The Executive Committee has great
pleasure in presenting the SIXTH Annual Report of the Society.
The Committee met
regularly during the year to deal with the necessary business.
Diana Hauber and
Diane Scott-McGrath were co-opted to the Committee.
Membership matters
There were 50 Members,
7 Patrons and 2 Friends.
There was an increase
in membership this year, which more than compensated for losses due to
re-location etc.
Performances
The Society gave six
concerts during the year; four in West Park Church and two in Holy
Trinity. The October performance at Holy Trinity was part of an
eighteenth century pageant to celebrate 200 years of Trafalgar.
The May concert had a
smaller than usual audience due to a clash of dates with another major
musical event in the town. The September and Christmas concerts were
both played to a full house.
Members again provided
the pit orchestra (Variety Orchestra) for the Youth Musical Spectacular
(this year in July) at the Empire Theatre; they also provided a ‘Palm
Court Orchestra’ for the Summer Strawberry Tea at Holy Trinity, played
at a concert in Holy Trinity to celebrate the Battle of Camperdown, and
played Christmas Carols in The Bridges Shopping Centre in Sunderland
just before Christmas (Late night shopping).
A major outdoor
musical spectacular planned for May in Holy Trinity Gardens, to
celebrate the 60th Anniversary of VE Day, had to be
‘re-arranged’ at the last minute, due to inclement weather. Much of the
programme was cancelled, but the orchestra gave a performance in the
Church building, albeit to a small audience.
An outdoor concert in
Mowbray Park, Sunderland, to celebrate VJ day in August had to be
cancelled two days previously due to torrential rain waterlogging the
area and other problems which arose at the last minute, which would have
resulted in a huge financial loss.
Soloists at the five
main concerts were Katrina Campbell (Soprano), Vera Vincent (Soprano),
Rachel Orr (Soprano), Sean Wilkinson (Counter tenor) and Rupert Hanson
(Bass-baritone) together with accompanist Gordon Trewhitt (Piano). The
East End Sing-a-long Chorus participated on two occasions.
Instrumental solos at
the concerts were performed by Cathy Donnelly (Cello), David McCourt
(Violin), Paul Judson & Tony Hedley (Bassoons).
Gary Nichol (French
Horn) conducted ‘Jupiter’ from ‘The Planets’ at the September concert.
The September concert
also premièred part of a composition by Sid Ross (Violin) - one of our
own members - ‘The Simonside Hills’.
Associate conductor
Gregory Pullen undertook an increasingly important rôle during the year.
During the year, it
became an insurance requirement that children aged between three and ten
years were no longer to be allowed in the upstairs balcony of West Park
Church. This was for safety reasons.
Farewell
Cathy Donnelly (Cello)
left us to go and live in Norway, Gary Nichol (French Horn) to further
his career in the USA, and Sid Ross (Violin) retired. We wish them all
the very best in their new situations.
Annual General Meeting - Wednesday 9th March
Twenty one members
attended the meeting.
Election of
officials Diane Scott-McGrath stood down as Orchestra Manager
and her place was taken by Brian Naisby.
Membership fees
Membership fees
remained the same for a further year.
The Constitution
was amended to include the membership categories of President and
Vice-President. Agreed to invite John Lennox to the position of
Vice-President. John subsequently accepted the position.
Financial matters
Thanks are extended to
Rev. Peter Jordan of West Park Church for independently checking the
accounts. Peter is a member of The Institute of Bankers and was
previously in international banking.
Membership fees and
weekly subscriptions are now almost covering the basic running costs of
the Society, but there is still a need for sponsorship, grants or
donations to guarantee breaking even.
The financial year
ended satisfactorily with two year's anticipated expenditure in an
investment account. This was due to careful control of expenditure and
the generosity of a number of organisations and individuals. The account
is currently producing an annual income of just over £200.00 interest.
Other than the
donations and Community Chest grant mentioned below, no external funding
was obtained for the Society or for the orchestra during the year, and
there was no major expenditure on music or instruments.
All concerts broke
even due to the generosity of Music for All and The North Eastern
Co-operative Society.
The Sunderland City
Council continued to support the Society through the Community Chest.
The Society continued
to administer the funds for ‘Music for All’ but steps had to be taken to
prevent the inappropriate use of the CoSMOS charity registration number
by 'Music for All.'
Gift Aid
A tax rebate for
£1083.00 was received from the Inland Revenue in respect of Gift Aid for
the last five years. The money was placed in the investment account.
CoSMOS notice board
The notice
board was updated with the new web site address.
Thanks go to Nigel
Pearch of Fulwell for printing the A2 size posters for the notice board.
Publicity
There was very little
pre-concert publicity this year and no published photographs. The
Sunderland Echo printed reviews of the three major concerts.
‘The History of CoSMOS
- The First Four Years’ and ‘CoSMOS and The Sunderland Symphony
Orchestra in Print’ were amalgamated and updated to form ‘The History of
CoSMOS - The First Five Years.’ Some copies were sold, but most were
used for advertising and as support material for grant applications.
Thanks
The Society once again
extends grateful thanks to all the people and groups who have supported
its activities over the past year, and in particular to the members of
West Park Church for their help in running concerts. However, volunteer
help is needed in many areas, particularly in ‘front of house’ duties at
concerts.
David E. Mills, Rupert W Hanson,
Heather E Peel,
Kathleen A Mills,
Diane Scott-McGrath, Diana Hauber, Brian Naisby.
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