Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements
For the year ended 30 April 2013
1
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Contents
Page
Charity Information
3
Chairman’s Report
4
Trustees’ Report
6
Statement of Financial Activities
9
Balance Sheet
10
Notes to the Financial Statements
11
2
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Charity Information
Management Committee (Trustees)
The Committee members (appointed at the June 2012 AGM unless otherwise stated) are:
James Garrow
Jane Brooks
Gillian Palmer
June Windle
Jackie Alderton
Liz Durning
Neil Martin
Lesley Scordellis
Hilary Trigg
John Thornely
Joan Thomas
Bob Cowell
Chairman
Hon. Membership Secretary
Acting Hon Treasurer (appointed 14/3/13, previously Acting
Hon. Secretary as from 23/10/12)
Acting Hon. Secretary (appointed April 2013)
(appointed 23/10/12 as Acting Patrons Secretary)
Hon Treasurer (resigned 10/3/13)
Registered Office
1 Penhurst
Woking
Surrey GU21 4HP
Bankers
CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent ME19 4JQ
Independent Examiner
Mr B Reed
11 Orchard Close
Tilehurst
Reading
Berks RG31 6YS
Website
www.vivacechorus.org
3
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Chairman’s Report for the Year Ended 30 April 2013
Introduction
There are three crucial ingredients for a choir to be really successful:
A solid membership base
A professional Director of Music
Sound finances
The Vivace Chorus has each of these in abundance, boasting a membership of almost 150
singers, a talented and passionate Director of Music (Jeremy Backhouse) and a sound
funding base. These three ingredients enable the choir to have the courage and confidence
to undertake exciting and ambitious choral programmes.
The choir’s membership is drawn from all walks of life – teachers, solicitors, artisans, law
students – meeting to make music with the twin aims of having fun and putting on great
concerts. Using a professional London orchestra, the Brandenburg Sinfonia, and
professional soloists, certainly helps to maintain the highest standards at each of our four
concert venues.
Careful concert programming is crucial to attract large and appreciative audiences; this is
one of Jeremy’s many musical fortes and it has, on many occasions, helped bring in
audience numbers that have exceeded expectations.
Concerts
Thanks to the considerable surplus generated by our Royal Albert Hall Mahler 8 concert
success in 2011, we resolved to use some of it to promote large-scale works in the 2012-13
season that we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to finance.
In May 2012 we performed a dramatic Rachmaninov programme in Guildford Cathedral,
singing in Russian. We were fortunate to have Francis Pott, our rehearsal accompanist as
our soloist on this occasion. Not only is he a composer of international renown, but also an
experienced and brilliant concert pianist who played the 2nd piano concerto to perfection; the
reaction from the Cathedral audience to his sensitive and intelligent playing was warm and
prolonged. This piece was wonderfully complemented by extracts from the ‘All-night Vigil’
and ‘The Bells’.
In November 2012 we were able to perform a truly memorable rendition of Britten’s War
Requiem to a packed Guildford Cathedral. This is a wonderful work that, because of the
large forces required is only too rarely performed. 180 singers from the Vivace Chorus,
Tiffins Boys Choir and our guests from the Freiburg Bachchor, a full symphony orchestra,
chamber orchestra and three extraordinarily good soloists wowed a Cathedral full to bursting
point. It is an immense work of passion that was conveyed with so much feeling.
In March 2013, for the second year in a row, we sold out the G Live concert hall, thanks as
much to the quintessentially ‘Britishness’ of the programming – Elgar and Vaughan Williams
– as to Julian Lloyd Webber playing the Elgar cello concerto. Financially, it is nice to have a
full house, but to actually see every seat in the building taken is just as rewarding!
4
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
The choir on Tour
In June 2012, 88 chor members and friends set off to perform a self-funded ‘3-concert tour’
in Strasbourg, Freiburg and Heidelberg, singing a varied and moving repertoire. The triumph
of the tour was the final concert in Schwetzingen, near Heidelberg, where the choir received
a prolonged standing ovation, after a very fine performance indeed.
Additional Performances and Choral Opportunities
The Vivace philosophy of using our talents to help those less fortunate than ourselves led to
two well-received concerts in Holy Trinity Church, Guildford. The first was a medley of music:
choral works, string quartet and a Big Band that raised funds for the RNLI. In December
2012 a candle-lit carol concert, helped to boost the income of the Mayor of Guildford’s
charity.
