DAYTONES BARBERSHOP HARMONY CHORUS
CONSTITUTION & APPENDICES March 2022
1. NAME
The name of the Chorus shall be "DAYTONES BARBERSHOP HARMONY CHORUS".
2. ADDRESS
The address of the Chorus shall be that of the current Secretary.
3. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Chorus shall be:
a) to promote and encourage men's barbershop harmony singing;
b) to nurture members' well-being;
c) to contribute positively to the Chorus's local community financially, culturally and educationally;
d) to promote the Chorus as a healthy and enjoyable option for men in the area.
Competition shall be subsidiary to the above objectives.
4. CHORUS MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the Chorus shall be open to any man who wishes to sing with Daytones and wishes to support the Chorus in its endeavours.
Membership of the Chorus is not subject to a voice test.
Honorary Membership may be awarded from time to time by a decision of the Management Committee in recognition of long-standing contribution to the Chorus or as otherwise seems appropriate.
The position of Honorary Lifetime President may be awarded by the Management Committee to the member it considers has made an exceptional and longstanding contribution to the Chorus.
Rules of the Chorus to which members subscribe are described in Appendix 1.
5. MANAGEMENT OF THE CHORUS
The management of the Chorus shall be by a Management Committee which shall comprise the following Officers:
ChairmanSecretaryTreasurerSingout Secretary
Public Relations WebmasterWelfare Social Media
a) The Management Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
b) The quorum for Management Committee meetings shall be four.
c) The Chorus Director shall be an ex officio member of the Committee with full voting rights.
d) The Management Committee may from time to time co-opt a member or members to fill a vacant position on the Committee or to fulfil other functions to assist in the general running of the Chorus.
e) In the event of a voting tie in the Management Committee the Chairman’s vote will carry.
f) No Officer of the Chorus shall be remunerated or receive other financial benefit for services to the chorus.
6. THE CHORUS DIRECTOR
The Role of the Chorus Director is described in Appendix 2 below.
The Chorus Director shall be appointed by a General Meeting(AGM or EGM) of the Chorus on the recommendation of the Management Committee, and serve until the appointment is ended by his resignation or a decision of an Extraordinary General Meeting.
The Management Committee shall determine the nature of any benefit to be received by the Chorus Director.
7. MUSIC COMMITTEE
A Music Committee shall be formed by the Chorus Director, the Committee to be responsible for assisting the Chorus Director in the musical education and training of the Chorus. Copies of theMinutes of its meetings to be provided to the Management Committee Chairman and Secretary.
Members of the Committee shall include Chorus Director (as Chairman), Assistant Chorus Directors, Section Leaders, Webmaster, Librarian and any other members of the Chorus appointed by the Chorus Director.
8. FINANCIAL MATTERS
a) The Financial Year of the Chorus shall run from 1st September to 31st August.
b) The Financial Accounts of the Chorus shall be submitted to and approved by the Membership of the Chorus at the AGM within 8 weeks of the end of the financial year, and shall be audited in good time before the AGM.
c) Payments for club expenditure shall be made according to rules determined by the Management Committee. (See NOTES below for current arrangements.)
d) The income and property of the Chorus, whencesoever derived, shall be solely defrayed towards promoting the objectives of the Chorus.
e) Annual subscriptions shall be recommended by the Management Committee and agreed by members at the AGM for the year ahead, to be paid either annually or by monthly instalment.
9. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting shall be held within 8 weeks of the end of the financial year. Notice of the AGM shall be published at least 4 weeks before the meeting when the following business shall be conducted:
a) to agree the minutes of the previous AGM and any EGMs;
b) to receive and approve reports from Officers of the Chorus;
c) to elect Officers for the year ahead;
d) to appoint an individual to audit the Accounts for the year ahead;
e) to agree the rate of Annual Subscription and any other charges;
f) to discuss items of which the Secretary has had two weeks' written prior notice.
No other items may be raised at the AGM.
10. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
a) The Management Committee may call an EGM as it considers necessary.
b) An EGM may be called by a resolution of an AGM.
c) An EGM may be called by a request in writing to the Secretary specifying the item(s) to be discussed and signed by at least 10 members of the Chorus or two thirds of the total membership whichever is smaller.
d) Notice of an EGM shall be published at least two weeks before the date of the meeting, stating the nature of the item(s) to be discussed.
f) No other items may be raised at an EGM.
