Committee

Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting Monday 16 November 2015

Present: Imogen Locke(chair) Alison Shaw(secretary) Judy Skelton(treasurer) Polly Kaufmann Theresa Hitching

In Attendance: Helen Bramner

Apologies: Joan Goodall

Imogen welcomed the new committee members at the start of the meeting and herself and Alison to their new posts of chair and secretary respectively.

1. AGM matters arising: none that were not already on the agenda

2. Matters arising from and approving minutes of last committee meeting on Sept 2nd: Judy corrected a fact from the treasurer's report that a membership of 17 would lead to a slight loss, not a surplus. This is now irrelevant anyway due to the new venue. The privacy of videos was checked with Helen, who is going to take the easiest option of compiling a list of those who want access to the videos. She agreed to send instructions to everyone about this. The minutes were then approved.

3. Membership: Annie wants to start in January, playing cello in the main group and flute in the small groups; Maureen will be away next term. We are pleased to welcome Chris Moore as a new member. We are nineteen this term and should be nineteen next term with Annie, assuming everyone else returns.

4. Treasurer's report: Judy reported that storage fees are going up from £21.60 a month to £22.90 a month, including VAT, from January.

5. One off tasks: changing the signatories on the bank account is ongoing; Alison is now in possession of the secretary 's file; Helen has a key to the music storage but another needs to be located; Imogen wants to ensure all committee members have up to date copies of main documents and to effect this certain electronic documents need to be circulated: the constitution, membership policy,the new members letter, members' contacts list, Denis Sobrielo's music list and business plan. Alison to collate and circulate . Angela is still the telephone contact for new members and has said she is happy to remain so. Tasks relating to the new venue have been completed: the church keys have been returned and the venue address has been changed on the blog and list of orchestras.

6. Question of reducing fees. After a careful discussion, it was agreed to drop the fees to £105 a term from January with the understanding we would carefully monitor how this would affect the surplus. It was felt that the amount of the reserve -£750 - might have to be reviewed at a future meeting.

7. Term dates and how they relate to fees. The question of whether fees should relate to the number of weeks in a term was discussed; it was decided, for the sake of simplicity, to keep to a standard price per term.

8. Concert venue: next term Imogen has asked for the school hall for the concert and for the week before the concert, but this is yet to be confirmed. We can then review the hall as a future concert venue. It was suggested that The Songbyrds should pay half the fees for the hall for these two nights and Polly is going to liaise on this.

9. Collection after the concert: there was general agreement there should be a collection for a charity after the concert. Helen is going to investigate Musicians' charities.

10. Allocation of ongoing tasks: many tasks were confirmed from Imogen's list. The key ones were: the treasurer will now communicate term dates to the school, raise the order and be the main contact with the school; the treasurer will also circulate term dates after they have been confirmed by Helen, who will communicate them as soon after Ealing Council publishes term dates as possible; the secretary will deal with new enquiries from potential members, with guidance from Helen and keep the waiting list; the secretary will also maintain an up to date list of members' contact details; Polly agreed to revise the membership policy document and ensure it contains what to do if a member is going to be absent from a session; Imogen was

happy for different people to introduce concerts and Helen agreed to introduce the next one, which is going to be dedicated to John.

11. Broken Consort history notes for the programme: Joan is going to be invited to update this for us.

12. Music List: Helen has a list of the stored music from Denis Sobrielo and a list of her music for the full ensemble. It was suggested these lists be circulated to members so they have a chance to request things from the lists. Helen agreed to do this.

13. AOB : Teresa suggested having a music file or mount for the music on our stands. She agreed to research options and report back. It was agreed that future committee meetings should be open - if any other member of the group wants to attend, they are free to do so.

14. The date of the next meeting is 7th April at 7.30pm at Polly's.

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Broken Consort Minutes of the AGM Thursday 8 October 2015

Broken Consort members present:

Angela Ayton (chair) Judy Skelton (Treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Imogen Locke (committee member) Alison Shaw (committee member) Helen Brammer Diana Locke Joan Goodall Heather Loebl Rod Lackey Theresa Hitching Penny Layland Mike Winterburn Nicola Thompson Lucy Devereux

Apologies:

Polly Kaufmann Maureen Snell Annabel Crowe Chris Moore

1. The minutes of the last AGM held on 23 October 2014 were approved. There were no matters arising.

2. Election of committee members

Angela and Kath confirmed that they are standing down from the committee.

New members of the committee were elected. Joan was proposed by Imogen and seconded by Heather. Theresa was proposed by Diana and seconded by Nicola.

Imogen agreed to take on the office of chair. She was proposed by Penny and seconded by Heather.

Alison agreed to take on the office of secretary. She was proposed by Judy and seconded by Heather.

Thanks were expressed to Angela and Kath for their work as officers of the committee over the last 5 years.

3. Treasurer’s Report

Judy reported that we have a surplus of over £400 this year and that on average we have had a membership of 18.5

She explained that the reasons for the surplus were the fact that the membership has been over 18 and also the saving of money when we used members’ homes for a session when the church was unavailable.

We are now back to the financial position we were in 2 years ago before we paid for the piece to be written for us.

Judy also reported that the accounts have been audited by Mike Kaufmann who has sent a report confirming that they are a ‘true and fair view of the organisation’s performance’. Thanks were expressed to Mike for carrying out this task and it was agreed that, as a token of our thanks, a bottle of wine would be conveyed to him.

4. Venue

There was some discussion about Drayton Manor School as the proposed new venue after the trial session last week.

It was generally agreed that it has advantages over the church, particularly the fact that it is warm and has good lighting. It also has plenty of parking and is cheaper than the church.

Some members had played in a very small, airless room but there are apparently other rooms we could try. The space in the large room where we had the whole group might need some rearranging when all members are present. We would still need a keyboard but would not be able to store it there. However Helen said that she would be able to store it in her flat.

The journey was likely to be a problem for a few members but other members said that they were willing to offer lifts.

There were no votes against changing the venue to Drayton.

The actual date of starting is to be negotiated by the committee.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting Wednesday 2 September 2015

Present: Alison Shaw Angela Ayton (Chair) Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Polly Kaufmann

In attendance: Helen Brammer

On behalf of all Broken Consort members, the committee would like to record their sadness on learning of John’s death. He will be much missed.

