FRIENDS OF ST. ALPHEGE MUSIC
MINUTES of the Thirty-Fifth Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 1st October 2013 in St. Alphege Church.
The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed all those present. 23 friends were present.
- Apologies were received from Fr. Gareth, Darion Walters, Joan Lilburn, Diana Mitchell, Malcolm and Rosemary Owens, Alan Kirkby, David Sturdee, Graham and Angela Smith, Ann Taylor, Pauline Tregellas, Ken Hewitt, Bob and Helen Russell, Donald and Mary Bartholomew, Geraldine Burge, Suzanne Humphries, Faye Morris, Philip and Val Tew, Michael and Liz Palmer, Pam and Colin Price, Evelyn Berry, Barry and Audrey Hall.
- Minutes of the previous meeting
These were accepted as a true record.
Proposed: Fran HalsteadSeconded:Carol Southworth
- Honorary Secretary’s Report
We’ve had an extremely busy year with a number of fundraising and social events, and many times when we’ve supported Joe with choir events.
We have held two big concerts during the year: one was a 60s night, with Will Odling and his band, and the other was Supper by Candlelight at the Gatehouse, where we were treated to a recital by “The Bottom Line” a cello and bass duet, as well as a delicious meal prepared mostly by members of the committee.
We have organised several socials during the year, both for choristers and also for parents. It was disappointing at the latter that very few new parents attended, but we won’t be deterred in future.
We have been strong on the catering front this year, not only providing meals for fundraising events, but also running regular cake stalls, manning a barbecue at the St. Alphege Fayre and organising lunches for the several Chorister for the Day sessions which have been held. We also support the growing number of lunchtime recitals by providing refreshments and people to work the screens.
We have supported Joe by helping out with manpower on various occasions, such as the new-style more informal Christmas Concert in December and the Come and Sing Stainer Crucifixion in March. We also raised money by holding a Quiz Night in March, which was enjoyed by all. We helped organise the very successful and much appreciated Former Choristers’ Reunion Day in July.
We provided a coach for the trip to Southwell, and invited members of the congregation to come along for what proved to be a very enjoyable day.
We subsidised some of the Choirs’ week away in Exeter, enabling us to invite some valuable additional singers from outside, and to support some of our families with more than one child.
Certain members of the committee, especially Isabel, have been very hard at work revamping our website, which has a splendid new look, and setting up an active Facebook page. I would encourage you all to take a look. Ruth has also been working hard on Press Coverage and we have had at least one new girl from an article in the local paper. Various committee members have been applying for grants from Trust Funds and the like to cover the costs of events we wish to put on, or to pay soloists, with some measurable success.
We have purchased new ties, Hoodies and a few new robes to smarten up the choir, and improve its image. We have bought medals for those choristers who passed their Dean’s and Gold medals in the Summer Term – 13 in all, which is fantastic.
Continuing the educational purpose of the Friends we have provided
Free or nominal charge for tickets for children at concerts
Subsidies for external courses (although only one chorister requested support this year)
On going general support to the work of the choirs to provide a musical education
The Choirs’ Newsletter is still being produced on a regular basis and we have new fliers for the Choirs and the Friends of the Music. We have new posters to be used for lunchtime recitals. We continue to send birthday cards to choristers, which seem to be very well received.
Looking ahead – before Christmas we will be supporting Joe at:-
1) The RSCM Festival Service at Birmingham’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, where some of our children will be presented with their Dean’s and Gold medals.
2) A performance of the Saint Nicolas Cantata on 28 November, with at least two local schools being involved in this outreach event.
3) Carol Singing in John Lewis.
4) Trips to Coventry and Peterborough Cathedrals to sing Evensong.
I think I speak for the whole committee when I say that it’s a pleasure to be involved at such an exciting time for the choirs with our new dynamic leadership now firmly in place. The hard work put in by all really seems worthwhile. We thank you all for your continuing support and look forward to seeing you at forthcoming events.
- Honorary Treasurer’s Report
The year from July 2012 to June 2013 has been fairly profitable for the Friends of the Music. The formal accounts show a very profitable year for the Friends due to an increase in the amount of fundraising but also by the timing of some events. For example in the recent financial year there were two concerts at the Gatehouse – one in July and one in June. In 2012/13 there was no Gatehouse concert and substantial costs were involved in subsidies for the choir trip to Salisbury. There was also no choir trip to a cathedral in 2012/13.
