THE OPEN UNIVERSITY CHOIR
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 9th October 2014
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from: Keith Attenborough, Graham Healing, Liz Healing, Peter
Skelton, Rosemary Slasor, Alison Tabori and Deborah Ward.
2. Minutes
Minutes of the October 2013 AGM were received and approved as a correct record.
3. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
4. Chair’s Report
The Chair’s report can be found in Appendix 1.
5. Treasurer’s Report
The Accounts were distributed.
Vanessa Skelton reported her thanks to Eleanor Pettigrew for auditing the accounts and
noted the following:
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My final report. I am leaving job as I am retiring, and it is a Club requirement
that treasurers must be members of staff.
I have left the accounts in much the same state as I found them, with a
reserve balance of slightly under £4000 – though of course over 10 years the value of
money has slightly fallen...
This year was a miracle of budgeting, with expenditure just £4.35 less than
income. More luck than judgement.
Some not very positive news however.
The major part of the Choir’s grant used to be provided, generously, from the
University’s General Purposes Fund. When this was replaced, about 7 years ago,
the ‘music’ clubs were told at a meeting between the University Secretary, myself as
treasurer of the Choir, Steve Potter as treasurer of the Orchestra, and Peter Barnes,
as treasurer of the Music Club, that we would be funded, to the same generous
extent as in previous years, by a music fund, administered by the University
Secretary’s office. Since then we have indeed been funded generously in this way.
We have now been told, informally, that as of this year, the Club would fund us, again
in the same generous way. I have some concerns that, as well as me, all the other
club treasurers at that meeting having retired, at some future time the historic
memory of the assurances we were given may be lost, and the Club may not wish to
go on funding us with the same generosity.
We have emailed the old administrator of Fraser’s Music Fund, but so far
haven’t heard anything which totally allays my concerns.
It has been enjoyable working with the Committee – my thanks in particular to
Ellie, who has made the examining of the accounts fun, Liz, who has taken on the
Chairman’s role and performed brilliantly, and to Bill, without whom none of this would
happen, and who makes the budgeting a doddle for the treasurer, by coming up with
a comprehensive estimated budget each year which really needs no amendment.
The Committee has agreed that the subscription rate should be left as it is
this year – membership of the choir is extraordinary good value – but of course, they
may have to go up to a more realistic level in the future in view of the situation
explained earlier.
Finally, I wish my successor good luck!
Questions/Comments:
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One member suggested we should draw up a "Memorandum of Understanding" to record the
current funding situation. It was agreed this would be discussed in Committee.
Several members also commented that the yearly subscription seemed very low, in
comparison with other local choirs.
However, others present supported the £15 subscription pointing out that it is in line with other
OU club subscriptions, including the orchestra, and Open Voices, and that the venue is "free"
to the Choir.
Tim Hunt suggested we should consider paying the conductor. Bill responded by stating he
had previously rejected this proposal but would not rule it out for the future.
Proposals
Acceptance of the Accounts and proposal to maintain yearly subscription at £15 was
proposed by Gill Smith and seconded by Beverley Thompson.
The accounts can be found in the attached document.
6. Conductor’s Report
The conductor’s report can be found in Appendix 2.
Questions:
There were no questions.
7. Election of the Committee
The following officers were elected unopposed to the OU Choir Committee:
Chair: Liz Camp
Secretary: Sally Connelly
Both were proposed by Hilary McQueen and seconded by Juliet Baxter.
The following officer was elected unopposed to the OU Choir Committee:
Treasurer: Tim Hunt
He was proposed by Steve Potter and seconded by Karen Kear.
The following were re-elected as ordinary committee members:
Marian Ballance, Gill Smith, Anna Page, Robin Rowles and Jan Lloyd.
All were proposed by Helen Jarvis and seconded by Lynn Castle.
The following people were re-appointed: Mike Davis (Concert Manager), Juliet Baxter
(Assistant Librarian) and Lisa Burns (Membership Secretary). These choir members are coopted by the committee.
Liz Camp is continuing with her role as Orchestra Manager.
8. Any Other Business
There was no AOB.
With no further business the meeting was closed.
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APPENDIX ONE: Chair’s Report
The Open University Choir
Chair’s Report 2014
The 2013/14 season has again been a successful one, with the choir having the opportunity
to perform a wide ranging repertoire of interest from both a historical and musical perspective.
With Bill having retired from the OU in September 2013, however, this year has been a big
change in many ways. The choir is delighted that Bill has continued as conductor despite
leaving the OU, and we hope he will continue to do so for many more years. Our huge thanks
to Bill for all his work and dedication to the choir this past season, in what has been a
significant change for him.
Looking forward, I can report that the coming season will involve another new departure for
the choir. Bill has decided that he will take one term off each season, and I’m therefore
pleased to announce that Dennis Pim will be conducting our summer term in 2015. Many
thanks indeed to Dennis for agreeing to this. Dennis will also, as last year, be conducting the
carol concert in December 2014.
