STRINGS ATTACHED
Minutes of the 14th Annual General Meeting held on 14 March 2025 at 1200 at 9 Powis Square, Brighton
| Present: |
David Botibol, Sandie Botibol, Jill Bourne, Christine Moon, Paul Moore, Margaret Polmear, Helen Simpson (Chair), Betty Skolnick |
| Apologies: |
Apologies for absence were received from Guy Richardson. |
1 Chair’s welcome
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2 To receive the minutes of the twelfth Annual General Meeting held on 14 April 2024
The minutes were accepted as a true record of the meeting.
Proposed: Christine Moon
Seconded: Betty Skolnick
3 To receive the Annual Report of the Committee of Strings Attached
The report was received.
The Chair drew attention to the pleasing number of people attending the concerts including the take up of free tickets for those aged 8-25 offered through the Cavatina scheme. It was noted with sadness that the Cavatina scheme has announced that it will cease to operate for an indefinite period but that the committee of Strings Attached will be discussing at its meeting immediately following the AGM how free tickets might still be made available to 8-25 year olds next season.
Thanks were extended to David Botibol for his invaluable technical support and to Chris Darwin for maintaining the calendar of concerts and local players directory and for access to his extensive library of programme notes. It was agreed that the committee would discuss how best to make the programme notes not written by Chris more accessible for possible future use.
4 To receive the financial accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023
The independently examined financial accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 were received.
It was noted that income and expenditure are in harmony thanks to members’ donations in addition to membership subscriptions. The Treasurer drew attention to three aspects of the accounts:
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- We needed to pay for printing and stationery in 2024 whereas we had not been charged for this by Brighton Dome the previous year.
- Expenditure on refreshments greatly increased in 2024 compared to 2023 because of the need to use external caterers in the new Corn Exchange set up.
- Expenditure on the website was significantly less in 2024 than in 2023 when the website was completely overhauled.
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5 To agree the annual subscription rate for 2025/26
It was proposed that the annual subscription for the year 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026 should remain unchanged at £10 (free for students).
Proposed: Christine Moon
Seconded: Jill Bourne
6 General Data Protection Regulation: data protection policy and register of systems
It was explained that Strings Attached is required to present its data protection policy and register of systems for examination at each Annual General Meeting, the documents having been reviewed by the committee at its meeting prior to the AGM. The committee, it was reported, felt no changes were necessary were necessary to either document and this was accepted.
7 To appoint members to the committee
It was reported that nobody had come forward to join the committee but that all members of the outgoing committee, including Jill Bourne, a recently co-opted member, are willing to serve for a further year. All were duly appointed.
Proposed: David Botibol
Seconded: Paul Moore
It was suggested that the profiles of members of the committee on the Strings Attached website should be more prominently displayed and agreed that the committee would look into this.
8 Any further issues for consideration
A member asked whether the change of regime at Brighton Dome following the departure of Andrew Comben and appointment of Lucy Davies as Chief Executive was likely to impact the provision of classical music and the coffee concerts in particular. The Chair indicated that she had had a meeting with Lucy Davies who had expressed commitment to classical music despite its needing to be subsidised. It was noted that arrangements for the 2025/26 season of coffee concerts are almost in place and that details would be made available to Strings Attached members shortly.
There being no further issues for consideration, the Chair formally thanked Amanda Northcote-Green and the Brighton Dome staff generally for the smooth running of the coffee concerts and members of the committee for all their work during the past year.
MP/14.03.25