CITY OF BIRMINGHAM CHOIR
RULES
NAME
The name shall be 'The City of Birmingham
Choir’. The Choir is a company limited by guarantee and not
having a Share Capital. In the event of the Choir being wound up each
member's liability is limited to £1.
AIMS AND OBJECTS
The aims and objects are set out fully
in the Articles and Memorandum of Association of the Choir and comprise
briefly: to promote, improve, develop, and maintain public education
in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all aspects,
by presentation of public concerts and recitals and in such other ways
as the Choir, through its Board, shall determine.
CONSTITUTION
The Choir shall be constituted as follows:
President, Officers as detailed in rule
9,
Singing Members, Associate Members and
Honorary Life Members.
Singing members shall be accepted from
applicants who have satisfied the Conductor or his nominee or an Auditions
Board as to their ability. A Singing Member so admitted shall be entitled
to retain his or her membership until he or she shall resign or until
the Board of Management (the Board) shall request him or
her to terminate membership, Any member who fails to attend four consecutive
rehearsals or a concert without good reason, of which prior notice is
to be given to the Choral Secretary, shall be deemed to have offered
his or her resignation to the Board.
The decision of the Board in respect
of termination shall be final.
Associate members shall have no part
in the management of, nor interest in the funds. They will receive benefits
and pay a subscription determined by the Board.
Honorary Life Members may be elected
by the Board in recognition of special service to the Choir, but shall
have no part in the management nor interest in the funds.
AUDITIONS
At the invitation of the Board the Conductor
or his nominee shall normally conduct auditions. However, the
Board may appoint a group consisting of four or more persons, whose
duty it shall be to examine applicants and report to the Board on their
fitness as Singing Members.
The Board may at any time require members
to submit themselves for re-audition.
REGISTER
A register of all members' names, addresses,
voices and numbers, shall be kept by the Choral Secretary, and any member
changing his or her address shall forthwith notify the Choral or General
Secretary to that effect.
REHEARSALS
Rehearsals of two hours' minimum duration
shall be held every Tuesday evening, commencing early in September,
at 6.30 p.m. prompt, at the Friends' Meeting House, Bull Street.
No rehearsals shall normally he held in the months of July and August.
nor on the Tuesdays in the Easter, Christmas and Spring Holiday weeks.
The Board may at any time alter or vary the days, times, or places of
rehearsals or arrange additional rehearsals as required.
The Board shall be entitled to exclude
a Singing Member from participating in any concert given by the Choir
unless that Member shall have attended at least 75% of the total number
of rehearsals for that concert, including the final rehearsal or such
greater or lesser percentage as the Board shall from time to time determine.
CONCERTS
Concerts shall be given and participation
in other concerts arranged at the discretion of the Board. Singing members
are expected to take part in all concerts promoted by the choir. Where
this is not possible, the Choral Secretary must be informed of the reasons
at least eight weeks before the concert. Members not taking part in
choir promoted concerts on a regular basis will be deemed to have offered
their resignation to the Board. Unless specified otherwise, concert
dress for ladies shall consist of a dress of a colour and design as
proposed by a specially constituted advisory group, approved by the
Board and by the Choir in general meeting. Men shall wear dinner suit
with white shirt and black bow tie.
MUSIC
Members who fail to return music which
has been loaned to them, to the Librarian, shall be liable to pay the
cost of such music and any resulting additional charges.
BUSINESS
The management of the Choir shall be
vested in a Board of Management made up as follows:
President, Chairman, Deputy Chairman,
General Secretary, Treasurer, Marketing Manager, Choral Secretary, Publicity
Secretary, Ticket Secretary, Social Secretary, the retiring Chairman,
Making Music delegate, three ladies and three gentlemen singing members.
The Board may, at its discretion, amend
the number, titles and job descriptions of the officers.
The election of Officers and Members
of the Board, with the exception of the retiring Chairman, shall be
by nomination and ballot. Nominations signed by the proposer,
seconder and nominee must be sent to the General Secretary two weeks
before the date of the election. Elected Officers shall take up office
after the following Annual General Meeting. The Officers so elected
shall serve initially for a period of two years and may be renominated
for further periods of two years.
Any board member who is not an officer
who has served for two consecutive periods shall be ineligible for election
for one year, unless renominated as an Officer.
The Chairman shall hold office for two
years, the Deputy Chairman shall succeed to the post of Chairman after
two years. The retiring Chairman shall remain a board member for a further
period of two years. In the event of the Chair, Deputy Chair or their
designated successors being unable to assume office, or resign during
their planned term, the board may invite a serving member to take the
office in a temporary capacity (normally for no longer than one season)
until the succession defined in this rule is re-established.
In the event of a vacancy occurring
for any reason, the Board shall have the power to fill the vacancy until
the next Annual General Meeting. The Board may also co-opt other members,
not exceeding two, who shall remain on the Board until the next Annual
General Meeting..