The end of year accounts are also clouded by the money collected for choir trips but not yet paid. At the end of June 2013 a significant sum was held in the current account which was later paid to Exeter cathedral school.
In order to provide more meaningful accounts of income and expenditure it is proposed to change the financial year end to August. This does mean that for 2013/14 the financial year will be a 14 month period.
This year we have attempted to work out the profit from each event, which has given a clearer picture. This has also been used to plan for the current financial year.
In addition to the more formal accounts I have provided an approximate but more meaningful breakdown of income and expenditure.
Income (profit)Organ recitals / 850
Cake sales / 350
Christmas concert / 250
Quiz night / 700
Gatehouse / 1400
Subscriptions / 1000
100 Club / 400
Donations / 600
5550
Expenditure
Chorister courses / 400
Marketing / 200
Choir maintenance – assistant organist, robes etc / 3000
Photocopying. stationery / 200
Trips and treats / 500
Total / 4300
This shows that our income for the year was around £5,500 but the expenditure was £4,300.
Given the number of vacancies currently advertised for an organ scholar and lay clerks plus the increased contribution made by the Friends to pay the assistant organist salary, the income needs to be higher than in recent years.
We are planning an exciting programme for this year which will hopefully boost our income and cover our costs.
Proposed:John GoodmanSeconded: David Paterson
5. Membership Secretary
I would like to start my report with a commentary on the numbers for the year 2012-13, which is of course the business of this AGM. There were a total of 86 members that year, of which nine were honorary (where I am counting as one member either an individual or a family membership). Last year’s equivalent numbers were 62. We have successfully reversed the downward trend in membership, but we are not yet at the levels of membership which would be really beneficial to supporting our work in church. I remain somewhat disappointed about the lack of uptake from choristers’ parents and members of the choirs, despite personalised letters and reminders.
Costs associated with membership renewal reminders for 2013-14 membership were negligible; thanks to Viv for helping with letters and Alison for helping with choir members and parents.
We have spent the last year trying to improve communications with members of FoSAM so that people are more aware of what they are supporting. This has included email news bulletins on a monthly basis, which have been favourably received, and work on Facebook and more recently a new website.
One of the key projects last year was making contact with over 100 of our former choristers – this will hopefully pay dividends this year regarding membership.
Looking ahead, this year, I would like to spend some time trying to attract lapsed members back to join us again. I would also like to encourage our supporters to use standing orders wherever possible, to complete gift aid forms if they are tax payers, and to provide email addresses so that we can keep in touch more about the work of the music department here at St Alphege.
Thank you for your support.
6.Chairman’s Remarks
Another year has gone. It seems like yesterday that I stood here addressing the AGM and welcoming Joe as our new Musical Director. And what a year it has been.
Alison has already outlined our activities over the last twelve months and so I do not propose to go over them again – I just want to highlight a few of them
It has been a superb year and I want on behalf of all members of the choirs and of the Friends and the congregation to congratulate Joe and to thank him very sincerely for the tremendous effort which he has put into all aspects of the music and the worship here at St Alphege over the year. He took over a choir which was without doubt failing and which by now would probably have ceased to exist. The difference which Joe has made to the standard of the music and to the enthusiasm of the members is immense.
The task which Joe was set when he was appointed to the post encompasses musical outreach. This is the first time that such a task has been imposed upon the Director of Music here at St Alphege PC.
Taken with the running of the choirs it is an enormous task and while members of the FOSAM committee and choir parents have been able to give Joe tremendous support with the administration in running the choirs, we are not able to support the outreach – and indeed it is not the brief of FOSAM to do so. This should and must be paid for by the parish. The work which Joe is doing in this connection is comparable with the work of the youth department in which there are a number of persons employed. Nevertheless by his efforts Joe is bringing into the church a considerable number of children and naturally their parents are becoming connected with the church and hopefully given time will become worshipping members. We also have new members of the Men’s choir and of the ladies choir.
Representations are being made to the PCC for funding for an assistant to help Joe with outreach.
One of the highlights of the year for me was our reunion Sunday13th July when many former choristers – some from as far back as the late 60’s came and joined us for the day to sing at the 11.00 service and at evensong. It was Joe’s idea originally and although it involved a great deal of work and time to put it all together – it was well worthwhile. We did not get it all right and there were I am sure many old members who were not contacted – but we hope to remedy this next year when we hold another such event.
