Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir Trustees’ Annual Report, Season 2022 to 2023
Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir Trustees’ Annual Report for the period 1[st] September 2022 to 31[st] August 2023
Charity registration number: 506586
Season Summary
The choir continues to rehearse once weekly during school term times and has returned to the full schedule of four concerts and one Come and Sing per year. The choir continues to employ a Musical Director, Lee Dunleavy, and a professional pianist as accompanist, Colin Druce.
Concerts performed:
-
Masses for Our Time: Missa Gaia by Libby Larsen, Credo by Margaret Bonds and Mass by Leonard Bernstein Saturday 12[th] November, 2022 at King’s High School Hall Warwick
-
A Bach Choir Christmas for all the family Saturday 17[th] December, 2022 at Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa
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J S Bach Mass in B Minor Saturday 1[st] April, 2023 at St Mary’s Church, Warwick
-
Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle Saturday 1[st] July, 2023 at the Royal Pump Rooms, Leamington Spa
Other Events:
- Come and Sing, Masses by Martines and Mozart, Saturday 11[th] February 2023, Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa
Chairman’s Report
We held a concert in November 2022 for the first time at the new King’s High School Hall, Banbury Road, Warwick, with members of KHS Senior Chamber Choir. There were risks involved, which were both musical and financial, but the outcome amply justified them, with a really enthusiastic audience of 200 drawn to a new venue to hear two works and an arrangement never performed before in the UK.
Saturday 1st April was an important day for the choir – performing the Bach B minor mass at Saint Mary’s, Warwick – our first B minor Mass since 2011, and our first visit to Saint Mary’s since 2010. Reserved seats sold online was another first, and we were rewarded with a near-full house of around 240.
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Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir Trustees’ Annual Report, Season 2022 to 2023
In July we presented Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle at Leamington Pump Rooms, to an enthusiastic near full house of 150.
We have been very pleased to welcome 22 new members to the choir since January, who have brought our numbers up to 85, plus three Associate Members, a new category created to recognise the contribution of long-standing members who have retired from singing but wish to keep close ties with us.
We have a big season ahead if us, building on all the successful work Lee has done with us since 2020. Steadily increasing membership, bigger audiences, new venues and new works, all are testament to Lee’s musical leadership.
Treasurer’s Report
Choir numbers continued to increase this season with 85 members with us by the summer. Audience numbers started to return to normal levels with about 200 at our Autumn and Spring Concerts, and 150 in the summer, although Christmas was disappointing with only 120 in attendance – possibly as a result of not teaming with a children’s choir.
The Come and Sing attracted about 100 singers.
We had an ambitious programme, some large ensembles and some new expensive venues so our losses were expected to be large on the concerts, although this was mitigated with charitable grants in the Autumn and a generous member donation in the Spring.
The accounts within one season don’t take into account prepayments made the previous season and PRS fees paid in arrears in the following Autumn, and grants and donations are shown in the general choir income. Adjusting for these to show the true concert losses shows that we were >£3k in deficit in the Autumn, ~£1k in deficit at Christmas, almost £4k in deficit in the Spring and ~£2.5k in deficit in the Summer with a surplus of £800 from the Come and Sing. Our overall concert loss was almost £10k which is on the high side, but we had planned for a big season with a view to attracting new members and new audience.
We had no lucrative performance fees last season compared to the previous, but we received just over £1,000 for hire of our staging at All Saints, nearly £300 in the sale of full sets of scores to local libraries (Bernstein) and £150 from Easy Fundraising and Amazon Fundraising.
Our net asset position has risen by ~£4.5k largely due to the receipt of three sets of Gift Aid which had not been claimed in the previous three years.
Our main costs – rehearsal and concert venues and professional fees – are rising significantly again and our income needs to keep up without putting members or audiences off altogether – it’s a balancing act. With the choir funds looking healthy though, and with the budget for next season looking very manageable, we will not increase subs next year.
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Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir Trustees’ Annual Report, Season 2022 to 2023
Governance
The Choir is governed by a constitution which sets out the Membership, Officers & Committee, Trusteeship, etc. Relevant extracts of the constitution are included here:
3) Membership
i) The membership of the Society shall comprise
a) Patron
b) President
c) Vice Presidents
d) Members
- e) Associate Members
ii) The position of Patron may be offered to a suitable person by a resolution of a General Meeting. iii) The position of President shall be reserved for the Mayor of Royal Leamington Spa ex officio.
iv) Vice Presidents may be elected by a General Meeting in recognition of exceptional service to the Society.
iii) Applications for Member must be made using the prescribed form and are subject to appraisal by the Musical Director as to the applicant’s musical suitability.
iv) Associate Members may be appointed by the committee.
v) The Committee shall ensure that a record is kept of the membership of the Society.
vi) Communications with the membership will be made in electronic form except as the committee may direct otherwise.