1. The minutes of the last committee meeting held on 16 April were approved.

Matters arising:

It was noted that, in spite of the drive to encourage members to arrive on time, this is still not really working. It was agreed that a prompt start at 7.15 is in everyone’s interest.

Regarding videos, Helen reported that she has options to make them private by creating a list of allowed viewers who will access them via their YouTube/Google account. Family and friends could be added to this list.

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy reported that we have made a surplus of just over £400 and that there is no foreseeable major increase in expenditure this year. However if we go down to fewer than 18 members it would make us less secure, although even with a membership of 17 we would still be in surplus. In addition to this we have a safety cushion of £1500 in the bank.

There seems to be no cause for concern at the moment as we also have new members in the offing (see next item)

Judy was thanked for her work in keeping all the accounts and presenting them so clearly.

3. Membership

We currently have 18 members, not including Joan who would like to come back. As she would like to be an occasional players was agreed that she should be offered an ‘honorary membership’ with no fee to pay. Angela agreed to contact her about this.

Annie (Polly’s daughter) who played flute with us a few years ago before going to university, would like to rejoin. The plan is that she would play cello (her second instrument) in the whole ensemble and flute in the small groups.

Interest has also been shown from a cellist who is coming to the first session, and a violinist who may be contacted later. A clarinet player also contacted Angela some time ago. It was agreed we would wait and see how things go before contacting him.

4. Premises

Regarding the heating in the church, it was not clear whether Imogen passed on the plan of radiators and which ones we need on. This is to be checked.

We are still waiting for news about the possibility of using the music premises at Drayton Manor School.

5. AOB

Judy has allowed for printing costs in the budget. This is to be set at £25 each term but Helen is to let Judy know if costs are greater than this.

The date for the AGM was set for Thursday 8 October, to take place at the end of the session.

Angela and Kath are happy to stand down from their positions if anyone else is interested in standing. Judy suggested that we might need to change our constitution slightly if the same people keep continuing in post. (At the last AGM we had to have a special ‘meeting’ to agree that, contrary to the terms of the constitution, the chair and secretary could be elected for a further year.)

Helen’s bonus was discussed after her departure. It was agreed that once the membership hits 18, she should be awarded an extra £50 and then £50 for each additional member. This plan would not include Joan.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting Thursday 16 April 2015

Present:  Alison Shaw  Angela Ayton (Chair)  Imogen Locke   Judy Skelton  (treasurer)  Kath Russell  (secretary)  Polly Kaufmann

Angela announced John’s resignation from the committee on the grounds of ill health. On behalf of the committee and all members of the group she expressed thanks for all he has done.

1.  The minutes of the last committee meeting held on 8 January were approved. Matters arising are contained in agenda items below.

2.   Treasurer’s Report Judy presented a spreadsheet showing our current financial position and reported that we have made a surplus of £80 this term.

3.   Membership We have a new member, Cora, starting this term, playing violin. Angela has also dealt with an enquiry from a potential new member who plays clarinet. As we have now reached our maximum number she has suggested that he contact us in September and meanwhile goes on the waiting list. Polly’s daughter, Annie, who played with us before going away to university, would also like to rejoin the group in September. It was reported that Edward has not made sufficient progress on the oboe to rejoin the group. Angela agreed to write to him explaining that we can’t admit him as a member.

4.   Heating in the church Annabel has spoken to someone about this and it was generally agreed that there has been some improvement but that this is not consistent. Imogen suggested that we formalise precisely what our expectations are in terms of the number of heaters operating and where they are in the church. In order to do this Imogen agreed to draw a diagram of the heaters that are important to us (ie at the back of the church). This can later be used to communicate our requirements to the church authorities.

5.   Possible alternative venues Imogen has done research on this and is negotiating a trial session with St Stephen’s church hall, Ealing, on one Thursday this term. She has also spoken to the facilities manager at Drayton Manor High School who is keen to have us and has provided a price, but needs to get the music department to agree to the letting of the music and practice rooms. We are still waiting for them to get back to us, and if it is a possibility, to organise a date to try it out. As we cannot have the use of our current venue on Ascension Thursday (14 May) it is hoped we can try out Drayton on that evening. St Stephen’s is not available that evening. If an alternative venue is not available for that particular evening then we will use two members’ houses as we have done previously. Kath is away that week but Angela and Polly are willing to offer their houses. Polly needs to check this date.

6.   Review of changes to class It was agreed that the changes have been a great improvement (particularly the scales and Helen standing at the front for the first half term) and that we would like to continue with these. Our getting started on time is still not very good and it was agreed that Helen should start promptly at 7.15 even if people are still drifting in.

7.   Concert videos Imogen raised concern about the public availability of the concert videos. Other committee members also raised some reservations. It was agreed that Imogen would talk to Helen to see if they could be made private as they used to be.


8.   AOB It was suggested that it is some time since we reimbursed Helen for printing costs. Judy is to ask her for an estimate of her expenses

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Thursday 8 January 2015

Present: Alison Shaw Angela Ayton (chair) Imogen Locke John Marshall Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Polly Kaufmann

Angela welcomed Imogen to the committee.

1 .The minutes of the last committee meeting held on Friday 12 September were approved.

Matters arising

Following the inclusion of our group on the orchestra list we had 3 enquiries resulting in one new member and another who may join us later. This is better than any other advertising we have done and although there have been no enquiries since (perhaps because September is when people try to find this sort of thing), it was agreed that it is definitely worth being on this list.

2. Treasurer’s Report / membership

Judy presented figures to show our current financial situation, indicating that we have made a surplus of approximately £120 in the autumn term. This gives us a balance of approximately £1,200. The music storage charge has gone up a second time to £21.60. It was generally agreed that there is no point looking for an alternative as they would probably put the price up in the same way after a time. In addition to this the one we have is very conveniently located.

Judy’s figures demonstrated that we need 18 members to break even, and that it may be necessary at some point to increase the fees, depending on membership and on whether we have to pay for additional heating. All agreed, however, that the fees would only be increased if it were absolutely necessary.

