THE SOCIETY OF RECORDER PLAYERS

Registered Charity No. 282751<BR>Scottish Registered Charity No. SC038422

MINUTES OF ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Sunday, 7 April 2002

Tormead School, 27 Cranley Road, Guildford GU1 2JD

Present:

Officers, Committee & Musical Advisers:

Andrew Short Alistair Read Brian Fraser-Hook John Allen Jim Rowley Graham Danbury Bob Horsley

Chairman Secretary Treasurer Membership Secretary COS Chairman, WBF Publicity Officer

Alyson Lewin David Beare Denis Bloodworth Margaret Shearing Sylvia Davies Evelyn Nallen Colin Touchin

MA on Comte Committee Committee Committee Committee Musical Adviser M/A elect

Branches

Aberdeen Beds & N Herts Birmingham (Observer Bristol Cambridge Chelt. & Glos Cornwall Cumbria Devon Dorset East Berks (Observer Edinburgh Guildford (Observer Ireland (Observer Kent (Observer Leicester

Douglas Haston Stephen Marlowe Jim Rowley Peter Cooke) Margaret Leach Anne Walston Arthur Humphrey Angela Dumbreck Helen Beare Jeanette Hipsey Alison Powell Andrew Challinger Norma Herdson) Eileen Finlayson Dick Pyper Rosemary Whisson) Patricia Flanagan Ciara Flanagan) Ursula Burchette David Harris) Sylvia Davidson

Lincoln London Manchester Mid-Herts Newcastle North Cotswold North London Northampton Nuneaton (Observer Oxford Somerset South Downs South London (Observer Suffolk Warwick Weald of Kent Wessex West Dorset York

Anita Spencer Ann English David Scruby Moira Fraser-Hook Joan Reeve Anne Childs Barbara Hogg Sheila Marlowe Philip Goode Vivian Goode) Helga Bogisch-Francis Joyce Rudall Alan Lane Margaret Crocker Paula Marsh) Mary Halliwell Helen Jones Anne Trevillion Shirley Batterley Robin Powell David Grosvenor

The Chairman welcomed the Committee and Delegates to the Conference and congratulated Guildford Branch on the success of the Festival.

1. Apologies for absence were received from Brian Bonsor, Paul Clark, Andrew Collis, Sandra Foxall, Helen Hooker, Edgar Hunt, Petrina Lodge, Colin Martin, Hilary Oliver, Layton Ring, Anthony Rowland-Jones, Madeline Seviour and Theo Wyatt (Officers, Committee and Musical Advisers); and from the following branches: Cleveland, Glasgow, Hillfoots, Isle of Man, Milton Keynes, Norfolk, Nottingham, Roxburgh, Sheffield, South Staffs. and West Riding.

The deaths were noted, with regret, of Bill England (Manchester) and Ron Jackson (Mid-Herts).

2. Minutes of last Conference

With the under-mentioned corrections Dick Pyper (Guildford) proposed and David Beare (Cumbria) seconded the motion that the Minutes of Conference 2001 be adopted as a fair record of those proceedings. Carried nem con.

Min (1) line 7: should read…Geoff Hall

Min (4) line 2: should read…Ursula Burchette (Kent)

Min (7) line 7 should read…Denis Bloodworth

Min (8) line 1 should read…Easter 31 March

3. There were no Matters arising

4. Endorsement of Committee nominations

4.1 New Musical Adviser

Conference was pleased to RATIFY the appointment of Colin Touchin as Musical Adviser. Carried nem con.

4.2 Honorary Life Membership

Conference was pleased to RATIFY the appointment of Robert Harrison as Honorary Life Member of the Society upon his retirement after 27 years’ service as honorary auditor. Carried nem con.

9. Future of CSRP [Taken out of Agenda order]

Following lengthy discussion on the future of the Certificate of the SRP, Conference AGREED that it was something that should not be allowed to fall by the wayside, rather it should be redefined and training given to assist candidates. It was felt that, in the fullness of time, accreditation should be sought. Meanwhile the matter should be referred back to Committee for further discussion. (Action: Committee)

5. Election of Officers and Committee

5.1 The Chairman said all Officers were prepared to stand for re-election. He pointed out that Mary Tyers had taken over as Competition Administrator in place of Patricia Davies. The current Officers were proposed en bloc by Margaret Crocker (South London); seconded by Andrew Challinger (East Berkshire) and ELECTED nem con. by Conference for a further term of one year.

5.2 Committee Members: As Denis Bloodworth (South London) and Petrina Lodge (Cambridge) were due to retire this year, the following nominations had been received:

Committee	Proposed by	Seconded by
Norma Herdson (East Berks) Peter Sturgeon (Nottingham)	Andrew Short Andrew Short	Alistair Read Alistair Read

Sandra Foxall’s candidature was withdrawn following the decision to review the CSRP. She is presently Examination Secretary.

Six other nominees declined to have their names put forward for consideration.

There being two nominees for two places on the Committee Norma Herdson and Peter Sturgeon were elected unopposed to serve for a period of three years.

Under the Society’s amended Rule 5(i), Colin Martin succeeds Paul Clark as Musical Adviser on Committee

6. Officers' Reports

The Chairman reminded Conference that written reports from all Officers had been circulated with the papers for the meeting. He thanked the Officers for their work during the past year. Some Officers added to their reports or answered questions:

6.1 Publicity Officer: Although Bob Horsley had nothing to add, the Chairman said he had received a detailed report from the Web Editor, Mr Ashley Allerton, which revealed that interest in our website was receiving hits from around the world. He went on to say that Ashley would be pleased to add branch information to the website.

