AGM

SOUTHREPPS CHORALE AGENDA FOR AGM TUESDAY 21ST OCTOBER 2025

  1. Apologies
  2. Approval 2024 minutes
  3. Matters arising
  4. Election of Committee
  5. Chair’s report
  6. Treasurer’s report
  7. Musical Director’s report
  8. AOB

Southrepps Chorale - Annual General Meeting. 8.30pm Tuesday 22nd October 2024 - MINUTES

  1. Minutes
  2. Chair’s Report
  3. Treasurer’s Report
  4. Year end accounts 31.08.24
  5. Notes to Accounts
  6. Musical Director’s Report

MINUTES OF MEETING

  1. Apologies were received from Maggie McCormick, Kathryn Moore & Lesley Wall
  2. The minutes of the last AGM held on 17th October 2023 were unanimously approved.
  3. There were no matters arising
  4. Election of Committee: Carolyn explained the special circumstances this year, due to upcoming arrival of new Chorale MD, and therefore that she, Kate and Olga, who have completed their three years, have agreed to stand for a further year.   This was successfully proposed by Michael Gurney, and seconded by Carol Evans.

Two new members have been put forward to join the committee – Vijaya Fordington and Barry Oake.   Both were successfully proposed by Bet Wood and seconded by Michael Gurney.

  1. Chair’s Report: See attached
  2. Treasurer’s Report: See attached.   
  3. Musical Director’s Report: See attached
  4. Any Other Business: Carol Evans proposed a vote of thanks to the Committee, and in particular to Carolyn for her hard work during a challenging year.   This was unanimously agreed.  

Finally, Paul Rosier announced the welcome news that “The Bravest Man” is to be performed by the Thanet Chamber choir.   The first concert, on 15th November will be in Ramsgate, and the second on 16th November in Birchington, Kent.   Anyone wanting further details, please contact Paul, and great to know that this fabulous work lives on!  

CHAIR’S REPORT

Looking back on my report from last year, I realize how much quieter this year was in lots of ways:  no fundraising or Come and Sing events for example.

The website, which was in its infancy last year, is now up and running and I hope that you are all finding it useful.   Thank you again to Penny and Patrick for all the hard work which they have put into it.

So this year, an awful lot of time has been taken up with the daunting search for a new M.D.   We placed adverts in all sorts of appropriate venues and online, as well as asking anyone we could think of who might be able to help.   If I’m honest, the process has been very stressful at times, but thank you for the messages of support people sent and for cheering us on from the sidelines as it were.   It did help.

I’m pleased to say that, even though I don’t altogether know what next year will look like for the Chorale, I do know that we are in a position where it will be safe for at least the rest of this musical year.   Ro Curtis will definitely be conducting us from January to Easter, and, if necessary, through to July.   We will look to have at least one concert in that period   There will be implications for the choir but we will discuss those in due course.   We have one definite candidate long term, Jonathan Dodd was here 2 weeks ago singing with us, and the committee will interview him in the next week or two before he comes to conduct the choir in the New Year.   Ellie I’m not really sure about, but I will keep you informed.

Finally, my thanks.   I consider myself very lucky to have this hard-working and enthusiastic committee to support me.   We get on well, respect each other’s opinions and have quite a lot of fun.   In addition, there are various choir members who are happy to give a hand as and when needed.   People like Stan for example who is here early every week to set up the piano etc.   However, we are in need of more volunteers to help.  Penny could do with much more help with both the organizing and advertising for concerts, and now that Stephen will no longer be available, Olga needs help from  someone familiar with spreadsheets to prepare the figures.   Stephen has a template for this, so it should not be too time consuming.

And that brings me to Stephen.   A lot of things will be said about Stephen in the coming weeks, so I am going to confine myself to thanking him for another year of inspirational music in wonderful venues, and leaving us in such a strong position going forward.

TREASURER’S REPORT

As you will see from the figures, Olga reported that we find the Chorale in better shape than ever before this year, mainly due to two sell-out concerts.   The Norwich concert was expensive to put on, but was well attended, and brought in a healthy return.  There were no other fund-raisers this year, so the choir has done well to maintain such a healthy bank balance.

As Olga pointed out, this is fortuitous, as going forward we shall be needing more funds to keep the Chorale on its feet.   As will be documented more than once, Stephen has never taken a fee in his 14 years as Music Director, and any newcomer to the post will require payment, therefore the funds held at present will be whittled down pretty quickly.   New ways to bring in income will have to be found.   These were discussed, such as rental of music, however Stephen and Kate pointed out that the existing library has a huge amount of music that can be used.   Both Sten Jeavons and Duncan Moss proposed that annual membership fees should increase to match inflation at a steady rate.   This was agreed unanimously, and will start in January – the amount to be discussed and confirmed.

Olga also pointed out that with Stephen no longer able to help with the financial spreadsheet, she is going to need a volunteer helper – again this has already been mentioned, but it would be great if someone familiar with this kind of work would think of stepping forward.

All details of this year’s finances can be found on the attachment.