It is likely that we will have 18 members this term.

3. Responses to issues discussed at informal meeting held on 11 December 2014

The responses to the various issues were summarised by Angela:

Heating

All agreed that the church is too cold and that something needs to be done about it. It was agreed that, to begin with, we should approach the church authorities about this. Angela suggested that it was unfair to expect Annabel to be the only person responsible for this, and volunteered to liaise with Annabel over this matter and also over regular tuning of the piano.

Some of those who responded were in favour of researching alternative venues on the basis that there is nothing to be lost by looking. Imogen had made a start on this by producing a map of everyone’s location so that she can begin looking within an area that would be suitable for the majority. Angela pointed out that any decision on this would have to be taken by the group as a whole, not just the committee.

Concert

All those who responded were in favour of 3 concerts, the run-through and the loose dress code (temperature permitting). There was less unanimity about the announcements before pieces, so it was agreed that those who wanted to could do this.

Use of surplus funds

Some people had suggested our surplus funds might be used for coaching and/or a conductor at some rehearsals. As we do not have any significant surplus at the moment this is not really practical. However, since it seems to indicate a desire on the part of at least some of our members to improve our playing both individually and as a group it was agreed that Angela and Polly would talk to Helen about what we might do and how we might organise our sessions to achieve this. We will report back on this meeting to everyone in Broken Consort.

Donating to a charity was suggested in a couple of the responses but it was agreed that we don’t really have that amount of surplus and that people would probably prefer to donate independently to their own charities.

Session organisation

Responses indicated firm purposes of amendment regarding starting on time and packing up efficiently! In order to keep the session moving at a faster pace it was agreed that if members arrive late Helen should not feel obliged to wait for them to unpack and be ready. We agreed that we all accept that if we are late we simply slot in when we can.

4. AOB

There was no other business.

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Notes on the meeting of the Broken Consort held on Thursday 11 December 2014

This was an informal meeting, led by Imogen, with 10 members of the group present. We would all like to hear others’ views on the matters discussed so please circulate these to all members of the group.

1. Venue

All agreed that the church is too cold. Various suggestions were made for improving this.

• Annabel could speak to someone at the church about improving the heating.

• We could offer them more money especially as our fees have remained the same for over 4 years.

• We could ask them to ensure that the heaters in the area where we play are always on.

• We could use fan heaters in the church though this would require another long extension cable.

Imogen volunteered to research a new venue.

Discussion points relevant to problems associated with a new venue:

• We need to establish geographic and budget limits

• We are more widely spread than when research was done originally so other areas could be considered.

• If there was no piano we could supply our own electric piano. Apparently new models are more stable and lighter. Someone to research electric pianos.

• We don’t have to hold the concert in the place we meet each week.

• We would have to be certain that it was going to be warmer.

• Everyone agreed we should stay with Thursday.

2. Use of surplus funds

(The committee has previously agreed that the sum of £750 (?) should always be kept in reserve) The question is what to do with any surplus beyond this.

Suggestions to date:

• Coaching
• Donation to a charity
• Buy an electric piano

Broken Consort members should circulate their suggestions to the whole group.

.

3. Concert management and weekly management

Some members not happy about the dress code especially as people had to keep coats on in the church last time as it was so cold.

BC members to circulate their views.

A suggestion that we should introduce each piece has been made. BC members should circulate their views. NB Professing agreement with the idea of introductions to pieces will not mean the member will be expected to volunteer to do this.

Run through in the week before the concert.

It was suggested that it uses up too much time.

Some disagreement here. We need feedback from other members.

Helen finds it easier to manage the rehearsal of all the small group pieces if we have a run-through the week before.

Imogen raised the possibility of having only two concerts each year in order not to lose playing time. Most members seemed to prefer three.

Please circulate your views.

Weekly management

Regarding packing up and putting away chairs, suggestions made were that we should move stuff off chairs as quickly as possible so anyone moving them can proceed rapidly.

However Helen noted that the delay in getting out of the church on time comes not from the packing up but from gossiping!

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Broken Consort

Minutes of the extraordinary AGM

Thursday 23 October 2014

Broken Consort members present:

Angela Ayton (Chair) Judy Skelton (Treasurer) Kath Russell (Secretary) Polly Kaufmann (committee member) Alison Shaw (committee member) Helen Brammer Annabel Crowe Diana Locke Imogen Locke Theresa Hitching Penny Layland Mike Winterburn Nicola Thompson Emily Johnson Edward Brucey Lucy Devereux

Apologies: Heather Loebl John Marshall Rod Lackey Maureen Snell

1. Change to constitution

Members agreed to make an exception to allow officers to continue even though their 4 years are up.

Minutes of the AGM

Members present as above.

1. The minutes of the last AGM held on 24 October 2013 were approved. There were no matters arising.

2. Election of committee members

All committee members agreed to continue in office for the next year. They were proposed by Diana and seconded by Nicola. Imogen agreed to join the committee and was proposed by Annabel and seconded by Nicola.

3. Treasurer’s Report

Judy reported that for the first time in 4 years we had incurred a deficit as a result of paying for the composition. However the core business generates a surplus so in actual fact we currently have a surplus of over £1000. Judy quoted from Mike Kaufmann’s letter that our accounts represent ‘a true and fair view of the organisation’s financial performance for this period and of the £443.69 deficit generated’. A vote of thanks was passed for Mike’s auditing of our accounts and it was agreed that, as a token of our thanks, a bottle of wine would be conveyed to him.

4. AOB

• It was agreed that next term’s dates would be 8 January to 19 March with half term on 19 February and the concert on 26 March. Helen to inform us of summer term dates soon.

• Timing of session

Angela pointed out that although the official timing of the session is supposed to be 7 to 9.30, there has been a certain amount of ‘drift’. We seem to start later and finish later. After some discussion it was agreed that we would start playing promptly at 7.15 and finish promptly to be out of the church at 9.30. Members who are able to arrive at 7 are encouraged to do so in order to help Helen with chairs etc.

