## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** **From 1/8/2023 Period start date To 31/7/2024 Period end date** ## **Charity name: Altrincham Choral Society** **Charity registration number: 500729** ## **Objectives and Activities** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The purposes of the charity are to advance,
improve, develop and maintain public
education in, and appreciation of the art and
science of music in all its aspects including
through the presentation of public concerts
and recitals.| |||| |---|---|---| |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|In pursuing the objectives of the Society as
regards the public benefit, the choir aims to
impact people’s lives in two ways. Firstly
Singing Members participate in a creative,
enjoyable and fulfilling educational and social
activity, providing regular rehearsals and
performances in four concerts each year,
with the opportunity to develop vocal
technique and extend knowledge of choral
repertoire supported by the inspiring
leadership of respected and professional
musicians. The Committee of Trustees is
conscious that the choir’s activities should be
both affordable and open to all who
successfully apply to be a Member. Full-time
students and under 21s benefit
from a reduced membership subscription
rate, with reduced subscription arrangements
available to any member with financial
difficulties. (this can be privately discussed
with the Membership Secretary, to be agreed
in confidence by the Committee.)
Secondly, for audiences, the choir presents
exciting, innovative and high-quality
performances at varied established local
venues, offering a positive and educational
cultural experience aiming to extend musical
knowledge through diverse repertoire. Pricing
of concert tickets is carefully considered to
promote attendance by a wide audience.
Tickets are competitively but affordably
priced with significant concessions for
accompanied children and are available
through a variety of sources - venue box
offices, online, via the choir website or in
person via members of the Society.
In support of the Society’s objectives the
choir has regular Open Rehearsals and an
annual Singing Day which offer opportunities
for enthusiastic members of the public to
experience how rehearsals operate and to
sing a variety of repertoire.
The choir also takes opportunities to sing in
community events where possible and to
support a local charity each year.| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public benefit|Para 1.18|The Committee (Trustees) have complied
with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities
Act 2011 to have due regard to public
benefit guidance published by the Charity.| ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |||| |---|---|---| ||SORP reference|| |Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|Not applicable| |Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|Not applicable| |Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|All 114 members of the Society support the
aims of the society by giving their time and
efforts to the rehearsals and public
performances.
Over the course of the year 30 - 40 members
of the Society and friends and family
volunteer their time to ensure the smooth
running of rehearsals and concerts in the
following roles;
Main Committee.
Music Sub Committee team including
librarians, contracting of soloists, liaising with
local venues.
Publicity Team including production of
programmes, tickets and posters and
management of social media. Also Fire
Officers, First Aid Officers, stage
management, concert door ticket sales,
coach organisers, presentation of flowers to
soloists, looking after guests| |Other||| ## **Achievements and Performance** SORP reference |||| |---|---|---| |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|Concerts 2023/24 Season
“Hosanna in Excelsis” - 18th November
2023, Royal Northern College of Music.
The programme of Mozart's Requiem in D
minor K626 and Dan Forrest's Requiem for
the Living was accompanied by a wonderful
7 piece Chamber Ensemble together with
organist Jeffrey Makinson, Assistant Director
of Music at Lincoln Cathedral. The Concert
was held in memory of former member Lady
Joy Winstanley who sang with the choir for
many years, and was attended by members
of her family.
“Carols with the Choral” - 16th December
2023, Altrincham United Reformed Church
A programme of traditional carols, less well
known works including “A Ceremony of
Carols” by Benjamin Britten and old
favourites with a capacity audience enjoying
the chance to join in.
“Opera and Operetta” - 13th April 2024, St
Mary’s Church, Sale.
A performance of popular Gilbert and
Sullivan songs from Princess Ida, HMS
Pinafore, The
Gondoliers, Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the
Guard and The Pirates of Penzance.
This was followed by a selection of Opera
Choruses from works by Donizetti,
Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Mascagni and
Verdi. Special mention must be made of
of our Accompanist Lydia Bryan's superb
performance at the concert itself and also
throughout the rehearsals.
The concert was generously sponsored by
Jean Oglesby CBE.
Elgar's “The Dream of Gerontius” - 13th July
2024, Royal Northern College of Music.
This was the focus of our season , an
ambitious concert in fitting celebration of our
Musical Director Steven Roberts 30 highly
successful years with the choir. We
were joined by members of Sale Choral
Society and had the privilege of being
accompanied by Jonathan Scott on organ
and the 52 strong Manchester Philharmonia.
