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AnnualGeneralMeetingofRedlandGreenChoir14November2016Notice

AllregisteredmembersofRedlandGreenChoirpleasenotethatourAnnualGeneralMeetingwilltakeplaceonMonday16November2015.Pleasearriveat7.20pmforaprompt7.30pmstart,endingby8.00pmwhentherehearsalwilltakeplaceasusual.

Note:committee(trustee)nominations

Thetermsofofficeofthefollowingtrusteescometoanend,butallthreearewillingtostandforelection:-

• KateHughes• AndréeOsborne• NickPlant

Thefollowingtrusteescontinuetheirtermofoffice:-

• JohnAtkinson• BrianBailey• SueFox• CarewReynell• MeriRizk• JoTurner

Thereisonefurthervacancy,forwhichnominationsforelectionareinvitedandshouldbelodgedwithacommitteememberatarehearsalorbyemail.Trusteerolesarenegotiatedandagreedoncethenewcommitteesits.Pleaseconsiderhelping!

Agenda:-

1. Welcomeandapologiesforabsence2. MinutesoftheAGMofRedlandGreenChoirheldon16/11/15–attached3. Annualreport2015/16–attached4. Annualaccounts2015/16–attached5. Electionoftrustees–seenotebelow6. Anyotherbusiness

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MinutesoftheAnnualGeneralMeetingofRedlandGreenChoirheldonMonday16thNovember,20157.30pmatRedlandGreenSchool

Present:John Atkinson (Membership), Brian Bailey (Chair), Kate Hughes (Secretary), Andreé Osborne (Treasurer), Nick Plant (e-media), Carew Reynell (Charity Commission) and 57 members 1. Welcome and Apologies

Brian welcomed the meeting. Apologies had been received from Jean Cramond. 2. Minutes of the AGM held on November 24th, 2014

Passed as correct.

A question was asked regarding the change of name from Redland Green Community Chorus. The answer was that it sounded simpler and more concise. The ethos and expectations of the choir remained exactly the same.

3. Annual report and accounts

The Chairman’s report can be found at https://rgscommunitychoir.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/rgcagmpack2015.pdf. Brian emphasised the benefits of belonging to the national organisation of Making Music which is expert on offering advice and help to choirs. He thanked the early birds who put out the chairs for rehearsal every week. He looked forward to another excellent year of singing. The Treasurer’s report can be found at https://rgscommunitychoir.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/rgcagmpack2015.pdf. Andrée reported that the choir had had a financially successful year, although the summer concert had made a small deficit. It was proposed to transfer £2000 to the reserve account, bringing it to a total of £6000. Membership had stabilised at around the 70 mark.

4. Election of committee members/trustees The present committee was willing to continue in post.

Sue Fox and Meri Rizk were elected on to the committee.

5. AOB A question was asked about the use of the money in the reserve account.

In reply it was said that it was prudent to keep healthy reserves and that the committee would be addressing the best way forward in this regard.

The meeting closed at 7.49pm.

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AnnualReport2015/16Another memorable and successful year for the choir! The autumn term was largely given over to rehearsals for the Christmas concert, with a programme including music from the 16th to the 21st century. The concert itself was full of standout moments, from the delicacy of Emily Mullins’s harp in Britten’s Ceremony of Carols to the Hallelujah Chorus as a rousing finale, complete with John Talbot’s splendid accompaniment. Spring and summer terms saw us hard at work preparing for the summer concert. The concert had a German theme, including the lovely Geistliches Lied, the wicked Mack the Knife and a romp through Les Mis. But the principal work was Brahms’s German Requiem, and that demanded most of the rehearsal time. For the concert, the choir renewed its partnership with the Long Ashton Orchestra, and all of that hard work paid off. By common consent, both choir and orchestra excelled themselves. Our chamber choir has continued to thrive, and contributed with aplomb to both concerts. In the meantime, a sub-set of the choir had paid a visit to the Upton Choir Festival, and returned with silverware: the Judge’s Cup, awarded for a performance of Can you feel the love tonight? exhibiting ‘obvious camaraderie, engagement with the audience and singing with hearts and eyes’. Congratulations to all involved, and thanks to Jonny and Gus for inspiration and support. As usual, the year also saw continuing commitment to community events: the Bishopston, Cotham and Redland Neighbourhood Partnership Community Fair, the Redland May Fair (this time, singing in the chapel), song raids and a performance in St George’s as part of the Bristol Festival of Song, and a street party. We also had the benefit of a number of workshops, including the memorable ambulatory round featuring She’ll be coming round the mountain, Swing low sweet chariot and When the saints, These workshops have contributed to a noticeable development in the choir’s confidence and in increased capacity to pick up the notes quickly, allowing more time and attention to be given to the musicality of our performances. Membership is stable in the mid-70s, with a good spread across parts. The monthly post-rehearsal social gathering at The Cambridge has continued, and the friendliness, as well as the competence, of the choir has attracted many positive comments. 2016 also saw the launch of the new public website (www.redlandgreenchoir.org.uk) and developments for the members’ website, for which thanks are due to Nick Plant. As reported in the annual accounts, the choir’s finances, under the stewardship of Andree Osborne, are healthy. Our reserves stand at £5,190, which is in line with the reserves policy adopted by the Trustees. During the year, we have established a link with MusicSpace, and this excellent local charity received £599 from a share of our summer concert ticket sales and a bucket collection. Despite some increases in expenditure arising from the range of activities described above, subscriptions have been frozen at £40 per term.

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Thanks to Nick for another year of inspirational leadership, steering, nay driving, the choir to new heights; to Jonny for his invaluable encouragement and support; and to all committee members. Our programme of activities requires a lot of work behind the scenes, and all committee members contribute to this. But Kate Hughes deserves particular credit for her unfailing energy in keeping this show on the road. It bears repeating - a memorable and successful year. Building on that, we can look forward to an exciting and rewarding 2016/17.

Income&ExpenditureAccount2015/16

Income £ Subscriptions-Mainchoir Term1-01/09/2015-31/12/2015-£40 2,760Term2-01/01/2016-31/03/2016-£40 2,800Term3-01/04/2016-31/07/2016-£40 3,130 Subscriptions-Chamberchoir Terms1,2&3 792 Music 2,188 Christmasconcertincome 1,278 Summerconcertincome 1,765 Misc-Folders,scarves 95 TotalIncome 14,808 Expenditure £ DirectorFees-mainchoir Term1-01/09/2015-31/12/2015 1,360Term2-01/01/2016-31/03/2016 1,400Term3-01/04/2016-31/07/2016 1,126

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ContributiontoDirector'sConductingcourse 200 DirectorFees-chamberchoir Terms1,2&3 1,395 AccompanistFees Term1-01/09/2015-31/12/2015 960Term2-01/01/2016-31/03/2016 960Term3-01/04/2016-31/07/2016 850 Music/folderspurchase 2,581BrucknerOrchestralscore 82 RehearsalRoomcharges 1,375AdditionalRehearsal/workshopcosts 694 Christmasconcertexpenditure 1,226Summerconcertexpenditure(inclMusicSpacedonation£382) 1,607 UptonFestivalregistration 50UptonFestivalConductor/accompanistfees 260UptonFestivalgratuities 26 MakingMusicmembershipandinsurance 332PRS(14/15) 65 ProfessionalPhotographer 200 Websiteupdating 362 Miscellaneous 35 TotalExpenditure 17,146 NetExpenditure 2,338 Balancesattheyearend RevenueAccount 685ReserveAccount 4,505 NotethatGiftAidofapproximately£1,250inrespectof2015/16wasoutstandingattheyearend.