• General meeting

There are other issues that members would like discussed, including a number that Imogen had suggested in an earlier email to the committee, so it was agreed that we should organise a separate meeting to look at these. Any members wishing to be included in this should meet on the Thursday after the concert – 11 December - at Angela and Mike’s house at 7.30pm.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Friday 12 September 2014

Present: Alison Shaw Angela Ayton (chair) John Marshall Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Polly Kaufmann

1 .The minutes of the last committee meeting held on 27 May were approved.

Matters arising

Committee members were very pleased to welcome Alison back.

Polly reported that she has been unable to access the email account set up to deal with enquiries about the group. However Angela reported that she has negotiated the inclusion of Broken Consort in the list mentioned at the last meeting. This is a list of amateur music groups within the M25 (NB to find it search for UK amateur orchestras and click on the London bit of the map) So far this has produced 2 enquiries.

Regarding the blog, Helen is now updating this.

It was agreed that the run-through the week before the concert was a good idea and that the concert had gone very smoothly.

Regarding the stored music, Judy agreed to send round the list of music so that members could let Helen know their requests.

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy presented spreadsheets indicating a healthy balance of approximately £1,100. This is after payment for our commission. Currently we have 19 members and with potential new membership it was agreed that there is no need to increase the subscription.

Judy agreed to send a request to Mike Kaufmann to carry out the audit on our accounts. This is to be done after the end of September when the next statement will be available.

3. New members

Angela has sent the Broken Consort recruitment note to the people who have made enquiries, and they will be invited to come along to try it out this term. If both join, this would take the numbers to 21 but it was agreed that we don’t all need separate parts and that members will be quite prepared to double up.

4. AGM

The date for the ACGM was set for 23 October.

It was noted that, according to the constitution, the chair and secretary should now stand down as 4 years has elapsed. Angela and Kath both agreed that they are quite happy to continue in their roles for another year, providing there are no other members who would like to take on these roles. In view of this it was agreed that a very short extraordinary meeting should take place just before the AGM so that members can agree to override the constitution.

5. AOB

Some discussion took place regarding the possibility of creating a web page as well as the blog.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Present: Angela Ayton (chair), John Marshall, Judy Skelton (treasurer), Kath Russell (secretary), Polly Kaufmann

1 .The minutes of the last committee meeting held on 2 January were approved.

Matters arising:

Polly has checked the inbox of the email set up for queries about the group but there are no messages.

In spite of mixed reactions to the commissioned piece played at our last concert, the committee agreed that it had been a rewarding challenge to play something outside our comfort zone. Thanks were expressed to John for his computer programme, without which we would not have known where we were.

2. Treasurer’s report

Judy presented a spreadsheet for the year indicating a healthy balance of just over £1000 by the end of this year (July) This means there is no need to increase the subscription at the moment. Helen’s increase and also her bonus for the extra members have been included in the calculation.

The question of further publicity was discussed. Kath mentioned an online list of all the amateur music groups within the M25, and Angela agreed to investigate this with Mike’s help with a view to being included on it. Judy suggested that we should be known as Broken Consort Ealing to save confusion with other groups that this title can throw up.

3. Concert organisation

This item was included after a comment from a member of our audience who was apparently impressed with our music-making but thought we were let down by our stage management. We discussed various ways we could smarten this up and agreed the following:

• Keep the dress code – red and black
• Acknowledge applause
• Ange to continue her introduction to the concert plus others might like to introduce particular pieces.
• Players to put their instruments and stands down the side on arrival.
• The front row to be left free for players to sit when not playing
• After small groups, players to take charge of moving off with their instruments and stands with other members taking charge of moving chairs on and off.

For all this to work smoothly we agreed that we would need the services of a chair monitor – Mike was elected for this role – and we would also need to ask Helen for the order of playing the week before so that we can work out movement strategies.

It was also agreed that we could smarten up our act generally regarding organisation every Thursday. The confusion about putting chairs back at the end could be avoided if people arrived when they are moved at the beginning. It was recognised that not everyone is able to be there at the start but those who can should aim to be there for 7 to help with chairs. This would have the added benefit that we could start playing at 7.15.

4. AOB

Stored music. Polly raised the question of how easy it is for Helen to access the stored music that came from Denis. It was agreed that members could volunteer to help with this if Helen would like it. It was also suggested that members could put in requests for music for small groups to play from the list which Polly drew up when the music was sorted. This could be done before the start of each term.

Blog Helen had experienced some problems with the blog and it was not known whether these had been resolved. John volunteered to help with this and to help with the week to week running of it if Helen needs this.

Members of the committee recorded their regret that Alison has not been with us this term. On behalf of all Broken Consort members we wish her a very speedy recovery and hope that she will be returning to play with us before long.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Thursday 2 January 2014

Present: Alison Shaw, Angela Ayton (chair), John Marshall, Judy Skelton (treasurer), Kath Russell (secretary), Polly Kaufmann

1. The minutes of the last committee meeting held on 12 September were approved.

Matters arising:

Polly has sorted out access to the email set up for inquiries about the group and has checked the inbox. The only message received was a query about whether we wished to be included in the Ealing Arts and Leisure publication. It was agreed that we should decline this as we have a healthy membership at the moment.

John has made enquiries about the Quaker Meeting House as a possible venue in case we should need one in the future but it is not available on Thursdays.

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy presented a spreadsheet showing a healthy balance. It was agreed that there is no need to raise the subscription at the moment.

There has been one enquiry from a violinist who may be interested in joining the group at some time in the future.

3. Music commission

Judy has spoken to Andrew, the composer, who hopes to have parts ready for our second session. It is expected that the performance of the piece will be at the end of this term and that the Songbyrds choir will be joining us for that particular concert.

4. AOB

Helen’s hourly rate was reviewed and it was agreed that this should be increased from £37 per hour to £38 per hour (an increase of approximately 2.7%) from the beginning of this term.

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Broken Consort

Minutes of the AGM

Thursday 24 October 2013

Broken Consort members present: Alison Shaw, Angela Ayton (Chair), Theresa Hitching, Polly Kaufmann (Committee Member), Penny Layland, Diana Locke, Imogen Locke, Heather Loebl, Kath Russell (Secretary), Judy Skelton (Treasurer), Margaret Willson, Mike Winterburn, Nicola Thompson, John Marshall (Committee Member), Maureen Snell and Rod Lackey.

