Report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024
Legal and administrative information
| Principal address: 6 Beechroyd, Pudsey, LS28 8BH | Principal address: 6 Beechroyd, Pudsey, LS28 8BH | Registered charity no:516399 | Registered charity no:516399 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustees | |||
| Elizabeth Edgington | Chair | Teresa Jones | Secretary |
| Janet Cade | Vice-chair & Tickets | Rachel Holt | Members’ Secretary |
| Paul Linehan Treasurer (Co-opted) |
Treasurer (Co-opted) |
Bankers: Barclays Bank, Barclays Business Centre, PO Box 100, Leeds, LS1 1PA
Aims and organisation
The objects of the orchestra are to promote, improve, develop and maintain public education in and appreciation of the art and science of music in all aspects by the presentation of public concerts and recitals and by such other ways as the Orchestra through its trustees shall determine from time to time.
Responsibility for the orchestra is with the elected and co-opted trustees. The trustees delegate management of the orchestra to the Management Group which is unelected, this includes:
| Librarians | Helen Patterson | Patrons Manager | Charlotte Hazel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Glasby | Programmes & prin | Oliver Moor | |
| Orchestral Manager | Vacant | Extras Manager | Vacant |
| Website listings | Heather Mackie | Concert Manager | Vacant |
| Website Manager | Karen Vaughan | Percussion Manage | Pippa Wilson |
| Social Media Manage | Philippa Jennings | Sponsorship Manager | Sponsorship ManagerVacant |
| Social events Manage | Aliki George | Fundraising Manag | Vacant |
| Stage Manager | Philippa Jennings |
Plus the Trustees of the orchestra all take on management tasks. The Trustees book self-employed conductors for rehearsal and performances. All Trustees and Members of the Management Group are volunteers and more volunteers are welcome, whether to become a Trustee, take on a Management role, or a one off task.
Chair’s Review
The Airedale Symphony Orchestra has enjoyed substantial successes during the year to August 31 2024. Concerts were held in November and December 2023 and March and June 2024.
November 2023
The first programme with a new conductor, our new rehearsal venue and several new members, performed to a high standard on 21 November with a bumper audience that overflowed from the sold out Ilkley Kings Hall into the Winter Gardens next door!
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The mountain and the flood - Hamish MacCunn
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Cello Concerto in B Minor - Antonin Dvorak, Soloist: Douglas Badger
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The Oak - Florence Price
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Symphony No 5 in C Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven
December 2023
A pair of Christmas concerts were performed at our rehearsal venue, Wesleys in Baildon. The first a Family concert with opportunities for children to play sleigh bells, sing along with community choir members, and dance to the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the second an atmospheric Candlelight concert. Both concerts were sell-outs with a very happy festive spirit. The programmes included:
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Sleigh Ride - Delius
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A Vaughan Williams’ Christmas - Vaughan Williams
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Nutcracker Suite -Tchaikovsky
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Sleigh Ride! - Leroy Anderson
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Polar Express suite - Alan Silvestri
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● Various carols
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Winter from the Four Seasons with ASO leader Ian Banks as soloist
March 2024
Performed at Ilkley Kings Hall on 17 March. Featuring work by a composer from our membership, Philippa Jennings who allowed us to present a world premiere of her work ‘Killer on the Road’. This was received with great delight alongside Conga del Fuego and William Tell Overture, both featuring solos by our fabulous trumpet section.
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William Tell Overture - Rossini
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Killer on the Road - Jennings
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Conga del Fuego - Arturo Márquez
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Symphony No 9 in E Minor 'From the New World', Op.95 - Dvorak
June 2024
The season finished by fulfilling a lifetime highlight for many, performing Mahler 5 to critical acclaim. Specialists in brass, strings and woodwind led sectionals alongside the peerless musical leadership of Ben Crick, our conductor. The orchestra worked hard to complete this goal, with wonderful solos from several sections including Ewan Hudson our solo horn and lead trumpet Shannon Gateley. Everyone should be very proud of their achievement.
