This summarises a talk given by Jonathan Meredith looking for a team to run the next CSFC event.
WHAT IS CHILDREN SINGING FOR CHILDREN?
When is it?
It is scheduled to take place on four consecutive nights in November. The dates are: 11th to 14th inc. November 2024
Where is it?
In the central and beautiful venue of Banbury St Marys’
Who takes part?
Banburyshire primary school choirs. Mostly quite local but often 2 or 3 from nearby Northamptonshire schools.
How many children have taken part?
Schools are limited to a maximum of 24 students and we normally accommodate 6 schools per night.
This keeps the numbers for the finale to within the 150 limit of what can be safely accommodated on the staging.
There may be some flexibility here if some schools have smaller choirs. We have had up to 27 schools over the 4 evenungs.
We’d estimate that , over the years, 7,500 and 8,000 children have experienced of taking part
How much has been raised?
In the years since 2006 when the club took over running the concerts, approximately £95,000 has been raised and this is whilst pursuing a policy of keeping ticket prices at £5 to avoid the situation where parents might not be able to afford to be part of the audience.
OVERVIEW OF THE TASKS?
Over the past few years, the club has been blessed with a steady team of members involved in the organisation, which is complex but can be divided into relatively discrete tasks. A new team is needed for 2024.
- Liaise with school choirs
- Engage musicians / conductors (inc fees)
- Liaise with charities beneficiaries
- Seek sponsors
- Decide and inviting guests / VIPs
- Appoint M.C.
- Distribute tickets to schools
- Collect ticket money from schools
- Agree availability of tickets in town.
- Agree any interval entertainment
- Collect door entrance money
More about school liaison
- Receive online registrations,
- Allocate schools to evenings,
- Agree finale songs,
- Make finale music and sound tracks available to schools
- Acertain if schools require pianist / sound tracks
- If sound tracks – get them before the event to put on the system
- If pianist – get music before the event
- Create rehearsal schedule taking account of distances
- Allocate seating areas to ensure smooth pupils flows
- Receive schools at the rehearsals
- Possibly select pupils to announce their songs.
Booking tasks
- Book St Marys Church
- Book sound system and lighting
- Book St Johns Ambulance cover
- Sort insurance cover
- Implement H&S risk assessments
IT based tasks
- Create online registration forms for schools
- Design programmes and get printed
- Create PowerPoint presentation
- Design tickets and get printed
- Design Posters and get printed
- Design certificate for schools
Club Based Tasks
- Prepare budget for council and club approval, maintain a record of income and expenditure
- Complete PR pro-forma for the event
- Prepare risk assessment forms
- Organise marshalls for the four evenings and rehearsals
- Organise erection and dismantling of staging• Schools – inviting all local primary schools for participation, monitoring replies, allocating to evenings, chasing songs and music, allocating rehearsal times.
• Venue – book dates, agree fees, book first aid attenders, confirm audience capacity, organise club members to steward and other duties on the evenings.
CAN YOU HELP FOR NOVEMBER 2024?
Having looked through these notes, do you have particular skill to take on some of the tasks or desire to be part of the 2024 team to secure the ongoing successes of this event and giving children and their parents amazing entertainment?