Accounts For Period Ending August 2024

NOTES TO ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDING 31st  AUGUST 2024

  1. Average membership 55
  1. Two revenue earning concerts in the year compared to one in prior year:
    • December 2023 at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich with Norwich City Concert Band
    • July 2024 at St. Nicholas church, North Walsham
  1. Includes £625 from Southrepps Festival and sale of unwanted titles from our music library.
  1. Significant increase on prior year due to music purchased for the winter concert with NCCB.
  1. Includes replacement conductor’s stool.
  1. Savings on prior year due to reduced website costs.
  1. Accruals record cash receipts and bills paid in September 2024, that relate to activity in the year ending 31st August 2024. (For example the money received from the Southrepps Festival for our August concert was actually paid into our bank in September).
  1. For the second year running our assets (our financial cushion) increased by c. £1,000.

Musical Director’s Report 2023-2024

As we near the end of the first phase of the Chorale’s existence, you will forgive me if this report is in part a reflection of 14 years, and not just the past year.

 

Having said that, the past year is typical of this choir. We broke new ground by performing a major concert in Norwich, one of my long-term goals for the choir achieved, and it was our first joint concert with a wind band. We learnt new music ranging from Polar Express to a bossa nova, Wave, to the Requiem by John Rutter. We held a half-day workshop based on music theatre songs by Stephen Sondheim. 

 

Indeed our musical programmes this year were typical of the Southrepps Chorale, in that we tackle fairly unusual repertoire sometimes in interesting contexts. That, along with my mission to extend our musical awareness and improve our singing voices through diverse musical styles, sums up my approach to programming for this choir. I also know that the repertoire is a key factor in a choir’s identity, and it is that which keeps the members coming back each week.   

 

I always record our concerts and so we have a history of our performances going back through most of our existence. And these are now included on our website for all to listen to, and it is a body of work of which we should all be very proud.

 

(See over for list of the major musical works learnt and performed in our choirs lifetime.)

 

Financially, as you have heard from Olga, we are secure and that is important too. When I plan a concert, in addition to the music I have to consider the financial aspect, the cost of the venue and professional soloists and musicians. Will we sell enough tickets to justify the risk? I tend to be ambitious for us, but the committee knows that each time I put forward a year’s programme, it is accompanied by a budget. We look at that together and take a view on its feasibility. Actually we could sometimes stage our concerts for less money (typically by having a piano or an organ accompaniment) but that leads to a different musical experience, and, depending on the choice of piece, generally not what the composer had in mind when the music was conceived. And in any case I am a great believer in the mixing of voices and instruments, and the impact that has on you singers.

 

So in December 2023 we had the ambitious concert with the Norwich City Concert Band in St. Peter Mancroft Church, one of the city’s largest venues, that cost £870 to hire. But we sold 260 tickets @ £15 and on a very busy night in Norwich with competing concerts nearby in The Halls and the Cathedral, we had a very decent size audience. We learned some new carols, sang them with wind band accompaniment (crazy idea), and included some in the village carol service. John Rutter’s Angel Carol and Star Carol will reappear at our winter concert in Trunch and at the 2024 carol service. It ended up being a memorable experience and it created a surplus of £600 to each of choir and band.

 

Our summer concert had the ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’, John Rutter ‘Requiem’ and Will Todd ‘Songs of Peace’. Some challenging stuff, however once again the choir excelled and in the ‘Requiem’ produced probably our best singing in all our time together. And we had amazing musicians working with us. But it’s not all about quality of singing: it is about the experience of working together, of the shared emotional and expressive experience, it’s about working with an unfamiliar, alien even, musical work and eventually presenting it in public in a compelling way; it’s about putting yourself in new situations, often somewhere you never before dreamt that you would be. It has been an unforgettable experience for me to go on that 14-year journey with you.  

 

As always I am grateful for the support of the Chair and Committee and our librarians Kate and Lindsey. Concerts manager Penny is incredibly useful to us all – especially me. Carolyn is a devoted and wise Chair, always generous with her time. In Cathy we have a great accompanist, accomplished and versatile, and always willing to meet whatever demands I throw at her. So all in all, after 14 years, the Chorale is in a good place. All of us are fortunate to be part of it.  

 

 

Stephen Richards, Musical Director 22nd October 2024

 

 

 

Selected Repertoire 2011-2024

 

 

  • Ceremony of Carols (Benjamin Britten)
  • Requiem (Sir John Rutter)
  • Cantique de Jean Racine (Gabriel Fauré)
  • Stephen Sondheim Celebration
  • The Bravest Man (Douglas Coombes/Paul Rosier), Southrepps Chorale commission
  • Snow Angel (Sarah Quartel)
  • Light in the Stable (Alan Bullard)
  • Songs of Peace (Will Todd)
  • The Nightingale (Geoff Cummings-Knight), Southrepps Chorale commission
  • Zadok the Priest (Handel)
  • I was Glad (Parry)
  • Fantasia on British Sea Songs (Sir Henry Wood)
  • Funeral Music for Queen Mary (Thomas Purcell)
  • Hallelujah Chorus (Handel)
  • Choral Dances from Gloriana (Benjamin Britten)
  • Feel The Spirit (Sir John Rutter)
  • The Armed Man and The Peacemakers (Sir Karl Jenkins)
  • Songs and Sonnets (George Shearing)
  • Three Shakespeare Madrigals (Emma Lou Diemer)
  • Little Jazz Mass (Bob Chilcott)
  • Requiem (Gabriel Fauré)
  • You Raise Me Up (Josh Groban) – flashmob in Morrisons, Cromer.
  • Captain Noah (Joseph Horovitz and Michael Flanders)
  • Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring (Bach)
  • West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein)
  • Multitude of show music, madrigals, sacred anthems, carols
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