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Shostakovich, Festival Overture
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Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite no 1
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Mahler, Symphony no 5
Finances
During the year to 31 August 2024, finances have improved dramatically after last year left the orchestra vulnerable financially. This improvement is due to:
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Changing the rehearsal venue saving circa £75/week
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Recruiting members to fill places in the orchestra rather than relying on extras - for example, we now have a full brass section and timpanist, and plans for a regular percussionist.
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Increasing the number of members to increase subscription income - we now have 67 members rising from around 50 in September 2023.
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Increasing number of patrons - We are delighted that the support of our Patrons has continued and numbers have increased this year. We would like to thank them for their commitment to, and support of, the orchestra.
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Changing how we manage regular extras to look for good amateur players with whom we have built a relationship rather than rely on professionals except where necessary
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Increased marketing of concerts to maximise ticket sales, particularly use of social media and building relationships with local media, music groups and community organisations.
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Limiting number of pieces programmed with high music hire/extras/percussion costs until we could afford this
Following these changes, year-end profit/deficit has risen from (£6,505) to £6,123. This was achieved without increasing the cost of member subscriptions, or ticket prices.
Management processes
Management processes have also been changed including:
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A change in the ASO constitution to ensure two trustees sign off all spending and all trustees have access to the bank account to allow total transparency.
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A Programming Group to decide on repertoire which is advised by ASO conductor Ben Crick
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Focus on building community relationships - community choir at Christmas, visits by the brownies and cubs, and concerts held at Wesleys - have all developed our audiences and support for the orchestra going forward.
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Supporting talent within our membership to attract and retain excellent musicians to the orchestra
Legal case
Our previous conductor John Anderson continues to pursue a case at employment tribunal. We have solicitors involved whose costs are currently covered by our insurance policy, so this is not costing the orchestra anything. There is a hearing in January 2025, delayed from September, which will decide whether John Anderson was an employee of the orchestra, or was self-employed. If he is judged to have been self-employed the case will end there. If judged to have been an employee, he will no doubt continue his claim of unfair dismissal and age discrimination. Our legal team seem comfortable that we are in the right here, so whilst there is a fair bit of work going on behind the scenes, it is something for the members to be aware of but not concerned about.
Our future
With the changes to the orchestra and the fantastic conducting and musical coaching of Ben Crick, the orchestra is developing swiftly. This has been noted by others and we have been invited to partner in a large Christmas concert at St George’s Hall in December 2025, and thanks to the involvement of Ben Crick, to perform in the Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 opening ceremony.
As the orchestra becomes more skilled it is taking on more challenging and creative work, and thanks to financial stability we can now support local musicians with our new bursary scheme
The Airedale Symphony Orchestra is a wonderful orchestra with a membership of committed, friendly musicians, welcoming new members and all those that work with us. With the dedication and commitment of the members, trustees and management group, we will flourish and continue to make progress as an orchestra.
Elizabeth Edgington, Chair
Financial position
The Orchestra's main source of income comes from members' annual subscriptions, and proceeds from concerts. During the year, the Orchestra enjoyed a profit of £6,123 (2023: deficit of £(6,505)).
Notes to the accounts
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The Orchestra's accounts for the year ending 31 August 2024 are attached to this Report. The accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments basis in accordance with Sections 132 and 133(a) and (b) of the Charities Act 2011, as the gross recorded income of the Orchestra was less than £250,000 during the year.
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The gross recorded income of the Orchestra during the year was more than £25,000, so an independent examination of the accounts has been carried out, pursuant to section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. This has been completed by qualified accountant Helen Nakwhal.
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The accounts for the year 2022-23 are being restated here to allow for prepayments and liabilities which were not previously taken into account. This is due to material accruals in the year 2023-24, making it necessary to identify other material accruals and prepayments in the previous year. The restatement of prepaid income in 2022-23 relates to subscriptions and patron payments received in 2022-23 for the 2023-24 year. This treatment is consistent with the treatment of subscriptions and patron payments in the 2023/24 year.
