Loud and Proud Choir Trustees’ Annual Report Period From 1 Nov 2024 to Period End 31 Oct 2025
Charity contact information
Your charity’s name
Scottish Charity Number: SC038303
22a Drum Street, Edinburgh
EH17 8QH
07807358003
treasurer@loudandproudchoir.org loudandproudchoir.org
- Instagram loudandproudscotland
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Charity Trustees
Name all of your charity trustees for the period, and the date they left if they were not in post for the whole year
| Haydn Foster Treasurer |
Haydn Foster Treasurer |
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|---|---|---|
| Helen Happer Chair |
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| Sally King Secretary 28/04/25 - 18/05/26 |
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| Alison Fearnley Vice Chair 28/04/25 - 18/05/26 |
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| Tom Holm Trustee |
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| Stef Lyons Trustee |
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| Stephanie Stefanis | Trustee 28/04/25 - 30/10/26 |
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| Rosa Campbell Trustee |
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| Marilyn Elliot Trustee |
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| Russel Tullo Trustee 28/04/25 - Present |
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| Valto Maclean Trustee 01/11/24 - 28/04/25 |
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Objectives and activities
Loud and Proud is an association of people who get together for the study, practice and performance of choral music. The ultimate goal is to promote equality and diversity, and foster public understanding and appreciation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary community.
Our focus is, through our love for music, to create a community where everyone is welcome and can be themselves, helping them combat loneliness and progress in their journey of self-acceptance. Additionally, we perform for causes which are important for our community and for the protection and promotion of LGBTQ+ rights.
We rehearse on a weekly basis during the year and work towards two to three yearly performances, with the odd small gig in-between.
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Structure, governance and management
Type of governing document
The choir’s governing document is its Constitution, which was adopted on 9th October 2006 and amended to its current form on 6th May 2024. All choir members should have access to it in digital form via Dropbox upon joining the association.
Trustee recruitment and appointment
As required by our constitution, the board of trustees will resign at the choir’s annual general meeting (AGM). At that same AGM, a new committee will be elected, with each candidate nominated by a charity member and seconded by another as per the Constitution.
Trustees are chosen without an office – offices are assigned among trustees at the first committee meeting following the election.
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Achievements and performance
2024-25 was another great year for the choir where we continued to embed and strengthen our practices started in previous years. We continued to attract new names to the waiting list for all sections throughout the year, particularly following concert performances where we were complimented on both our sound and the joy which people tell us members exude during performances. Similarly to 23-24, we maintained our policy of growing the choir slowly but steadily, aiming to ensure new recruits are integrated securely while maintaining the quality of performances.
Musically, our freelance Musical Director Dr Kathleen Cronie has continued to lead, inspire and challenge us to achieve the best sound possible. This year has seen the introduction of ever more musically complex pieces which has led to increased positive feedback from audiences.
Inclusion has been a persistent theme for us throughout the year. In February 2025, we held our annual residential in Pitlochry, where members come together socially and participate in workshops where we can experiment with potential new repertoire, or adding movement. Our guest workshop lead was Paul Whittaker OBE, who taught BSL performance of music for a few pieces. Creating a strong relationship after the residential, Paul came to perform with us for our 20th Anniversary concert, making it a more accessible experience for our audience.
In preparation for Various Voices 2026, we made some financial support available to any choir member who needed it, to minimise financial barriers to participation in the festival.
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Financial review
Statement of the charity’s policy on reserves
We continue our long-standing policy on maintaining at least six months of reserves (which we do by convention, not as a statutory obligation).
With reserves at 31 October 2025 of £16,421 (2024: 21,340) we feel there are sufficient reserves to fulfil this policy
Details of any deficit
There was an overall deficit of £4,919 in 24-25 (2024: surplus £7,845). This was due to the decision to support all members of the choir with registration fees for Various Voices 2026 so that no one had a financial barrier to participating. This led to additional expenditure of £7,841.
These additional expenses are seen as one-off costs and not expected to continue for following years. A financial review is to be undertaken in 2026 to assess whether regular income vs expenditure
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will keep the charity in an overall surplus or whether actions such as increasing membership fees or partaking in additional fundraising activities are required.
Donated facilities and services
Not applicable.
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Future plans
In 2026 we are planning to travel to Brussels to take part in the Various Voices festival. We are also planning to join other LGBTQI+ choirs in Scotland to perform together in Glasgow to help strengthen links between communities across Scotland.
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Declaration
Signed on behalf of the charity trustees:
Print name
Designation
Date
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