Our Come & Sing days now have an enviable reputation that reaches far and wide, with
demand far exceeding supply. This year we chose to work on Bach’s Mass in B minor for the
180 singers we were able to attract; it was a well-organised and highly successful
experience for singers. The fact that it boosted choir funds significantly was a bonus.
In January the choir’s semi-chorus was invited to perform Mozart’s gorgeous Requiem in St
Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square.
Future Plans for 2013/14
2013/14 will be a huge challenge, including as it does a Vivace performance of Verdi’s
Requiem in the Royal Albert Hall; a 3-concert self-funded tour to Verona, Venice and Lake
Garda; a ‘Best of British’ concert with contemporary works; a performance of Jenkins’ ‘The
Armed Man’; and a concert entitled ‘Strictly Gershwin’ to include his ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and
excerpts from ‘Porgy and Bess’. Thanks to the strengths of the choir’s core ingredients,
Vivace will rise to these varied challenges with great enthusiasm.
We never back down from a challenge; we’ll be financing the promotion of our own concert
in the Royal Albert Hall in May 2014. In 2011, we filled the Hall with a performance of
Mahler’s 8th Symphony, and we’re hoping to do the same with the Verdi Requiem, singing
alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Choir, The
Wimbledon Choral Society and the Twickenham Choral Society. It will cost over £50,000
and not a few litres of blood, sweat and tears. But when that last note dies away, it will have
been worth every minute.
Vivace is never prepared to rest on its financial laurels and is ever seeking ways to find new
sponsors, to invite new patrons and to fundraise in any number of original and effective ways
to ensure that the high standards of music and performance that have been established are
maintained. We welcome you to join with us, in any way you feel able, so we can bring this
wonderful music to life, together!
James Garrow
Chairman of the Vivace Chorus
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Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Trustees’ Report
The Management Committee (Committee of Trustees) presents the Trustees’ Report and
Financial Statements for the year ended 30 April 2013. The accounts have been prepared in
accordance with the accounting policies set out on page 11 and comply with the charity's
constitution and applicable law.
Objects
The Constitution, which governs the Guildford Philharmonic Choir (working name: Vivace
Chorus), states that the objects of the charity are to advance public education and
appreciation of choral music in all its aspects, in particular by the presentation of public
concerts and by other such means as the Committee of the Choir shall determine.
A review of the Constitution with respect to good governance has been made and the
amendments, discussed with the Commission, were agreed at the AGM in 2012 by
members of the Charity.
The Management Committee
The Constitution states that the management of the Choir is in the hands of a Committee
consisting of four officers and between four and eight additional members. All committee
members are trustees of the charity and are elected by members of the choir at the Annual
General Meeting (AGM) or co-opted during the year. A list of the committee members is
given on page 3. The full committee meets at least six times a year.
A Music Director is appointed at each Annual General meeting and is a non-voting member
of the Committee. During the year the Music Director was Jeremy Backhouse. Professor
Francis Pott was re-appointed in accordance with the Constitution as accompanist.
Financial and operating review
During the year the choir had a membership of around 140 and produced three concerts.
The Chairman’s report describes the major achievements of the year, together with the
Committee’s plans for the future.
The choir’s direct income (fundraising, together with subscriptions from members and
patrons), funds the full cost of running the choir and makes a contribution towards covering
the net cost of concerts, as they generally make a small loss. The Mahler 8 concert, held in
the Royal Albert Hall in the previous year, was a major exception, as it made a very welcome
and hard-won surplus of £24,8k. This enabled the choir to subsidise an ambitious and
unusual concert programme for 2012/13 – the Rachmaninov programme and Britten’s War
Requiem, which had greater financial shortfalls, due to the constant challenge of selling
sufficient tickets to cover the cost of a full orchestra in a major venue.
Income
Rachmaninov (Cathedral)
£7,672
Britten’s War Requiem (Cathedral) £10,782
Elgar at G Live
£26,904
Expenditure
£21,632
£25,128
£29,589
Profit/(Loss)
(£13,960)
(£14,346)
(£2,685)
The receipt of a generous legacy from a former member of the choir, Enid Weston, meant
that the unrestricted fund shortfall after concerts of £21,367, was reduced to the net deficit of
£6,367 incurred this year.