On behalf of the choir I would like to extend my thanks to all of the committee members for
their contribution to the workings of the choir over the past year. In particular I would note our
gratitude to Marian Ballance for her work as choir librarian, as this can be time consuming
and complex to administer! Also to Mike Davis for his work in setting up for concerts, and to
Juliet Baxter and Lisa Burns for helping out as deputy librarian and membership secretary
respectively, although they are not officially on the committee.
Later in the meeting we will be electing a new treasurer for the OU Choir. After 10 years as
treasurer, Vanessa Skelton has stepped down from the role, as well as retiring from the OU.
We are immensely grateful to Vanessa for everything she has done for the choir as treasurer
and I hope you will join me in thanking her. Concurrent with Vanessa’s departure as
treasurer, Eleanor Pettigrew, who has examined the final accounts each year for Vanessa,
has also decided to hand this over to a new volunteer. Ellie, thank you so much for taking on
this work each year for the choir. I am pleased to announce that Vanessa Penzo, who works
as an accountant at the OU, has agreed to examine the accounts for her from 2015.
I am sure that our coming season will be as successful as the last, and look forward to singing
some beautiful and interesting music chosen by Bill and Dennis in 2014/15.
Liz Camp
OU Choir Chair
October 2014
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APPENDIX TWO: Conductor’s Report
The Open University Choir
Conductor’s Report 2014
My role today is to look ahead to the content and profile of the present season which, it
seems to me, is going to be slightly unusual in three respects.
Firstly, each programme is going to have a specifically national or geographical theme:
this term transatlantic, with each piece having both American and European aspects
next term robustly German throughout
and in the summer predominantly English
Second, the historic spread is perhaps more restricted than usual, with the two outside
concerts exemplifying some of the more accessible twentieth-century styles, while the middle
one combines Baroque and Romantic.
Third, I am going to be taking the summer term off, so there’s going to be a sort of alternating
conductorship, with Dennis directing the Carols and the summer concert. And his choices for
the summer are:
some of Stanford’s Elizabethan Pastorales
George Dyson’s Four Songs for Sailors, with splashy piano accompaniment
Five English Folksong Arrangements by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Returning to the Spring programme for a moment, that will contain four pieces, all for either 6
parts or double choir, beginning with a lovely motet by Heinrich Schütz which I think will be
interesting because the style has moved on from Palestrina’s kind of imitative writing, picked
up some Italianate ideas from Gabrieli and Monteverdi, but not quite got to Bach.
We get to Bach though, with one of his less well-known motets, and another by his cousin
Johann Ludwig, whom you may remember from a couple of years ago.
Then the programme winds up with a set of three Brahms motets in which he’s looking back
at the style of Schütz, but with his own brand of Romantic harmony.
The challenge of that programme will of course be the division into two separate 4-part choirs
and because that will be quite tough I’ve asked if we can have a quick turnaround after the
present concert and hold an initial introductory session before Dennis embarks on the
Christmas music.
One further musical issue deserves a mention. For many years the ad hoc orchestras we put
together to accompany choir concerts have been ably led by Christine Hodgkinson, who has
brought huge experience and practical wisdom to the project and been an enormous help to
me. Christine has had to stop playing recently because of problems with her hearing and we
are very sorry to be losing her. I calculate that she has led for 23 concerts across 16 years,
which is a formidable record, and represents about half of the orchestrally-accompanied
concerts the choir has given.
However, I’m glad to say that, on her recommendation, Catherine Gough has agreed to take
over, for this term at least, and Liz and I are currently enjoying some refreshing contributions
she is bringing to our discussions.
And literally while I was in the middle of checking the orchestral parts has come the news of
the death of Barrie Jones, an earlier orchestral leader, of whom I wrote to you earlier in the
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week. Barrie and Christine have really been the two main players who have guided the
orchestral dimension of the choir’s activities to the current state, so this really does feel like a
moment of change.
Another change which I shall feel as much as, perhaps more than, anyone else is the
departure of Vanessa as treasurer. She has protested lately that I do most of the work, which
is not really true: what really happens is I think up fancy ideas which I contrive to present to
her in a credible light, and she mostly approves of. But then when things come unstuck, which
they occasionally have done, she is accommodating and resourceful and even-tempered.
What more could a conductor ask for?
This choir is in fact in a fairly privileged position, by comparison with most amateur groups,
having been largely subsidised by the University, and Vanessa has had good insights into
how to make that work for us.
And I mustn’t forget Elly who has for many years audited our accounts, and of course I
completely trust her and appreciate her tremendous long-term contribution to the choir in this
and other respects.
If I mention specific individuals it does not mean that I don’t appreciate what other committee
members, co-opted helpers, rehearsal pianists and members contribute to what I think is still
one of the best and most distinctive choirs in the locality.
2014_Conductor report
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