The purpose of the Board shall be to
direct and implement the business of the Choir, including the appointment
of a conductor, Deputy Conductor(s) and Accompanist(s). The Board may
delegate responsibilities to specific groups with appropriate terms
of reference. Five members including one of the Chairman, Deputy-Chairman
or General Secretary shall form a quorum.
The Board shall meet at such times and
places as it shall determine, but at least six times in the financial
year. The General Secretary shall give to each Member of the Board adequate
written notice of each such meeting. Dates of the season’s meetings
shall be displayed on the choir notice board.
Any four members of the Board may request
the General Secretary in writing to convene a meeting of the Board and
the General Secretary shall be obliged to comply with such a request
by convening a meeting of the Board within one month from the date of
such request.
Any Board member not attending meetings
without good cause will be deemed to have resigned.
Any member of the Choir may request
the Board to consider a point at a meeting, provided adequate notice
is given in writing before that meeting. Meetings of the Board
shall be chaired by the Chairman of the Choir, or in his absence, by
the Deputy Chairman of the Choir or General Secretary. At all such meetings
the Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
FINANCE
10a. INCOME
The income and property of the Choir,
whencesoever derived, shall be applied solely towards the promotion
of the objects of the Choir as set forth in its rules, and no portion
shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly, byway of dividend,
bonus or payment of a professional fee to any member or members of the
Choir. On the winding up of the Choir, any remaining assets shall
be handed over to a society or Association having similar aims and objectives
and which is established for charitable purposes only.
10b. SUBSCRIPTONS
A subscription shall become payable
on acceptance for membership and at the beginning of each subsequent
season.
New members joining after 1st
January in any season shall pay a subscription equal to 1/3 of
the full subscription. Members under the age of 18, and those registered
unemployed shall pay a subscription equal to 50% of the full subscription.
Members in full time education shall not be required to pay a subscription.
Any member not paying the required subscription
for a year shall be deemed to have offered his or her resignation.
The amount of the subscription shall
be reviewed annually by the Board and recommended for adoption in general
meeting, normally the Annual General Meeting. The recommendation will
be supported by appropriate financial information.
The Treasurer may, at his discretion,
accept payment of subscriptions in stages.
10c. SPECIAL FUNDS
The Board shall have power to appropriate
any part of the income or property of the Choir (including any money
and property arising as a result of any lottery or other income-producing
venture organised by the Choir) to such special fund or funds, to be
applied for such purposes (subject to rule 10a) as the Board shall determine.
10d. CHEQUES
All cheques drawn on the Choir's account
shall be signed by any two of the Chairman, Deputy-Chairman, retiring
Chaiman, General Secretary and the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be
empowered to transfer funds between accounts.
AUDIT
The Treasurer's accounts shall be audited
by a firm of qualified accountants or an individual qualified accountant,
who shall have been appointed in accordance with the requirements of
the Companies Acts and other legislation governing the choir’s management.
GENERAL MEETINGS OF THE
CHOIR
12a. NOTICE OF MEETINGS
Notice of all meetings, specifying the
date, place and business to be transacted shall be displayed at rehearsal
(or notified by post to each member on official leave of absence) at
least 3 weeks before the date fixed for each such meeting.
12b. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS
An Annual General Meeting shall be held
each year, for which a report approved by the Board and a statement
of the Treasurer's accounts shall be circulated to members 3 weeks beforehand.
The agenda shall include adoption of a rate of subscription for the
forthcoming season, a report from the Conductor, announcement of officers
and Members of the Board for the forthcoming season, plus any other
business.
Twenty-five singing members shall form
a quorum.
12c. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL
MEETINGS
An Extraordinary General Meeting shall
be held on the requisition of a quorum of the Board, or on written requisition
by any 10 singing members, such requisitions to state the business to
come before the Extraordinary Meeting. Only such business as is
so notified shall be transacted at such an Extraordinary Meeting.
Twenty-five singing members shall form
a quorum.
12d. CHAIRMANSHIP OF GENERAL
MEETINGS
A General Meeting shall normally be
chaired by the President or, in his absence, by the Chairman
of the Choir.
At all such meetings the Chairman of
the meeting shall have a casting vote.
12e.
Every singing member shall have one vote, but no member other than a
singing member duly registered, who shall have paid every subscription
or other sum (if any), which shall be due and payable to the Choir,
shall be entitled to vote on any question at any General Meeting,
ALTERATIONS
Alterations to these rules may be made
at any General Meeting, provided that the proposed alterations have
been given to the General Secretary and are included in the notice calling
that meeting, and that at least 75% of the members present and qualified
to vote approve such alterations.
PRECEDENCE
These rules shall be subservient to
the Memorandum and Articles of Association and to any future changes
in Company Law.
version updated October 2004