6
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Wo*ing Name: Vivace Chorus)
RegisteredCharityNo. 1026337
The Committeewouldliketo spendEnidWeston'slegacyon specificactivitiesand so it is
shownas a designated
fund balancein the
fundin the balancesheet. The unrestricted
balancesheethasthereforereducedfrom€86,7kto €65.3k.This levelof reseryeis still
substantial,
to be
andwillenablethe cashflowsof the ambitiousfutureprogramme
underwritten.
Reserves policy
It is the policyof the Societyto maintainunrestrictedfunds,whichare free reservesof the
charity,at a levelwhichunderwritesthe nexttwo years'concerts,in additionto net
management
and administration
and supportcostsfor thosetwo years. Thisenablesthe
andto fundthe cumulative
associatedcashflowoutlays
choirto planambitiousprogrammes
whichtake placewell in advanceof concerts.
Risk management
The officershaveexaminedthe majorstrategic,businessand operational
riskswhichthe
Societyfacesand are satisfiedthat systemshavebeenestablished
to addressthe identlfied
risks.
Public Benefit
guidanceon publicbenefit
The Committeehas paiddue regardto the CharityCommission's
in decidingwhatactivitiesthe charityshouldundertake.
As confirmedby the information
containedin this report,the maintenance
websiteand in otherways,the
of a comprehensive
officersactivelyseekto demonstrate,
on a continuingbasis,thatthe aimsof the charityare
carriedoutfor the publicbenefit.The discounted
subscriptions
for studentsanddiscounted
concertticketsofferedto schoolsare examplesof this.
Trustees' responsibilities in relation to the accountg
Lawapplicable
to charitiesin EnglandandWalesrequiresthe Trusteesto prepareaccounts
for eachfinancialyear,whichgivea trueandfairviewof the charity'sfinancialactivities
duringthe yearand of its financialpositionat the end of the year. In preparingthese
accounts,the officersare requiredto:
* selectsuitableaccountingpoliciesandthenapplythemconsistently;
* makejudgementsand estimatesthat are reasonable
and prudent;
* statewhetherapplicableaccounting
practice
standardsand statementsof recommended
havebeenfollowed,subjectto anymaterialdeparturesdisclosedand explainedin the
accounts;
* preparethe accountson the goingconcernbasisunlessit is inappropriate
to presumethat
the Societywill continuein business.
The Trusteesare responsiblefor keepingproperaccountingrecords,whichdisclosewith
reasonable
accuracyat anytimethe financialpositionof the Choir,whichenablethe
Trusteesto ascertainthe financialpositionof the Choirandto ensurethatthe accounts
complywiththe Charitieslegislation.
Theyare alsoresponsible
for safeguarding
the assets
of the charityand hencefor takingreasonablestepsfor the preventionand detectionof fraud
and otherinegularities.
Approvedby the Trusteesand signedon their
JamesGarrow,Ghairman
1 9J u n e2 0 1 3
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Report to the trustees/members of Vivace Chorus (charity registered in the name of
Guildford Philharmonic Choir), on the financial statements for the year end ended
30 April 2013
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under section 43(2)
of the Charities Act 1993 {the Act}} and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to
• examine the accounts (under section 43 of the Act),
• to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity
Commission (under section 43(7){b) of the Act}, and
• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given
by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records
kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also
includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking
explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do
not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not
express an audit opinion on the accounts.