4) Officers & Committee
i) The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall elect from among the Members of the Society a committee which shall manage the Society comprised as follows:
a) Chairman
b) Secretary
c) Treasurer
d) Publicity Officer
e) Librarian
f) Not more than five other committee members
ii) A quorum at a committee meeting shall be not less than half the number of members and must include at least the Chairman or the Secretary or the Treasurer.
iii) Casual vacancies may be filled by the Committee from among the Members of the Society.
iv) The committee may co-opt not more than two additional persons as members at any time.
v) The Chairman shall have a second or casting vote at committee meetings only.
vi) A committee meeting may be called at any appropriate time by the Secretary.
vii) All committee members shall be eligible to stand for re-election except that no Member shall hold the office of Chairman for more than three years in immediate succession.
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Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir Trustees’ Annual Report, Season 2022 to 2023
5) Musical Director
The Society may engage and remunerate a suitably qualified Musical Director whose duties shall include rehearsing the choir, conducting the choir at public concerts, appraising the musical
suitability of applicants for membership, proposing for the approval of the committee a programme of music for performance which will advance the objects of the Society, and other duties as may be agreed from time to time.
13) Trusteeship
i) All music or other property purchased by or presented to the Society shall be vested in the committee.
ii) For the purposes of charitable registration, the trustees of the Society shall be the Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer.
iii) No trustee or committee member or any connected person shall receive any financial benefit from the Society except that
a) Out-of-pocket expenses incurred in conducting any approved business of the Society shall be reimbursed.
b) As provided by the Charities Act 2011 Section 185 a financial benefit may be given to a trustee or committee member or connected person in return for services provided under a written contract if the trustees and the committee agree that the best interests of the Society are thereby served and that in no circumstances do a majority of trustees or committee members receive any such benefit.
Adopted 31[st] January 1945 and last amended Day Month 2022.
Ref: v2
Other Matters
Trustees have been made aware of the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
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Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir Trustees’ Annual Report, Season 2022 to 2023
Financial Review
Accounts at end August 2023
| ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA BACH CHOIR | ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA BACH CHOIR | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANALYSIS OF CONCERT INCOME AND EXP | ENDITURE | |||||||||||
| YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Autumn | Xmas | Workshop | Spring | Summer | Total | |||||||
| Ticket sales | 3,132 | 1,769 | 1,978 | 4,187 | 2,385 | 13,451 | ||||||
| Programme sales | 256 | 0 | 0 | 235 | 224 | 715 | ||||||
| Programme advertising | 35 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 35 | 105 | ||||||
| Music sale/hire | 445 | 239 | 0 | 291 | 225 | 1,200 | ||||||
| Other concert income | 0 | 119 | 227 | 316 | 0 | 662 | ||||||
| Total income £ | 3,868 | 2,127 | 2,205 | 5,063 | 2,869 | 16,133 | ||||||
| Orchestra/instrumentalists | 3,106 | 1,100 | 400 | 5,957 | 750 | 11,313 | ||||||
| Soloists/conductor | 1,034 | 450 | 240 | 2,025 | 1,972 | 5,721 | ||||||
| Music/instrument hire | 3,227 | 346 | 100 | 299 | 262 | 4,234 | ||||||
| Venue hire/stagingcosts | 1,313 | 625 | 550 | 480 | 1,309 | 4,277 | ||||||
| Concertprinting/advertising | 547 | 168 | 55 | 518 | 520 | 1,809 | ||||||
| Other concert expenses | 0 | 150 | 25 | 45 | 58 | 278 | ||||||
| Total expenditure £ | 9,227 | 2,839 | 1,370 | 9,324 | 4,870 | 27,630 | ||||||
| Concert surplus/deficit £ | (5,359) | (712) | 836 | (4,261) | (2,001) | (11,498) |
| ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA BACH CHOIR | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR E | NDED 31 AUGUS | T 2023 | |||||||||||||
| 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2016/17 | 2015/16 | ||||||||
| Total concert income asper attached schedule | 16,133 | 12,141 | 571 | 12,283 | 14,022 | 9,991 | 10,320 | 12,515 | |||||||
| Members' subscriptions incl Gift Aid recovery | 21,772 | 10,630 | 5,155 | 15,014 | 14,804 | 11,364 | 9,459 | 8,825 | |||||||
| Friends' subscriptions | 683 | 1,179 | 710 | 1,240 | 1,028 | 1,060 | 1,220 | 900 | |||||||
| Performance Fees | 16 | 1,200 | 480 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Grants,donations,fundraising& bequest | 4,041 | 2,773 | 2,199 | 1,979 | 56 | 0 | 570 | ||||||||
| Refreshments and raffles | 1,044 | 1,127 | 72 | 1,548 | 1,824 | 1,495 | 1,232 | 1,126 | |||||||
| Bank deposit interest received | 175 | 18 | 39 | 38 | 20 | 15 | 24 | 32 | |||||||