Apologies: Joan and George Goodall, Annabel Crowe

In attendance: Helen Brammer (Tutor)

1. Minutes of the last AGM

The minutes were approved.

Matters arising

It was noted that since the last AGM three members of the committee have retired and three new committee members - Polly, John and Alison - have since been elected.

Regarding membership, it had been stated that Emily and Anya were likely to return. This is no longer the case but with several new members this year there is currently no cause for concern about numbers.

Celebrating the group’s existence for 40 years with a particular piece of music was briefly discussed as was the piece which is to be written for the group. This has now has been formally commissioned and is due to be performed at the end of the spring term.

2. Election of Committee members

Angela pointed out that, according to the terms of our constitution, the chair and secretary will have to stand down next October, so members should consider the possibility of taking on these roles.

All Committee members agreed to continue in office for the next year. They were proposed by Diana and seconded by Nicola.

3. Treasurer’s Report

Judy produced a summary of income and expenditure for the year, showing a surplus of £560 which is slightly more than for each of the two previous years. Although our membership numbers are holding up well, having lost three members but gained five last year, we are completely dependent on subscriptions for our income and therefore still need to plan conservatively. The cost of music storage has doubled recently.

Thanks were expressed to Mike Kaufmann who conducted the audit. This shows a balance of just over £1500 but the music commission will take £800 of this, half of which has already been paid as the first instalment.  Judy reported that a contract letter has been signed with the composer, Andrew Toovey, and that we are due to start rehearsing it next term. She is also to contact him to see whether he would like to attend any of our rehearsals next half term.

4. AOB

Theresa asked about the recent update to Helen’s software and Helen explained some of the problems she is having with it. John offered to have a look at it.

A question was raised about next term’s dates. These to be agreed asap.

Polly reported that the Songbyrds would like to sing at one of the concerts this year. This was agreed. They will be given a time limit to work around.

Thanks were expressed for the cake and other refreshments provided by Angela, Mike and Helen in celebration of Mike’s birthday.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Thursday 12 September 2013

Present: Alison Shaw, Angela Ayton (chair), John Marshall, Judy Skelton (treasurer), Kath Russell (secretary), Polly Kaufmann

In attendance: Helen Brammer

1. Minutes of the last committee meeting held on 4 July were approved.

Matters arising:

Angela contacted the person on the waiting list but she was unable to attend on Thursdays.

Angela has written the standard reply letter to be sent to anyone making enquiries about the group.

Polly reported that she checked the email set up for enquiries at the end of term but is now having difficulty getting into the account. Helen agreed to see if she could fix it and send a link to Polly.

Regarding possible future venues, John has not yet been able to check the Ealing Quaker Meeting House.

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy reported that our finances are going well. She presented two spreadsheets for 2013/2014, one assuming a membership of 17 and one a membership of 16. We are expecting 18 members this term but even with 16 we would still have a surplus even after paying the composer.

Judy will submit papers to Mike Kaufmann for audit before the AGM. A vote of thanks to Mike was recorded.

As the number of members is not absolutely certain, it was agreed that a request to confirm attendance should be sen,t along with a request for details of when members know they are going to be absent. Kath agreed to do this.

3. Commission

Judy reported that Andrew, the composer, has agreed to carry out the commission at a cost of £800, and this is to include workshops with him. This may involve further cost if we need extra time in the church for the workshops although session work might possibly take place in someone’s house. Provisionally the performance would be next term, before Easter

John wondered whether we would have permission to perform it at a later date and Judy agreed to check this. There was also some discussion about whether it was necessary to have a written agreement. Judy agreed to ask him if he has a standard agreement document and, failing that, it was decided that she would ask him for a letter confirming the deal which can then be signed by members of the committee.

4. AGM

The date of the AGM was set for 24 October to take place at the end of the session at 9pm. Kath will send out a notice with the minutes

5. AOB

There was no other business.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Thursday 4 July 2013

Present: Angela Ayton (chair), John Marshall, Judy Skelton (treasurer), Kath Russell (secretary) & Polly Kaufmann

Apologies: Alison

Angela welcomed the new members of the committee.

1. The minutes of the last committee meeting held on 4 April were approved.

Matters arising:

It was noted that, as Penny has now resigned from the committee, there is no one checking the email set up for enquiries about the group.

Polly volunteered to check this regularly and to follow the previously agreed protocol ie to deal with general queries herself and to forward enquiries about joining the group to Helen. Angela suggested a standard reply letter to be sent to anyone asking about joining. She agreed to draft this and forward to Polly.

It was noted that the membership strategy has now been adopted.

John raised the question of our dependence on the church. This seems secure at the moment but it was agreed that it is wise to continue to explore possible alternative venues. John agreed to make enquiries about the Ealing Quaker Meeting House.

The minutes were approved.

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy reported that our surplus is growing, although it has to be kept in mind that this is always dependent on numbers. Approximately £585 has been brought forward from last year and there is a surplus of £900 this year plus the £205 in the music fund.

3. Use of surplus funds

Helen will be paid a bonus of £100 for this term, in line with the previously agreed policy of paying a bonus when membership goes beyond 18. It was noted that although the membership has been 19 this term, it was expected to be 20, so Helen had planned and written parts for 20 players.

It was decided that Helen’s hourly rate would be reviewed in October.

The amount to be kept back as a contingency fund was discussed and it was agreed that £750 should be kept for this, leaving approximately £800 to spend.

The plan to commission a piece of music was discussed. It was noted that some members of the group have expressed doubts about this, and have suggested that, as an alternative, the money could be spent on some form of additional group coaching. Two members of the committee, however, reported that they had had very positive experiences of performing specially commissioned works. In addition to this, everyone in the group seemed to like the the composer we have approached.

Another composer had been nominated but she had not been able to attend a class this academic year and the committee were agreed that it would be best to keep up the momentum rather than delay the process.

After taking the various comments and proposals into consideration, it was agreed that the commission is an exciting idea and that we would go ahead with it, providing we have the necessary funds. Judy will get back to Andrew and offer £800 for a commission.