Independent examiner's Statement
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the trustees
have not met the requirements to ensure that:
• proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 41 of
the Act); and
• accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting records and comply with the
accounting requirements of the Act; or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper
understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
B Reed
5 June 2013
11 Orchard Close
Tilehurst
Reading
Berks RG13 6YS
8
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR 2012/13
Note
Unrestricted
Funds
2011/12
Unrestricted
Funds
2012/13
22,157
37,870
129,683
49,181
Income from activities for generating funds
4,333
5,135
Investment income (interest)
1,123
1,246
2,500
0
159,797
93,432
729
703
123,168
91,932
Support Costs
5,702
3,606
Management and administration
2,237
3,558
131,836
99,799
NET INCOMING/(OUTGOING) RESOURCES
FOR THE YEAR
27,960
(6,367)
TOTAL FUNDS BROUGHT FORWARD
58,706
86,666
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
86,666
80,299
INCOMING RESOURCES
Donations, legacies and similar incoming
resources
3
Income from activities in furtherance of
objectives
Miscellaneous Income (ASC)
4
TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Cost of generating funds
Costs of activities for charitable objectives
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED
9
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Wace Chorus)
RegrsferedCharityNo. 1026337
BALANCESHEETAS AT SOthAPRIL 2013
Note
2012
Unrestricted
Funds
2013
Unrestricted
Funds
€€
Gurrent Assets
Stock
Debtors& Prepayments
Cashat bankand in hand
Total Current Assets
5
6
7
2,699
35,670
gg,gg5
1,223
2Q,790
129,253
64.004
86,017
(41,587)
96,666
(5,719)
80,298
Total assets less current liabilities
96,666
g0,2gg
Net assets
96,666
g0,2gg
Unrestricted income funds
Designatedfunds (Enid Weston
legacy)
Total Funds
86,666
65,299
0
96,666
15,000
80,298
Greditors:Amounts falling due
within one year
Net Current Assets
Baeis of preparation
Theseaccountshavebeenpreparedunderthe historiccost conventionon an accrualsbasis
and are basedon the Statementof Recommended
AccountingPracticefor Charities2005
insofaras it appliesto the accountsof unincorporated
charitieswith up to €250,000annual
income,andthe CharitiesAct 2011
/rrilu-
&t^nPalmer
ActingHon.Treasurer
19June2013
t0
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Notes to the Accounts
1.
Accounting policies
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting
standards, Accounting and Reporting by Charities-Statement of Recommended
Practice (SORP2005) and the Charities Act 1993.
Income from donations, grants and subscriptions is included in the Statement of
Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity becomes entitled to the income and any
conditions for receipt are met. Tax claim income is included on the SOFA at the
same time as the gift to which it relates.
Stock is valued at the lower of cost or net realisable value.
2.
Trustees and other related parties
No remuneration directly or indirectly out of the funds of the charity was paid or
payable to any committee member or to any person known to be connected with any
of them.
All trustees are choir members and as such undertake transactions with the charity
common to all members (e.g. payment of subscriptions, purchase of concert tickets,
refund of expenses incurred for the choir etc.)
3.
Donations, legacies and similar incoming resources
Subscriptions
Patrons
Tax refunds
Borough grant
Other donations
2012
£
2013
£
13,826
2,109
3,567
2,640
15
22,157
14,343
2,208
3,669
2,640
15,010
37,870
Other donations includes a £15,000 legacy from Enid Weston, which is treated as
designated funds in the Balance Sheet, as it has been decided to use it for specific
projects for the choir.
4.
Fixed Assets
The charity has, in the past, contributed £2,500 to the Association of Surrey Choirs’
(ASC) purchase of staging for performances in Guildford Cathedral. This investment
is now fully written off although the charity, as a founding member of the ASC, has a
continuing interest in the staging. A ‘one off’ dividend of £2,500 was received in
2012.
11
Guildford Philharmonic Choir (Working Name: Vivace Chorus)
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Notes to the Accounts (continued)
5.
Stock
Stock consists of scarves, folders and tops which are sold to choir members for use
at concerts. A quantity of postage stamps were also purchased ahead of price
increases. These are held in stock and are issued as needed.
6.
Debtors
2012
£
10,919
3,533
21,217
35,669
Trade debtors
HM Revenue & Customs
Prepayments
Total Debtors
2013
£
1,500
3,669
15,621
20,790
High prepayments in 2013 were due to deposits in respect of a planned 2014
concert to be held in the Royal Albert Hall and a travel deposit for a 2014 choir tour to
Verona, financed by choir members. High prepayments in 2012 were due to up-front
travel agent deposits in respect of a choir tour to Strasbourg in June 2012 which was
financed by the Choir members themselves.
7.
Cash at bank and in hand
2012
£
2,001
78,565
9,055
309
__-46
*89,885
Current account (CAFCash)
Monmouth Building Society
CAF Gold Account
Cash
Music account
Total
* Rounded
8.
2013
£
8,828
53,797
60
940
__379
64,004
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2012
£
2,820
37,768
___998
41,587
Accrued rehearsal costs
Advanced income
Sundry creditors
2013
£
2,565
2,724
___430
5,719
The large amount of advanced income in 2012 was largely due to self-funded payments by
Choir members towards a choir tour to Strasbourg in June 2012.
12