Oxford and Cambridge Musical Club

Annual General Meeting

held on Saturday 11^th April 2003
in the Housman Room, University College, London

Chairman: Lyn Parkyns

Minutes

The meeting opened at 5.30pm and was attended by approximately 45 members

1. Apologies for absence

Derek Smith, Pauline Kahn, Pamela Tomlinson

2. Minutes of previous meeting

The minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting (on March 9th 2002) were read and accepted.

Matters arising : Lyn Parkyns reported that she has now delivered the Club Archives (ie the pre-1940 membership records of the Club) to the Bodleian Library, as agreed at last year’s AGM

3. Membership Secretary’s Report

Richard Wood (as outgoing Membership Secretary) reported on changes in membership numbers over the past 12 months. After two previous years when the book membership had declined, largely as result of a purge on persistent non-payers, 2002/3 had seen the membership stabilise with a small net increase of 4 taking overall membership to 208 (formerly 204). This was a result of 10 new members, offset by a loss of 6 existing members (2 resigned, 2 died, 2 lapsed).

Lyn Parkyns thanked Richard for the sterling work which he has done as Membership Secretary for a number of years and for the efficiency which he has brought to this essential function..

4. Music Secretary’s Report

Alan Reddish reported on the musical events of the previous 12 months. His report, describing the large number of unusual works and performances is attached.

5. Treasurer’s Report

Libby Summers presented the Club accounts for the year 2002/3. These show that the running costs of the Club continue to exceed income by over £1,000 pa. Libby circulated a further analysis showing expenditure incurred for individual concerts. This shows that the main cause of the problem lies in the steep increase in charges for room hire, affecting rehearsal rooms as well as concert venues.

There was general acceptance of the need both for an increase in the subscription and for the Club to be more budget-conscious in the way that it operates. Particular points raised in discussion were

• more economy was needed in the planning of orchestral concerts. The idea of having only one rehearsal for orchestral concerts was thought to be impracticable, however it was felt that if a cut has to be made it should be in the number of orchestral concerts, particularly those which require the hiring of instrumental players. This would not apply to the Opera or to orchestral workshops. Libby Summers pointed out that this kind of economy is already being made and the current year’s programme of orchestral concerts will be considerably less expensive than last year’s
• a suggestion that the frequency of concerts should be reduced to one per month was not supported

Other useful suggestions and discussion points were

• the Club should make a practice of charging for food and drink on occasions when these are provided
• concert participants might be asked to pay their own costs for hire of music
• more effort should be made to attract new members
• the recent switch from postal mailing to e-mail for transmission of concert programmes (which now applies to 80 members) should result in a net saving of around £250 pa in the current year
• Alan Reddish as Music Secretary felt it was important that in our quest for economy we should not lose sight of the Club’s objective of performing interesting music which may sometimes call for special budgeting. He gave as an example the forthcoming Lennox Berkeley Violin Concerto. This will involve higher-than-usual costs for hire of copies.

Jack Waddell Bequest

Payments from this bequest have been received over a period of years as they became available from the estate as it is wound up. The final payment has now been received bringing the total bequest to £5,070. It is intended to invest this money in a special fund so that the income from the fund can be used for payment of professional fees to soloists in major performances.

In proposing the adoption of the Treasurer’s Report, Richard Wood thanked Libby Summers for the discipline which she had brought to the Club’s finances and complimented her particularly for the useful innovation of analysing the Club’s expenses for individual concerts.

6. Increase in Annual Subscription

Several members commented that the subscription would still be excellent value even after a £5 increase. The only question that was raised was whether an increase of £5 would be enough. Percy Timberlake said, from experience of the last occasion when the subscription was increased, that any increase usually resulted in a loss of members. It would therefore be advisable to limit the increase to what was proposed.

The motion was then put, that the subscription should be increased as follows :

• Ordinary member £30.00
• Couple at same address £45.00
• Students or unwaged £15.00
• Country member £15.00

It was passed unanimously (nem con)

7. Elections

12 Committee members were elected as follows :

8. Any other business

Hugh Rosenbaum’s proposal, that the annual Club Calendar and fixture list should run from September to July rather than January to December, was discussed. This is likely to be introduced in 2004, when the regular calendar issued in January will run only to July to be followed in September by a new 12-month calendar.

In discussing how to make the E-mail facility more accessible and easier to use, Sue Estermann asked whether concert programmes could be sent as e-mail attachments, thus avoiding the extra process and expense of having to log on to the website. Andrew Westlake said he was in the process of introducing various changes to the system to make it make it more accessible and easy-to-use, and he hoped that the system would soon be capable of providing the facility requested.

The meeting closed at 6.20pm and was followed by the AGM Concert and Party.