interpretation of works by Korngold and Franck. This year, the January concert opened with the overture from Weber’s final opera, Oberon, which was premiered in April 1826 at Covent Garden just weeks before the composer’s death. Described as “one of the most remarkable combinations of fantasy and technical skill in modern music”, the opera exemplified Weber’s use of the romantic orchestra which was later to influence other major composers, particularly Berlioz.
The cello concerto by Robert Schumann was written during a two-week period in October 1850 and was never performed in the composer’s lifetime. The concerto is considered one of Schumann’s more enigmatic works, largely due to its structure, the length of the exposition, and “the transcendental quality of the opening and the intense lyricism of the second movement”. To bring this exciting work to life, the FSO was delighted to welcome back John Myerscough, who first performed as a soloist with the orchestra in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in 2019. He is Professor of cello and chamber music at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and is the cellist of the Doric Quartet, with whom he has performed extensively at venues across the world.
The concert closed with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7. The work was composed in 1885 and performed for the first time in London a few weeks after its completion. Originally published as Symphony No. 2, it is highly regarded by critics and musicologists; Sir Donald Tovey asserted that “along with the four Brahms symphonies and Schubert’s Ninth, it is among the greatest and purest examples in this art-form since Beethoven”. For our March concert, we were under the baton of Lewis Gaston, the second of our two guest conductors this season. Lewis presided over the FSO’s all-English concert back in 2017 and it was a pleasure to welcome him back for a programme of Scandinavian and Russian music. The concert opened with Sibelius’ ever-popular Finlandia. A tone poem replete with nationalistic fervour, it was written at the turn of the twentieth century when the influence of the Russian Empire was becoming increasingly oppressive. It was initially performed under a variety of different names to avoid Russian censorship. The violin concerto by Igor Stravinsky is a neoclassical concerto in four movements written in 1931. It was composed for the Polish violinist, Samuel Dushkin, and Stravinsky was initially reluctant to embark on the work because of his ‘unfamiliarity with the instrument’ but the soloist’s willingness to consult on technical aspects persuaded the composer to accept the commission. Indeed,the underlying chord on which the whole concerto is founded (referred to by Stravinky as his “passport to the concerto”) was sketched out on a table napkin at a Paris restaurant when he was having lunch with Dushkin. To rediscover the atmosphere of inter-war Paris embodied in the work, we were excited to welcome back So-Ock Kim who, through her consummate performances of various concerti over the last few years, has become a great friend to the FSO.
The concert closed with the second symphony of Danish composer, Carl Nielsen, sub-titled ‘The Four Temperaments’. Later in life, Nielsen himself explained the origin of the inspiration for the work: “I had the idea for ‘The Four Temperaments’ many years ago at a country inn in Zealand. On the wall of the room where I was drinking a glass of beer with my wife and some friends hung an extremely comical coloured picture, divided into four sections in which ‘the Temperaments’ were represented and furnished with titles: ‘The
Choleric’, ‘The Sanguine’, ‘The Melancholic’ and ‘The Phlegmatic’. The Choleric was on horseback. He had a long sword in his hand, which he was wielding fiercely in thin air; his eyes were bulging out of his head, his hair streamed wildly around his face, which was so distorted by rage and diabolical hate that I could not help bursting out laughing. The other three pictures were in the same style, and my friends and I were heartily amused by the naivety of the pictures, their exaggerated expression and their comic earnestness. But how strangely things can sometimes turn out! I, who had laughed aloud and mockingly at these pictures, returned constantly to them in my thoughts, and one fine day I realized that these shoddy pictures still contained a kind of core or idea and – just think! – even a musical undercurrent!” Our popular Family Concert was back to close off the 2023/24 season With a sparkling programme of family favourites, and including a piece composed by local youngsters, this was an afternoon of mystery, magic and imagination. We transported the audience as Hansel and Gretel tricked the witch, Mowgli and Baloo explored the jungle, Elsa transformed her world into ice and the naughty apprentice got more than he bargained for when the Sorcerer popped out!