It was noted that a degree of coaching would presumably happen as Andrew is so obviously interested and involved. The idea of something like a development day, involving extra coaching in some form, was also discussed, and it was agreed that this is something worth exploring.

4. AOB

It was noted that we are likely to have 18 members next term, or 19 if Penny returns. There is one person on the waiting list so Angela will ask Helen whether she should be contacted.

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MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

THURSDAY 2 MAY 2013

Broken Consort members present: Angela Ayton (Chair), Annabel Crowe, George Goodall, Joan Goodall, Theresa Hitching, Polly Kaufmann, Rod Lackey, Diana Locke, Imogen Locke, Heather Loebl, John Marshall, Kath Russell (Secretary), Alison Shaw, Anya Sitaram, Judy Skelton (Treasurer), Maureen Snell, Nicola Thompson Margaret Willson & Mike Winterburn.

In attendance: Helen Brammer (Tutor)

This brief meeting was called because three members of the committee have recently resigned.

1. Election of committee members

John was proposed by Nicola and seconded by Joan

Polly was proposed by Diana and seconded by Mike

Alison was proposed by Imogen and seconded by Heather

All were unanimously elected.

2. AOB

On behalf of all members of the group Angela expressed thanks and appreciation to Stephen for filming the last concert.

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Minutes of Broken Consort Committee meeting

Thursday 4 April 2013

Present: Angela Ayton (chair) Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Dermot Stone, Margaret Willson, Penny Layland

1. The minutes of the last meeting on 28 January were approved.

Matters arising:

The bonus has been paid to Helen.

Helen has obtained the upgrade to her software and reported that it is proving useful.

Helen has recently found emails in the inbox of the email set up for people interested in our group. Most were unimportant but one was from someone asking to know the date of the Christmas(?) concert and another was from someone interested in joining the group.

It was agreed that:

Penny would email an apology to the first of these

Helen would contact the other one, put her (?) name on the waiting list and invite her to a concert.

It was agreed that in future Penny would keep a regular check on this email inbox and send any details of people interested in joining the group to Helen. Penny also agreed to ask another member of the committee to carry out this check if she were to be away for any length of time.

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy presented two spreadsheets showing a healthy balance. Even though one member (Dermot) will not be attending next term, there are currently no problems about meeting our financial commitments.

3. Membership

Next term there will be 20 members.

This is a manageable number for Helen, providing members give her sufficient notice if they are not able to attend. This is very important for her organisation of the small groups.

Angela presented the committee members with a paper (see attached document BC membership strategy) comprehensively outlining all aspects of our membership strategy. This had been deemed necessary as a result of the sudden influx of new members this year. The paper was discussed in great detail by the committee, and after a number of varying opinions were aired, it was finally agreed that the committee would recommend:

• the adoption of this statement of the overall ethos and philosophy as detailed in the paper

• that the group should remain mixed ability with a balance of instruments

• that potential members would not be auditioned but would be invited to attend for half a term in order for Helen to assess whether they are suitable for the group (and for the individual to decide whether it is suitable for them). They would pay fees for half a term, unless they decided after the first session that Broken Consort was not for them, in which case they would not pay anything.

• that these terms should be made quite clear to a potential new member and would be put in writing to them

Any member of Broken Consort who is not in agreement with any of these recommendations should contact a member of the committee before the second week of term.

4. Music Commission

Judy reported that she has a contact who is interested in writing a piece of music for us. It was agreed that initially she would invite him to come and watch a session, probably week 2 or 3 of next term.

In the meantime Helen agreed to investigate how much this is likely to cost.

Margaret also reported that she has a local contact who would be willing to write music for the group.

5. AOB

Dermot confirmed that he will be stepping down from the committee. On behalf of the committee and Broken Consort members Angela expressed thanks to him for his support over the last two and a half years.

A query was raised about the music fund. Judy reported that this now totals over £200. Members of the group are welcome to suggest purchases of particular music if they wish. They should talk to Helen about this.

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Minutes of special meeting of the Broken Consort Committee

Monday 28 January 2013

Present: Angela Ayton (chair) Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Dermot Stone and Margaret Willson

Apologies: Penny Layland

The meeting was called to discuss the financial and organisational implications of a sudden increase in membership.

Background to financial implications

Judy presented financial figures indicating the following:

• We currently have 21 members paying the full fee

• At the moment this gives us a surplus of £300 this term, with further surpluses if the membership remains at this level

• It was, however, noted that when the membership stood at 18 we were just about breaking even

In view of this it was proposed that:

• No increase should be offered to the church or to Helen as this would be impossible to sustain if membership decreased substantially in the future

• In order to pay Helen for the extra work involved in running a larger group she would be given a bonus in any term where membership was greater than 18

• The bonus this term is to be £100 ie one third of the surplus

• The committee will agree the amount of bonus to be paid at the end of each term, based on the number in the group

• In future, the maximum number in the group should be limited to 20, with a waiting list created

If any Broken Consort members have any objections to or comments on these proposals they should contact a member of the committee.

It was agreed that out of a projected surplus of approximately £1200 at the end of this year it would be sensible to keep a balance of £750 as a contingency fund.

Suggestions for spending some of the surplus were:

• Commission a composer to write a piece of music for the group. Three members of the committee had possible contacts and will approach them to find out how much they would expect to be paid. It was also suggested that the conductor of the Songbyrds might be interested in this. It was agreed that the piece should last approximately 5 minutes.

• Provide Helen with improved software for creating arrangements. Kath to contact Helen to ask about this.

Ideas for reducing Helen’s load were discussed and the following proposed:

Whole ensemble:

• double players up where appropriate

• recycle some old pieces

Small groups:

• double players up where appropriate
• volunteers to go through the list Polly made of Denis’s music to find some larger group pieces
• from time to time spend two weeks doing the same pieces in the second half

and perhaps use some Van de Groot arrangements in small or large groups

We also thought we should all be more aware of how much work Helen has to do ‘on the night’ and try to do as much as we can to help. This could include giving out the music, checking the small rooms have been cleared and tidied after we’ve finished, and anything else we notice needs doing that Helen usually takes responsibility for.