6.2 Graham Danbury said that, whilst he had nothing to add to his written report, he wished to bring to Conference’s attention the fact that 14 September 2002 was the centenary of Walter Bergmann’s birth. Marion Scott (?and others) were organising a concert at the end of the year to commemorate this and he hoped that branches would also organise fund-raising events in his memory during the course of the ensuing year.

6.3 In the absence of the Competition Administrator, the Chairman fielded questions as to its relevance to the SRP of the Moeck/SRP Solo Recorder Competition and there followed a lengthy discussion. The Chairman said that discussions between the SRP and Moeck were scheduled to take place in the near future and the suggestions that had been made from the floor would be borne in mind.

6.4 Dick Pyper (Guildford) proposed and David Grosvenor (York) seconded the motion that the accounts for year ended 31 August 2001 be adopted. Carried nem con. Turning to the current financial year, the Treasurer said he still had not received subscriptions from York Branch and apologised for saying in his report that London Recorder Orchestra had not paid their affiliated subscription. Other branches mentioned in the report have now paid their subscriptions with the exception of York. A discussion then followed with regard to the Arthur Ingram legacy. In concluding, Brian Fraser-Hook pointed out that, as a registered charity, we were in no position to use the legacy to prop up the day-to-day cost of running the Society; the principal had to be invested or used on a capital project. It was the Committee’s view that funding a National Youth Recorder Orchestra was just such a capital project. Should the Society divide the legacy among branches, say, our charitable status could be seriously jeopardised. In answer to a question, he confirmed that separate accounts, similar to those presented for the Walter Bergmann Fund, would be produced in future years. With regard to the Society’s financial state, Brian reported that there would be a likely deficit at the end of the current financial year. Accordingly, he had no option but to ask Conference to approve an increase in annual subscription as set out in his report. Proposed: The Treasurer; seconded: Jeanette Hipsey (Devon) and AGREED by Conference.

7. Future Festivals The following arrangements were noted:

2003 Manchester Branch: William Hulme’s Grammar School, 26/27 April [Easter 20 April]

2004 Wessex Branch: St Swithun’s School, Winchester 16/17 April [Easter 11 April]

2005 East Berkshire Branch (Date and venue to be advised) [Easter 27 March]

2006 Cumbria Branch (Date and venue to be advised) [Easter 16 April]

8. National Youth Recorder Orchestra

The Chairman opened the debate by saying that he and Colin Touchin had produced an application and a financial plan for presentation to the National Foundation for Youth Music in an effort to secure funding for NYRO. Regrettably, the application had failed because it did not meet all the criteria of the scheme although we had been encouraged to reapply under a different scheme in the future. Accordingly, the SRP Committee agreed to underwrite the cost of the first course, to be held at Malvern, and inaugural concert, to be held at Adrian Boult Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire on 5 June 2002. The Chairman stressed that the Society could not afford to subvent this project on an on-going basis but hoped that by proving it was possible to run such a venture successfully future funding might be more easily obtained. The sum, from the Arthur Ingram legacy, was £14,000. Andrew Short then asked Colin Touchin to give a report to Conference. He opened by expressing thanks to Andrew Short for all his hard work and to the Committee for their financial backing and outlined the progress so far made. Facts and figures from his paper are attached to the Officers’ Reports.

10. Resolution to Conference: Amendment to the Rules

The Chairman explained that this resolution arose out of Conference 2001 Minute 6(2) to amend the Rules in order that musical advisers serve on Committee in rotation. Proposed: Committee; seconded: Ursula Burchette (Kent). Conference AGREED, nem con., that the following changes be made to the Society’s Rules:

(5) (i) Musical Advisers shall be appointed to the Committee by rotation on such basis as the Committee shall from time to time resolve

(j) The other members of the Committee shall be elected at an Annual Conference of the Society from members nominated as hereinafter provided. Where the number of nominations exceeds the number of vacancies on the Committee the election of Committee members shall be by secret ballot amongst those eligible to vote at the Annual Conference

(k) One Musical Adviser and two other members of the Committee shall retire annually by rotation, those to retire in each year being the Musical Adviser and the two other members who have respectively served longest since their election, last re-election or appointment to the Committee (and if there shall be more than one Musical Adviser or two such members who have served an identical length of time those to retire shall in each case be the one or those whose surnames are alphabetically earlier.) Retiring members of the Committee shall not be eligible for re-election as Committee members for a period of one year thereafter although they may be elected to any vacant office of the Society in accordance with rule 5(h)

11. Any other business

11.1 In answer to a question, Graham Danbury confirmed that gifts to branches of the Society were eligible for gift aid tax relief.

11.2 Sylvia Davies (Committee/Bristol) confirmed that she had now received a list of the larger sets of Edgar Hunt’s music. She went on to say that, with there being such a large quantity, finding a home for it would be difficult; Theo Wyatt had, however, offered to store it in the short term (with the London Branch Library) and was willing to send it out on loan provided the branch/tutor wishing to make use of it paid for the postage in both directions. It was agreed that a list of the music would be distributed with the next mailing of Society papers and published on the web. Sylvia said there was also a vast amount of other music which would be sold off at Summer Schools and other venues, the proceeds going to the Walter Bergmann Fund.

11.3 Douglas Haston (Aberdeen) said he was willing to place branches’ music libraries on a database suitable for the web. He was, however, unable to undertake the typing, only the collating of previously organised databases.

11.4 Paula Marsh (South London) proposed and Helen Beare (Cumbria) seconded a vote of thanks to the Committee for all their work behind the scenes.

The Conference closed at 12.35 pm

01.05.02

Minutes (Final.2) 2002