| Miscellaneous income/Advance on next season | 5 | 2450 | 347 | 395 | -1349 | 204 | 218 | 0 | |||||||
| Total income £ | 43,869 | 31,518 | 9,572 | 32,497 | 30,405 | 24,129 | 22,473 | 23,968 | |||||||
| Total concert expenditure asper attached schedule | 27,630 | 19,297 | 2,248 | 11,144 | 15,772 | 15,647 | 16,246 | 17,997 | |||||||
| Rehearsal venue | 2,423 | 2,343 | 172 | 1,586 | 577 | 1573 | 1240 | 1,490 | |||||||
| Conductor/accompanist | 7,678 | 7,174 | 6,076 | 6,143 | 6458 | 5571 | 5265 | 5,787 | |||||||
| Printing/publicity/website | 499 | 577 | 393 | 2,626 | 307 | 68 | 172 | 350 | |||||||
| Miscellaneous(incprepayments) | 3,490 | 2,118 | 1,634 | 639 | 648 | 453 | 803 | 305 | |||||||
| Insurance,PRS & MakingMusic | 846 | 578 | 718 | 567 | 586 | 583 | 572 | 600 | |||||||
| Depreciation of equipment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 331 | 438 | 438 | |||||||
| Total expenditure £ | 42,566 | 32,086 | 11,241 | 22,703 | 24,348 | 24,225 | 24,736 | 26,967 | |||||||
| Surplus/deficit for theyear £ | 1,302 | (569) | (1,668) | 9,794 | 6,057 | (96) | (2,263) | (2,999) | |||||||
| Funds brought forward at 1 September £ | 23,598 | 24,166 | 25,834 | 16,040 | 9,983 | 10,079 | 12,342 | 15,341 | |||||||
| Funds carried forward at 31 August £ | 24,900 | 23,598 | 24,166 | 25,834 | 16,040 | 9,983 | 10,079 | 12,342 |
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Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir Trustees’ Annual Report, Season 2022 to 2023
| ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA BACH CHOIR | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| 31.08.23 | 31.08.22 | 31.08.21 | 05.08.20 | 31.08.19 | 31.08.18 | 31.08.17 | 31.08.16 | ||||||||
| Equipment | |||||||||||||||
| At cost at 1 September | 4,482 | 4,482 | 4,542 | 4,482 | 4,482 | 4,482 | 4,482 | 4,482 | |||||||
| Additions inyear | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Depreciation to date | (4,482) | (4,482) | (4,542) | (4,482) | (4,482) | (4,482) | (4,151) | (3,713) | |||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 331 | 769 | ||||||||
| Working capital | |||||||||||||||
| Debtors,advancepayments & cash floats | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 | 824 | 580 | 1,201 | 1,372 | |||||||
| COIF charitydeposit | 5,503 | 5,328 | 5,310 | 5,309 | 5,271 | 5,251 | 5,237 | 7,213 | |||||||
| Lloyds current account | 19,228 | 18,100 | 18,686 | 21,881 | 10,752 | 4,614 | 3,900 | 3,388 | |||||||
| 24,900 | 23,598 | 24,166 | 27,360 | 16,847 | 10,445 | 10,669 | 12,742 | ||||||||
| Income in advance and creditors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,526 | 808 | 296 | 756 | 400 | |||||||
| Net assetposition £ | 24,900 | 23,598 | 24,166 | 25,834 | 16,039 | 10,149 | 9,913 | 12,342 | |||||||
| Surplus funds asperpreviouspage £ | 24,900 | 23,598 | 24,166 | 25,834 | 16,040 | 9,983 | 10,079 | 12,342 | |||||||
The accounts were independently reviewed by Ms Yasmi Roberts of 40 Priorsfield Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1DB.
Reserves
It is the policy of the choir to maintain a balance of funds in the current account of £12,000, which equates to the typical level of professional fees for an average concert. This level was recently re-established during the period of the pandemic when no concerts and very limited rehearsals were held. The budget for the next season sees this level being maintained.
The choir also maintains an emergency COIF Charities Deposit Fund with CCLA Investment Management. The balance of this fund at 1[st] September 2023 was £5,503.
Choir Officers
Chairman Richard Taulbut Autumn 2021 to present Secretary Jude Robinson Autumn 2019 to present Treasurer Nicola Deards Autumn 2019 to present
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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir On accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 Charfty no (if any) 506586 Set out on pages See below I report to the trusts on my examination of the accounts of the above charty {llh6 TnJst-) for the year ended Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's twstees. you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordan with the requirements of the Charities A¢t 2011 (tthe Acf). I report in respect of my examination of the Tw'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. Indepèndént I have completed my examination. I confinn 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 w6r6 not kept in accordance with s8Ction 130 of the Charrties Act- or the a¢¢ounts did not accord with thè accounting records. or Ihe accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the fonn and content of accounts set out in the Chartties (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fai¢ view which is not a matter ¢onsidered as part of an irKlependent examinaiion. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in Connection with the examination to which attention should drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be r8ached. Slgned: 2V January 2024 Name: Yasmi Roberts Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (If any): Retired bank manager with eXper[en of reviewing audited accounts for lending purposes. Address: 40 PriorsfEkl Road, Kenilworth. Warbvickshire, CV8 1 DB