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Minutes of the AGM

Thursday 13 October 2011

Broken Consort members present: Angela Ayton (Chair), Annabel Crowe, George Goodall, Joan Goodall, Emily Johnson, Polly Kaufmann, Penny Layland, Diana Locke, Imogen Locke, Heather Loebl, Kath Russell (Secretary), Judy Skelton (Treasurer), Dermot Stone (Committee Member), Margaret Willson (Committee Member), Mike Winterburn

In attendance: Helen Brammer (Tutor)

Apologies for absence: Anya Sitaram; Theresa Hitching

1. Minutes of the last AGM

The minutes were approved. There were no matters arising.

2. Election of Committee members

All Committee members agreed to continue in office. Penny was elected as an additional member. (proposed by Heather; seconded by Annabel)

3. Treasurer’s Report

Judy presented an outline of current finances, indicating a balance of £186.14 and a music fund totalling £243, the latter to reduce to £143 when the cheque is given to Denis. Judy pointed out that the figures are provisional as they have to be audited. Mike Kaufmann has kindly agreed to do this and the papers are with him at the moment.

There was some discussion about membership/recruitment and a general agreement that, although interest from potential new members is welcome, there is no urgency at present, given the current membership of 17. It was reported by Joan that Katie, who came for one session, is currently unable to attend due to personal reasons but may be able to join the group at a later date.

4. AOB

There was some discussion of the need to explore alternative venues given that there is no absolute guarantee that our arrangement with the church will remain as it is, although Annabel felt it unlikely that things would change when the new vicar took over.

Angela proposed that a couple of members might in the near future approach TVU (the University of West London) regarding the use of their music rooms, now that Rosie Crehan has left, and now that they have been recorded as expressing interest in taking an active part in the community. The suitability of their rooms and the number of pianos available there were other reasons for pursuing this. This was agreed and it was also decided that other venues would be investigated. Imogen agreed to request another quote from St Paul’s, Brentford.

Annabel reminded members that the church will not be available for the session on Thursday 10 November and so it was decided that only small group pieces will be practised during this session, and that playing will take place in Angela’s house and Kath’s house on that evening.

The meeting ended at 9.15pm

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Thursday 4 October 2012 

Present: Angela Ayton (chair) Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Margaret Willson

Apologies: Dermot Stone & Penny Layland

1. The minutes of the last meeting on 13 July were approved.

Matters arising:

* Penny is to be reminded to check the Broken Consort email address that was set up for contact from people who might be interested in joining the group.

* University of West London (see 4 below)

* Kath reported that she had checked Ealing Green Church hall as a possible venue but that it is still used by Ealing Symphony Orchestra on a Thursday evening

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy presented a detailed financial statement for the year 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2012, indicating a closing balance of £965.03. Of this, £380.00 is money collected for the music fund. Judy’s draft cash flow for 2012 -2013 predicts a healthy balance with one new member expected at half term. To this can be added the additional subscription of the new member who came at the beginning of term.

It was agreed that Helen’s fee should be increased from £35 per hour to £37.

3. Membership/Publicity

Angela reported that the subscription had gone out for our entry in Ealing Arts and Leisure. It was, however, agreed that after this year we probably would not subscribe to it again, partly on account of the inefficiency of the organisation, and partly as no interest has come through the publication.

4. University of West London

Copies of the reply to Dermot’s letter to the UWL were circulated. Our request for hire of the rooms at the college has been refused on the grounds that it ‘would result in there not being any open access for our own students for one evening a week as your hire would take out all of the group practice rooms.’

5. Purchase of music

It was agreed that some of the music fund should be spent, and that Helen should be asked about what she would like. It was thought that she could also request suggestions from members of the group.

In addition it was agreed that:

* A sum of money should be paid to Helen to reimburse her for expenses incurred in printing parts. She will be asked to give us an estimate

* A proposal be put to Helen that she sells us some of her arranged music

Judy agreed to put these proposals to her in writing.

6. AOB

Mike Kaufmann is to be asked to audit the accounts before the AGM.

The AGM is to take place on Thursday 8 November.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Thursday 8 September 2011

Present: Angela Ayton (chair) Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Margaret Willson & Dermot Stone

1. The minutes of the last meeting on 8 July were approved.

.

Matters arising:

Judy reported that there has been a slight increase in the cost for storage which will change from £7.20 per month to £7.88 in October. The music (on shelves constructed by Mike) is now all installed. There are three keys held by Helen, Angela and Kath.

So far the collection for Denis amounts to over £350, and there is still more to come. Judy and Polly have arranged to visit Denis and Barbara to present him with the money on 22 September.

It was agreed that discussion and exploration of alternative venues would be undertaken later in the term.

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy presented a cash flow sheet indicating a current balance of £186.14. Out of this, some cash is due to Penny for reimbursement of printing costs. It was agreed that, beyond this, there can be no more money made available for publicity for the moment.

In addition to the balance of £186.14 we also have £243 in the music fund which will reduce to £143 when we give the Broken Consort cheque (£100) to Denis. This is part of the £350 figure quoted above.

After examination of two possible scenarios for income and expenditure presented by Judy for 2011/2012, it was agreed that it would be prudent to leave things as they are. Therefore subscriptions for this coming term will be kept at the current rate.

3. Music Storage

See ‘Matters arising’ above.

4. Publicity

The budget for publicity has now been spent and has resulted in various regular entries in:

• Ealing Arts and Leisure (the printed and online versions)
• Online Stickyboard
• Open Ealing noticeboard

In addition to this, flyers (designed by Penny) are being left in a number of places (see Helen’s email)

Kath has spoken to the secretary of Ealing Symphony Orchestra who has suggested a mention in their concert programme. Kath to investigate further.

Dermot reported that he had been unable to register with the online Ealing Today Newsletter so it was agreed we would drop this.

5. AGM

13 October is the date chosen for the AGM. At this there will be elections for the committee. All current members declared themselves willing to stand for re-election, but there are places for additional committee members if anyone else would like to consider standing. Kath will send notice of the meeting together with a request for any items for inclusion in the agenda with the email that goes out with these minutes. The minutes of last year’s AGM will be available on the blog.

