2025-06-30-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025

Charity Contact Information

Haddo House Choral & Operatic Society

Scottish Charity Number: SC016577

c/o The Treasurer, HHCOS, Logie Shannoch, Drumrossie, Insch

AB52 6LJ

[e-mail]

www.hhcos.org.uk

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Charity Trustees

1. Antonia Coxe (Chairman)

2. Andy Clubb (Vice Chair)

3. Sue Willing (Secretary)

4. Janet Hoper (Treasurer)

5. Catriona MacIlwraith (Membership Sec)

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Objectives and Activities of the Society

The main aims and objectives of the Society are to create a centre of excellence at Haddo for the performance of choral works, operas and other live musical and theatrical works, to provide education in this field and to offer opportunities for amateur musicians and young people to work alongside established professionals.

HHCOS stages three major events per year including four performances of carols in the chapel at Haddo House and two concerts or an opera in the performance hall in the grounds. We also participate in the Haddo Arts Festival and in events organized by the managers of Haddo House, the National Trust for Scotland.

Our concerts include works that range from well-known and muchloved classical pieces to modern and contemporary works, often by Scottish composers. These performances often involve local and national soloists and musicians of differing abilities depending on the demands of the work.

The main beneficiaries of our work are the local population, musicians and young people. The Society brings well-known vocalists to perform here in northeast Scotland some of whom will have started their careers singing with HHCOS. We also engage local musicians to accompany our performances. We particularly help young people at the start of their careers, offering them the opportunity to sing with professionals and providing the occasion for some of them to launch their solo careers. We run a scholarship scheme to encourage young people to take up choral singing, and are planning to offer free singing lessons to encourage more of the lower voices to join us.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Constitution

The Society is a registered charity and is administered in accordance with its constitution. It is recognised as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in accordance with the provisions of The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.

Organisation

Organisation of the Society is the responsibility of the Management Committee, which meets approximately every six weeks. It administers the charity with the assistance of teams of non-committee members, all of which report to and have a representative on the Management Committee.

Recruitment and Appointment of the Committee Members

Members of the Society are encouraged to join the support teams to obtain a greater depth of relevant experience. The Officers of the Management Committee (all of whom are Trustees of the charity) are elected at the Annual General Meeting and serve for a maximum of three years, but are eligible for re-election.

The Trustees occasionally seek professional advice from external agencies (eg musicians, local council representatives) but none serve on the Management Committee and all appointments are made internally.

Training of Committee Members

By serving on the support teams, the members obtain relevant experience and knowledge of the Society’s organisational requirements.

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Achievements and Performance

During the year 2024-25, the choir gave a rousing performance of Carol Orff’s Carmina Burana, joined by three professional soloists, all with Scottish or Aberdeen connections, and music students from Aberdeen University. They were accompanied by two pianos and a range of percussion, the musicians all being local. This well-known work proved very popular with the audience but, at the same concert, the choir gave what they believe to be a national premier performance of Thea Musgrave’s Black Tambourine, introducing the audience to a very different type of music.

In addition to the four carol concerts in the chapel at Haddo House, the choir held an outreach carol concert at a church in Turriff and also performed carols for a local oil company at their annual dinner held in the House. Our spring concert comprised pieces by Lauridsen, McMillan and Tippett with the solo parts being sung by our two scholarship students.

Our collective achievement is that, since it’s inception in 1945, HHCOS continues to bring classical music of a very high standard to rural Aberdeenshire, entertaining and educating audiences and participants alike. We have encouraged community spirit by providing opportunities for musicians and for non-musicians who help us to stage our concerts. Individually: our young singers are pursuing their musical careers; our fundraisers have achieved satisfaction in their successes in everything from selling teas to securing major grants; and our management team have recognized that they have more talents than they ever realised!

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Financial Review

Policy on Reserves Statement

HHCOS has five designated funds:

Future Opera Performances £50,000

This fund is being built up to cover the costs of our next opera. Steinway Appeal £4,679 The Steinway piano will, in time, need replacing. These funds were donated specifically for that purpose.

Snow Ball Reserve £2,011 This major fundraising events has a separate bank account. Funds are held in reserve to prepare for the event prior to ticket income.