The soloists were Andrew Greenan,
Adrienne Murray and Christopher Turner, all
of whom were well known to the choir and
each were presented with Life Membership
of the choir alongside Glen Foley the
orchestral 'fixer' for many years for ACS. The
concert was supported from the Florence| Matthews legacy and generously sponsored by Jean Oglesby CBE. All concerts were well attended and enthusiastically received by audiences with many examples of positive feedback to the Musical Director and Committee members, which were relayed to the choir members. Other Events Musical Director Steven Roberts’s 30th Anniversary was celebrated on 20th May with a small reception, presenting him with a financial donation from the choir, with the committee request that he spend the majority on a charitable cause of his choice - he subsequently selected well designed and imaginative play equipment for one of the Special Schools with which he is associated. John Greenan published his second book “Altrincham keeps singing:a history of Altrincham Choral Society” which has interesting new facts and pictures to add to the history and events since his first book. The book is available for purchase. Singing Day 12th October, Elgar’s The Music Makers, Altrincham United Reform Church A successful day with over 60 participants was led by Steven Roberts with accompanist Lydia Bryan. The Hope Centre, Partington was our chosen local Charity to support this year. Singing member Christine Weekes is very active in supporting the charity and collected food and other donated goods from members of the choir at rehearsals. The Hope Centre collected public donations at ACS concerts and £158 of collections were put through ACS accounts and donated accordingly. ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |||| |---|---|---| |Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|Achievements against objectives set
The planned concert programme was fulfilled
and the repertoire successfully performed.
The committee continues to look at options
for finding ongoing patrons and sponsorship
to support the choir’s activities.
The choir has sustained a membership of
over 100 throughout the year but continues
to actively seek Tenor and Bass voices to
ensure a balanced choir.| |Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|| |Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|| |Other||| ## **Financial Review** |**inancial Review**||| |---|---|---| |||| |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end of
the period|Para 1.21|Overall, the Society had a small deficit of
almost £4,000 on income of £60,000. The
expenditure included approximately £6,000
from the Florence Matthews fund, deployed
in accordance with the terms of that bequest.
The reserves held are approximately equal to
a year’s operating costs.| |Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Reserves are held in accordance with the
terms of the Society’s Reserves Policy. That
policy requires a minimum of £20,000 in
Reserves. Reserves ensure that all current and
future financial commitments can be met
from existing funds. In turn, this ensures that
in the unlikely event of winding up the
charity, the Trustees will bear no financial
liability. Liability insurance is maintained to
limit some potential financial losses – for
example, concert cancellation.| |Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|The Society had Current Unrestricted Assets
of £52,119 at 31/08/2024, including £31,479
held in the designated Florence Matthews
fund.| |Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|| |Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|| |Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|The Trustees remain confident that the
charity will continue as a going concern.| ## **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 two main sources of revenue are
membership subscription and ticket sales, In
addition the Society occasionally benefits
from ad hoc donations or bequests.| |Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|The Society does not rely significantly on
revenue from investment returns. The
Society’s funds are held across 3 bank
accounts, providing a modest level of interest,
and appropriate access terms.| |||| |---|---|---| |A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|The cost of staging high-calibre concerts is
increasing at least as fast as the cost of living.
The Society works hard to sustain or grow its
membership level to secure increasing
subscription income, whilst keeping rises to
the subscription fee modest.
Likewise, ticket pricing is kept under constant
review to optimize revenue. The Society has
started using one new local concert venue
with a larger audience capacity, hence
potentially increasing ticket revenue.
Future plans include an intent to increase
fundraising revenue.| |Other||| ## **Structure, Governance and Management** |||| |---|---|---| |Description of charity’s trusts:||| |Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|Constitution| |How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Unincorporated Association| |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|Officers and Ordinary Committee Members
are elected by and out of the Society’s
membership at the AGM and shall be
Trustees.| ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |||| |---|---|---| |Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees|Para 1.51|| |The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|| |Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51|| |Other||| ## **Reference and Administrative details** ||| |---|---| |Charity name|Altrincham Choral Society| |Other name the charity uses|| ||| |---|---| |Registered charity number|500729| |Charity’s principal address|15 BRUNSWICK ROAD
MANCHESTER
M20 4QB| ||| ## **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**
**(if any)**| |1|Malcolm
Thomson|Chair||| |2|Andrew
McWilliam|Vice Chair/
Bass Voice Rep||| |3|Stephen
Campbell|Treasurer||| |4|Imogen Gornall|Secretary||| |5|Eleanor
Reeves|Minutes
Secretary/ Alto