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
| 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 2023/24 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. |
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| 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 2023/24 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 |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern Para 1.23 None |
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern Para 1.23 None |
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern Para 1.23 None |
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| Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
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| 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 | |
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| 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: |
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| Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Para 1.51 | n/a |
| The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works |
Para 1.51 | The FSO is a member of the organisation Making Music |
| Relationship with any related parties |
Para 1.51 | n/a |
| 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 | |||||||||||
| Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
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| 1 | Peter Birkett | Chairman | ||||||||||
| 2 | David Nash | Secretary | ||||||||||
| 3 | Gabriel Thomas | Treasurer | Since 12 Sep2023 | Commented [DN1]:Co-opted on this date – does this make him | ||||||||
| 4 | Alissa Andrews | Trustee?? | ||||||||||
| 5 | Robin Chave | |||||||||||
| 6 | Rebekah Shaw | Since 01 July2024 | ||||||||||
| 7 | Abbie Royston | |||||||||||
| 8 | RoyFalshaw | |||||||||||
| 9 | Suzie King | Since 01 July2024 | ||||||||||
| 10 | Juliet Balch | Since 01 July2024 | ||||||||||
| 11 | Karen Hasset | Since 01 July2024 | ||||||||||
| 12 | Fiona Lintingre | Since 21 Jan 2025 | Commented [DN2]:Co-opted on this date – does this make her | |||||||||
| 13 | Susie Baker | Until 30 June 2024 | Trustee?? | |||||||||
| 14 | Alison Wyld | Until 30 June 2024 | ||||||||||
| 15 | Julian Martin | Until 30 June 2024 | ||||||||||
| 16 | Liz Preece | 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 | ||||||||||||
| Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others | Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others |
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| 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 adviser Name Address |
Names and addresses of advisers (optional information) Type of adviser Name Address |
Names and addresses of advisers (optional information) Type of adviser Name Address |
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| Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (optional information) | |||
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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) Position (for example Secretary, Chair, etc) Date |
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| Peter Birkett | Gabriel Thomas | ||
| Chairman | Treasurer | ||
| 19thJune 2025 | |||
| 19thJune 2025 |
General Account for Season 2023/2024
Profit & Loss at 30th June 2024
| 2022 / 2023 Income 6,852.12 Gain/(Loss) in Concert Accounts 7,637.63 Subscriptions 200.00 Patronage 1,500.00 Sponsorship 1,693.24 Donations 500.00 Grant Income 1,632.00 Reclaimed Income Tax (Gift Aid) 7,831.88 Reclaimed OTR - Interest from COIF Deposit Fund 1,984.17 Interest from COIF Investment Fund 225.00 Proceeds from "Coffee" 30,056.04 Expenditure 27,207.53 Concert management fees (FPL) 418.00 Making Music Subscriptions 196.50 Administrative Expenses - Miscellaneous Expenditure 27,822.03 2,234.01 Profit / Loss |
2023 / 2024 5,837.67 7,731.50 300.00 1,500.00 4,033.97 - 1,967.91 7,956.67 - 1,991.82 220.00 31,539.54 28,622.67 449.00 79.00 - 29,150.67 2,388.87 |
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Balance Sheet at 30th June 2023
| 2022 / 2023 Liabilities 53,671.65 Balance in General Account 36,134.16 Change in COIF Investment Fund Value 89,805.81 Assets 76,134.14 Cash in COIF Charities Investment Fund 32.98 Cash in COIF Charities Deposit Fund 7,174.00 Cash at HSBC 50.00 Cash for Front of House 6,414.69 FSO Productions Ltd Loan - Accrued income 89,805.81 |
2023 / 2024 56,060.52 36,134.16 92,194.68 76,134.14 32.98 £7,879.84 50.00 £6,234.00 1,863.72 92,194.68 |
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