6. AOB

There was no other business.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Friday 8 July 2011

Present: Angela Ayton (chair) Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Margaret Willson & Dermot Stone

1. The minutes of the last meeting on 26 April were approved.

.

Matters arising:

Regarding publicity, Angela reported that we have had a mention in the printed version of the Ealing Arts and Leisure Diary and that we will appear in the regular listings from this autumn. We already have a full regular entry in the online version On the 18^th July there is the AGM of Ealing Arts and Leisure meeting at 7.30 at 113 Uxbridge Road. Dermot agreed to attend plus anyone else who is able.

Dermot reported that he had not been able to get anywhere with the online Ealing Today newsletter but will give it another try. Judy reported that the Around Ealing magazine is no longer taking listings.

Regarding alternative venues, there has been no response from the Town Hall in spite of several phone calls from Helen and an attempt by Dermot to make contact. It was agreed that this should be left for now.

Regarding auditing of the accounts, Judy reported that Polly’s husband would probably be willing to do this.

2. Finances

Judy reported that after the end of term expenses we will have a balance of £281.78 plus a music fund of £243.00. It is assumed that everyone except for Annie will be coming back next year with perhaps new members.

Next term’s subscriptions can only be finalised at the next pre-term committee meeting when numbers are known, but it is hoped that they can be kept at the current level.

Regarding payment to Denis Sobrielo for the music he has given us, Margaret suggested that he would welcome cash rather than a gift. The sum of £100 was agreed on, to be paid out of the music fund. Margaret will take this round with a card and flowers when he returns.

3. Music Storage

A unit of storage at the Access Self Storage site on Boston Road has been reserved. The cost of this is £7.20 per month and the cost of insurance (which is compulsory) is £59.24 per annum. (NB When the cost of this is worked out for each member it comes to only 12p per session)

It was agreed that Kath would book a definite start date for asap when Judy has paid the insurance, after which a standing order can be set up for monthly payments. Mike can then make a start on building the shelves with old shelves from Kath’s house. Mike will need some input from Polly and Helen regarding the possibility of boxes.

4. Publicity

There has been one response to our publicity so far but it is unlikely that we are what this person is looking for.

It was agreed that we have more or less exhausted all the possible places for listings except for the online Ealing Today Newsletter - Dermot to follow this up – and that more A4 posters plus A5 leaflets should be our next move.

Various places for these were suggested. Angela agreed to write an email to all members to elicit further suggestions and to suggest a plan so that we coordinate the distribution of leaflet and posters.

5. Alternative Venues

It was agreed that although St Thomas’s church works reasonably well for us there is a need to keep our options open. The piano situation is not ideal, and the fact that there is to be a new vicar means that things could change. It was agreed, however, that we definitely expect to be there next year and that Judy would indicate this to their treasurer when she makes the next payment.

There was some discussion of the changes at TVU, now The University of West London. Rosie Crehan has left and at various meetings the university has claimed that they are interested in being involved in the community. It was agreed that it might be worth approaching them, perhaps next term, when we have made some enquiries about their community outreach/liaison person.

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Minutes of the Broken Consort Committee Meeting

Tuesday 26 April 2011 at 6pm

Present: Angela Ayton (chair) Judy Skelton (treasurer) Kath Russell (secretary) Margaret Willson & Dermot Stone

1. The minutes of the last meeting on 13 January were approved.

Matters arising:

As there has been no notification, it is assumed that no one (except for Emily) is stepping down this term. (see item 2)

The limit on numbers in the group has been set at 20 (see item 3)

2. Treasurer’s Report

Judy submitted a cash flow sheet showing a healthy surplus of £222.45. It was unanimously agreed that the current level of subscription be maintained.

Members have donated a total of £92 towards the music fund. Although none of this has been spent yet, it will be required in the near future for payment to Denis Sobrielo for his donation of a large amount of music to the group, and for hired storage for this. It was agreed, therefore, that members would be encouraged to continue making their generous donations to the fund.

3. Publicity

Angela reported that she had been in touch with John Hummerstone who edits the Ealing Arts & Leisure Diary of Events. It was agreed that an advert for recruitment to the Broken Consort would be placed in this leaflet which is published every two months. The cost for this is £32 per annum. Angela agreed to deal with this and to draft the entry.

Judy agreed to make enquiries about placing an entry in the Around Ealing magazine.

It was agreed that Penny would be approached with a view to designing a recruitment poster based on the wording agreed between Heather and Kath. An essential element of this is the contact address. There was some doubt as to whether the email Helen set up for the purpose is still accessible.

Kath agreed to make some enquiries about the online Ealing Today newsletter.

Judy proposed that we should have a budget for publicity and suggested a sum of around £100 to £150. This was left for later discussion.

4. Town Hall

Margaret expressed some doubt about using the Town Hall as a venue as she felt the local authority was likely to increase the fees, and that we would have no control over this. It was pointed out that we have no control over our current fees as there is always the possibility that a new vicar could increase them.

It was agreed that we should continue to explore the possibilities regarding the Town Hall facilities in order to keep our options open.

It was reported that our original contact, Fiona Elliot/McFarlane, has not responded to various email enquiries from Helen. Dermot agreed to attempt an online search for her line manager so that we can establish contact, and organise for Helen to view the rooms and arrange a trial session on one of our Thursday evenings this term.

5. Storage and Purchase of Music

It was reported that Polly is in the process of sorting and cataloguing a considerable amount of music donated by Denis. It was agreed that it will be necessary to have a clear idea of the volume of this before obtaining an estimate for hired storage. In addition to this we would need to know whether Helen would like to make use of the facility to store her own music that she uses with the group. A meeting for discussion of this will be necessary, probably at Polly’s house, so that the volume of music can be assessed. Angela agreed to set this meeting up.

Possible storage facilities were discussed. Judy agreed to get details about a storage facility in Acton, and Kath will enquire about a company in west Ealing and Boston Road.

6. AOB

Dermot suggested that a page of the blog could be dedicated to committee business. Helen is to be asked about this.

The business of having the accounts scrutinised by a qualified person was discussed. This has to be carried out before the AGM which will take place in the autumn term. It was agreed that Polly’s husband would be approached with a request to do this. Judy will send round the year’s accounts at the end of the financial year (31 July)