By the numbers who did attend and the communications we received from former members it just went to prove the value of the choirs and what it means to those who have gone through the ranks over the years and what their experience as members of the choir has meant to them. It is truly a very significant part of the churches mission.
There has been a suggestion that the choirs are giving a concert when they are singing in service. This remark came from someone who I think would be very pleased to see our wonderful musical tradition dumbed down in an effort – as they see it – to attract younger people to our services. In my view and in the opinion of very many members of our church far from dumbing down our musical tradition the youngsters who are now coming on Sundays should be educated in the more traditional form of worship – as indeed we were when we joined the church.
I am not suggesting that there should be no change – but any offering made in service must be worthy and done to the very best ability of the participants – not just simple tunes and words sung merely for the pleasure of those who are attending.
The choirs present music which is appropriate for the Liturgy and it is well planned and thoroughly rehearsed and prepared. This lifts the spirits of those who hear it enabling them to offer their worship to God.
Joe has in the last twelve months put a tremendous effort into recruitment having been into schools all over the borough – in addition to our own St Alphege schools. We have had a number of open days for both boys and girls and these have been very successful in obtaining new members. We have many more functions planned for the next few months and well into 2014.
Obviously all these activities need funding and it is very important that the Friends continue to have successful fund raising events to enable us to support the tremendous work that Joe is doing.
On a very sad note we lost a very good friend in July when Jackie Goodman died after a long and very brave fight against cancer. She and John have been so very generous to us over the years and have on many occasions sponsored our concerts enabling us to raise significant amounts to support the choirs and the music in our church. We do thank John most sincerely for this tremendous support. They are both truly Friends of the Music.
My very sincere thanks to the members of the committee all of whom have worked tirelessly over the last twelve months. I don’t want to single any one out as all have made such a tremendous contribution in so many ways and on behalf of the choirs and the congregation I want to thank them most sincerely.
Tonight we are losing Andy Hodkinson from the committee. By his own admission Andy is not a committee person – but he has done a huge amount to help with the choirs over many years and is always prepared to entertain the kids with social outings or to drive them to visit cathedrals or to sling chairs and table around the OBH when we need a bit of muscle. Thank you Andy for all that you have done – I know we can still call on you for help in the future.
Also a word of thanks to our respective spouses – I know that I could not do what I do for the choir and the Friends without Jane’s support – and the same goes for all the members of the committee I am sure.
Also thanks to Fr. Tim and Fr. Patrick and our Chaplain Fr. Gareth and all the team clergy for all their support and to Sandra for all her help throughout the year.
It would be remiss of me not to thank our Organist and deputy D o M Nicholas Johnson who arrived at much the same time as Joe and who has brought tremendous skill and enhanced our music.
This is I think an appropriate point at which to offer our congratulations to Patrick on his appointment as Vicar of Holy Trinity Stratford, and to wish him and Laura and the children every blessing when they take up the new post in December.
And really very finally I really want just to say a huge thank you to all of you for your support here tonight and over the last year and to ask that you continue to help us all you can as we begin our new year.
7.Director of Music’s Report
Joe arrived at this time last year, and has made great steps forward. He has enjoyed getting to know members of the choir, parents and supporters. He thanked all the individual members of the Friends: Viv for getting to grip with the finances, John for his support (as an ear to listen, for this thoughts and advice, and his insight into the intricacies of how the choir works), Alison for her support with administration, letters, galvanising choristers and parents to take part in events, Isabel for the new leaflets which are a vast improvement on previous ones and which are already yielding results and for the Website and Facebook pages. Recruitment is progressing fast with 5 new boys this month and 4 new girls, in addition to those recruited last year, as well as new ladies and new men (one from the Former Choristers’ Day), including one new alto. There are now 20 boys and 20 girls on the register, and it is important that the congregation is aware that there are so many new children, making the choirs one of the strongest evangelical aspects of church, and we need to bring this to people’s attention. We now need to go into the nurture stage and show the new children why they should make choir a priority.
There were lots of exciting events last year. We took the men and boys away by themselves, taking them out of their comfort zone. Some of the men in Exeter commented that the boys are now the same standard as a provincial cathedral. Joe feels that the wounds and sickness present a year ago have now been healed, and it is now possible to go out and recruit, which was difficult before as the choir was not of a sufficient standard. Recruiting should now become easier, on the “rolling stone” principle, and brother/sister relationships coming into play.