11. VOTING RIGHTS
The right to vote at an EGM or AGM shall be restricted to Members whose subscriptions are paid up, such members to have one vote.
In the event of a voting tie in an EGM or AGM the Chairman’s vote will carry.
12. DISSOLUTION OF THE CHORUS
a) The Chorus may be dissolved by a resolution at an AGM or EGM which shall receive the support of two thirds of the membership at that meeting.
b) In the event of the dissolution of the Chorus, any balance of cash after all assets have been realised shall be distributed only to such charitable organisations with similar objectives which the meeting shall decide upon.
13. OTHER MATTERS
The Management Committee shall decide upon any matter not covered in this Constitution.
APPENDIX 1.
RULES OF THE CHORUS
1. The Chorus takes seriously its responsibility for adhering to General Data Protection Regulation legislation. All data is collected for the purpose of the efficient running of the Chorus and to facilitate member-to-member communication. All members are required to give or withhold written consent for the storing of any or all personal data held by the Chorus, and it is the responsibility of all members to handle such data to conformwith the legislation. In particular, no personal data of members shall be divulged to any third party outside the Chorus or used for purposes unrelated to the Chorus without the express permission of the member or members.
2. The Chorus strictly conforms with the requirements of Copyright and arrangers' licence arrangements. Chorus members are required to agree that there shall be no illegal copying of sheet or audio music and strictly no sharing outside the Chorus.
3. From time to time, the Chorus may wish to use still photographs or video recordings for the Chorus website or other publicity purposes. It is the responsibility of individual Chorusmembers to state in writing if they wish to be excluded from such images.
4. The Chorus is insured through the group Making Music scheme. This insurance covers Chorus responsibility for accidental, member-to-member injury and public liability for the Chorus. At all times members should take reasonable care to avoid any accident and should review their personal insurance cover for other risks.
5. Any member may be required to leave the Chorus should he bring the Chorus into disrepute or should he otherwise cause damage to the purposes of the Chorus, such requirement having been proposed by the Management Committee and voted forwith a two thirds majority by the members at an EGM.
APPENDIX 2.
ROLE OF THE CHORUS DIRECTOR
The Chorus Director shall be responsible for:
a) effecting the musical education and training of the Chorus taking into account the characteristics and abilities of members, with a view to improving performance and delivering entertaining programmes enjoyed by both singers and audiences;
b) conducting the Chorus at singouts, shows, and other performances, and delegating this responsibility to others when he is unavailable;
c) selecting music for the Chorus;
d) preparing programmes for rehearsals & performances, and sending these to Chorus members in advance of rehearsal;
e) appointing Assistant Directors after discussion with the Management Committee, and identifying and developing suitable singers for such positions;
f) appointing Section Leaders;
g) chairing meetings of the Music Committee;
h) liaising closely with the Chairman of the Chorus and assisting with the achievement of the Chorus's Constitutional Objectives.
APPENDIX 3.
HISTORICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
The original Constitution was approved by AGM on 14th September, 2004.
An EGM of 15th May, 2007 added paragraph 9e (now 8d)Income and Property, and Paragraph 12b Club Dissolution was improved.
The AGM of 16th September, 2008 Paragraph 1 altered the name from "Daytones Harmony Barbershop Chorus" to "Daytones Barbershop Harmony Chorus" and Paragraph 7 added Welfare Officer to the Management Committee.
The AGM on 15th September, 2009 brought up to date Paragraph 4 Club Membership, the first sentence to recognise that the Chorus sings Male Barbershop.
The EGM of 5th March, 2013 amended Paragraph 3 to increase the timeframe for submitting accounts from 6 to 8 weeks from the end of the Financial Year.
The AGM of 14th October, 2014 changed the term "subscription" to "Annual Subscription" in Paragraph 6.
The EGM of 18th August 2020 revised several paragraphs throughout the document and added the Appendices and Notes.
The EGM of 22nd March 2022 added the position of Honorary Life President to the Chorus Membership.
NOTES:
Arrangements for settling club expenses (at 30th July, 2020) are as follows:-
1. Amounts up to £100 - Cheques signed and bank transfers made by one of the three Authorised Officers, ie. the Treasurer, the Chairman, and the Secretary.
2. Amounts over £100 - Invoices endorsed by one of the three Authorised Officers and then passed to another for signing the cheque or making the bank transfer.
March 2022