200 Club Reserve £750 The draw for our 200 Club takes place just before the end of the financial year. Funds are carried forward to cover prize money paid by cheque. H Williamson Fund £7,000 Our current accompanist is, through choice, unpaid. To reflect a more accurate picture of the cost of running the Society, what would have been his fee is ring-fenced and used to fund causes which help people to participate in music.

Deficits

None of the Society funds is in deficit.

Donated Facilities and Services

None of the facilities we use is donated. Our accompanist and our accounts examiner donate their services, and all our choir members assist as volunteers.

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Future Plans

At the end of this calendar year (2026), HHCOS will be celebrating over 80 years of music-making. Although a full opera is still not a financial viability for us, we will be staging an extravaganza of opera excerpts and choruses with a full orchestra and many special guests. We will continue to encourage more people to participate in choral singing and music making.

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Declaration

Signed on behalf of the charity trustees:

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Accounts for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

Scottish Charity No: SC016577

HADDO HOUSE CHORAL & OPERATIC SOCIETY

TOTAL RECEIPTS & PAYMENTS for YEAR ENDED 30 JUN 2025

Receipts Donations Legacies Grants Fundraising Performances Interest Total receipts Payments Donation Fund raising Performances Management & administration Total payments Surplus for the year	2025 £ 7,585 10,000 2,000 8,841 10,136 2,239 40,801 6,000 4,838 13,821 2,056 26,715 14,086	2024 £ 9,403 2,000 7,186 7,748 804
		27,141
		4,000 4,273 12,993 4,872
		26,138
		1,003

HADDO HOUSE CHORAL & OPERATIC SOCIETY

STATEMENT OF BALANCES AT 30 JUNE 2025

		2025	2024
		£	£
Unrestricted Funds
	General fund
	Brought forward	31,032	31,456
			150
	200 Club bal (2024)		1,184
	Surplus for the year	14,086	1,003
		45,118	33,793
	Less transfer to reserves	12,000	2,761
:	General fund cf	33,118	31,032
	Designated Funds
	Steinway Appeal	4,679	4,679
	Future OperaPerformances	50,000	45,000
	Snow Ball Reserve	2.011	2,011
	200 Club Reserve	750	750
	H Williamson fund	7,000
		64,440	52,440
Total	Funds	97,558	83,472
Bank	andCashBalances	97,558	83,472

The Notes form an integral part of these accounts

I certify that to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing Receipts and Payments Account for 1 ended 30 June 2025, the above Statement of Balances as at 30 June 2025 and the attached Nc / aushairman Date +)Aa |3 Alb9A

HADDO HOUSE CHORAL & OPERATIC SOCIETY NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2025

1 Accounting policies

These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts & Payments basis in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).

2 Tangible fixed assets

The choir owns fixed assets, which include musical instruments, stage and kitchen equipment. As it is highly unlikely that these assets will be realised for cash, no attempt has been made to put a value on them.

3 Direct charitable payments

Direct charitable payments are directly related to the objects of the charity and comprise:

Donations to charities

Costs of staging performances

Payments incurred in the management of the charity's assets and organisational administration

4 Designated funds

Monies received for the piano replacement were allocated to the Designated Fund.

5 Emoluments

The committee members do not receive any remuneration. There were no employees.

• 6 Taxation

The Society is exempt from income and gains falling under Section 505 of the Income & Corporation Taxes Act 1988 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

7 Sponsorships, grants & donations

The following donations were received during the year:

David & June Gordon Memorial Trust Privy Purse A S Mosley & Co Ltd Virgin Money F R Charitable Trust Catriona Lawson Stephen Williams Katrina Duthie Small donations < £30	£ 2,000 500 500 125 100 50 50 45 103
	3,473

8 Charitable Collection and Donation

Collections were made at the Carol Concerts and donated to the charity 'Charlie House'.

9 Debtors

At 30 June 2025, the Society was owed approximately £1700 for tax recoverable on subscriptions and donations.

10 Creditors

At 30 June 2025, unpresented cheques drawn on the 200 Club account amounted to £160.

• 11 Controlling Party

The charity is under the control of the Management Committee as detailed in the Report of the Management Committee attached.