Report and Accounts approved by Trustees Committee on 21 November 2024.
- Income and expenditure account Year ending 31 August 2024
| 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2022-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||
| Members' annual subscriptions | £ 8,162 | £ 6,866 | |
| Patrons' and Friends' subscriptions | £ 2,155 | £ 810 | |
| Sale of tickets and programmes | £ 13,324 | £ 6,542 | |
| Sale of programmes and cash donations | £ 1,786 | £ - | £ - |
| Sponsorship, grants and donations | £ 1,000 | £ 98 | |
| Programme advertising | £ 20 | £ - | £ - |
| Sundry | £ - | £ 550 | |
| Interest on Investments | £ 3 | £ - | £ - |
| Total | £ 26,449 | £ 14,867 | |
| Expenditure | |||
| Hire of performance rooms | £ 4,942 | £ 3,350 | |
| Rehearsal expenses | £ 2,509 | £ 3,710 | |
| Conductors' and tutors' fees | £ 6,970 | £ 11,395 | |
| Artists' fees | £ 350 | Included | |
| Extras | £ 1,718 | above | |
| Instrument Hire | £ 1,050 | £ 661 | |
| Hire of music | £ 610 | £ 736 | |
| Printing expenses | £ 619 | £ 823 | |
| Miscellaneous concert expenses | £ 290 | £ 12 | |
| Administration expenses | £ 1,093 | £ 502 | |
| Sundries | £ 175 | £ 183 | |
| Total | £20,326 | £ 21,372 | |
| Net surplus/(deficit) for the year | £ 6,124 | £ (6,505) | |
| Balance Sheet | |||
| As at | As at | ||
| Assets: | 31/08/2024 | 31/08/2023 | |
| National Savings Investment Account | £ 130 | £ 130 | |
| Nationwide | £ 404 | £ 402 | |
| Cash box | £ 46 | £ 108 | |
| Barclays Bank plc Current Account | £ 10,973 | £4,114 | |
| Cash in hand | £ 11,554 | £4,753 | |
| Less Liabilities: | |||
| Fees paid in advance | £1950 | £3120 | |
| Accruals | £1847 | £ - | £ - |
| Total Net Assets | £7,757 | £1,633 | |
| Represented by: | |||
| Accumulated funds at 1 September | £1,633 | £8,138 | |
| (Deficit)/ surplus for the year | £6,123 | £(6,505) | |
| Accumulated funds at 31 August | £7,757 | £1633 |
CONCERT INCOME AND EXPENDITURE 2023/2024
| November | Christmas | March | June | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME | |||||||
| Tickets andprogrammes | £3,804 | £1,228 | £3,676 | £4,371 | |||
| Programmes and donations(cash) | £1,030 | £15 | £350 | £240 | |||
| Programme adverts | £20 | ||||||
| Total | £4,834 | £1,243 | £4,046 | £4,611 | |||
| EXPENDITURE | |||||||
| Hall hire | £ 782 | £ 140 | £ 1,574 | £ 1,847 | |||
| Conductor | £ 350 | £ 350 | £ 350 | £ 350 | |||
| Soloists | £ 350 | ||||||
| Music hire andpurchase | £ 68 | £ 250 | £ 223 | £ 70 | |||
| Extraplayers | £ 400 | £ 70 | £ 188 | £ 1,030 | |||
| Instrument hire | £ 250 | £ - | £ 75 | £ 275 | |||
| Flyers,posters andpublicity | £ 61 | £ 53 | £ 70 | £ 79 | |||
| Programmeprinting | £ 98 | £ 75 | £ 89 | £ 171 | |||
| Miscellaneous expenses | |||||||
| Total | £ 2,358 | £ 938 | £ 2,568 | £ 3,822 | |||
| Concert surplus/(shortfall) | £ 2,476 | £ 305 | £ 1,477 | £ 789 | |||
| CONCERT SURPLUS/(SHORTFALL) FOR SEASON | £5,048 |