Voice Rep||| |6|Julia
Williamson|Membership
Secretary||| |7|Anthony
Robinson|Concert
manager||| |8|Kath Whyte|Librarian||| |9|Francis Julian
Mustoe|Tenor Voice
Rep||| |10|Melanie Owen|Soprano Voice
Rep||| |11||||| |12||||| |13||||| |14||||| |15||||| |16||||| |17||||| |18||||| |19||||| |20||||| ## Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved ## **Director name** Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity **Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year** ## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets ## **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)** ## **Exemptions from disclosure** Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details ## **Other optional information** ## **Declarations** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** **Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date** ALTRINCHAM CHORAL SOCIETY INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT2023124 INCOME 2023124 2022123 EXPENDITURE 2023124 2022/23 CONCERTS Autumn Xmas CONCERTS Autumn Xmas 5,558.00 2,698.00 3,957.50 7,959.55 20.173.05 2.638.&) 13,662.08 2,824.22 3.814.64 21,754.42 42.055.36 3.875.90 1.768. 1.960.03 Spring Summer Total 1054.07 Spring Summer Total 3.$02.74 6.700. 8.023.31 14160.57 17.165.9 OTHER Come &Sing Total OTHER Come &Sing Total 1,496.00 IA96.00 2.1￿. 1,880.19 IA80.19 1.750.28 1.750.28 MEMBERSHIP Subscriptions Ilessticketsl GiftAid Total REHEARSALS Venue Conductor Deputyconduthor Accompanist Total 13,600.00 2,531.57 16.131.57 12.682. 5,072.00 5.031.00 1,147.00 4.536.00 15,786.00 2.808.00 1878.56 3.S85.00 1&56J. 1.279.00 3.900.00 DONATIONS AND SPONSORS 11.676.00 Donations Sponsors Total 5,463.00 13.000.00 A63.00 ADmINIsTRA￿oN 7.IS&lkl Music purchase Music library General admin 320.53 1.$25.50 1.449.72 OTHERINCOME Music sales Music library Book 1.367.55 1,784.72 955.55 310.50 3.938.77 747.90 328.00 327. OTHER EXPENSES Charityfundraising Anniversary Adrnin Bank interest Music income 158.26 1,390.00 20.19 751.38 Book Miscellaneous 489.25 454.94 295 1017.9 Anniversary Passed onto charity 1.760.72 158.26 183.97 425.82 4.13105 2A63.17 1312.9 107v.n Total Income 60.395.67 4Z16&35 Total Expendilure 64,369.44 35.843.93 Surplus oe deficit .77 43x42 ALTRINCHAM CHORAL SOCIETY END OF YEAR BALANCE SHEET 2023-24 done At end ot 2022r23 At end of: 2023124 Current Assets at year end 1.668.94 Barclays Bank Community account 53.696.75 Barclays Bank Business Premium United Trust bank 793.25 prepayments (ne￿ years events etc, already pald TOQ 7,398.08 2,448.13 43,000.00 1.009.96 56. 158.94 Total Current Assets 53,856.17 Current Liabilities (next yearfs income already received) 66.￿ eg Prepayments for singing day. Subs received early -1,737.00 66.￿? Total Currrent Liabilities -1,737.00 59.Q32.94 Net Assets 52,119.17 49, 769 Net balance at start of year 6.324 Surplus or deficit for this year 55,092.94 Net balance at year end 56,092.94 -3,973.77 52.119.17 Locatlon of holdin 26.426.45 Held in Floren￿ Matthews bequest 29.￿.49 Held in general fund Sg.092.94 Total holdings 20,640.41 31,478.76 52.119.17 These accounts were approved by the Trustees on and are signed on their behalf ty (Hon Treasure¢ ALTRINCHAM CHORAL SOCIErY Notes to the Accounts 20234 Sponsors £5000 received from the estate of Joycewinstanley. Applied as agreed with her executors to the cost ofthe Autumn 2023 Concert. £8000 received from Jean Oglesby. This was applied at her requestto the Summer 2024 Concert. Florence Matthews Bequest Originally £56,000 was left to the Society in the Will of Florence Matthews. The Will stated that it was given to the Society'for its general charitable purposes,. The Society has decided to treatthis money 8s a designated fund, to be used for activities, projects. and initiatives outside the routine activities of the Society. but within its charitable purposes. In 2023-4 a total of £5786 was spent againstthisfund, leavinga balance of 220640 at year end. Items of expenditure were as follows: £5625 Summer Concert 2024. Special performance of Eigar'Dream of Gerontius, at Royal Northern College of Music IRNCMI. Manchester. to celebrate the 30, anniversary of Steven Roberts as Musical Director ofthe Society- £161 To cover part of the production cost of a revised history ofthe Society. CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Altrincham Choral Society On accounts for the year ended 31 July 2024 Charity no (if any) 500729 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ('the Trust") for the year ended 31 July 2024. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5){b) of the Act. Independent I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect: the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair. view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Date: 14 October 2024 Signed: Name: R A Brougham Address: 86 Whitefield Road Stockton Heath Warrington, WA4 6NB IER Oct 2018 ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** ## **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report** |**Report to the trustees/**
**members of**|Charity Name
Altrincham Choral Society|| |---|---|---| |||| |**On accounts for the year**|31 July 2024
**Charity no**|500729| |**ended**|**(if any)**|| |||| |**Set out on pages**|1 - 3|| ||(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)|(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)| ||I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above|| ||charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 July 2024.|| |**Responsibilities and**|As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the|| |**basis of report**|accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011|| ||(“the Act”).|| I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. **Independent** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **examiner's statement** come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. **Date:** 14 October 2024 **Signed:** ~~|~~ **Name:** R A Brougham **Address:** 86 Whitefield Road Stockton Heath Warrington, WA4 6NB 1 **Oct 2018** **IER**