Sheffield Youth
Orchestra

Constitution

1. Name

The Society shall be called the 'Sheffield Youth Orchestra' (hereafter
called the 'SYO').



2. Objectives

The advancement of the musical education of young people to increase
their knowledge, understanding and love of music, and their ability
to develop musically and be given the opportunity to perform to the
most advanced standard of which they are capable.

3. Membership

Membership of SYO shall be as follows.

a. Playing members, who normally shall be under the age of twenty-five
years and be deemed by the Director or Music/Principal Conductor for
the time being to be competent in musicianship.

b. Associate Playing
Members, who normally shall be under the age of twenty-nine years, and
shall be selected/approved by the Council.

c.
Officers, principal conductor,
patrons, and honorary members.

4. Officers

The officers of the SYO shall be as follows.

a. Non-executive:
President, and such number of Vice-Presidents as shall be determined
from time to time by the Council.

b. Executive:

Chairman, Vice-Chairman, General Secretary, Treasurer,
Director of Music, and other such officers as shall be appointed from
time-to-time (see Annex A).

All officers shall be honorary
with the exception of the Director of Music in the event that he/she
is the Principal Conductor.



5. Election
of Officers

The President and Vice-Presidents shall be elected by majority vote
of the members at the Annual General Meeting following nominations by
Council. The executive officers of the SYO shall be elected by majority
vote of members at the Annual General Meeting of the SYO following nominations
at the AGM.

6. Tenure
of Office

The executive officers of the SYO shall hold office from the time of
election until the Annual General Meeting following.



7. Council

The Council of the SYO shall have the following composition.

a. The
Officers of the SYO.

b. The
Principal Conductor.

c. A
maximum of four playing members of the SYO, one of whom shall be the
Leader of the SYO ex officio.
Playing members shall be elected by majority vote of the playing members
of the SYO at the Annual General Meeting.

d. Up
to three other Council members who shall be elected by majority vote
of members at the Annual General Meeting.



8. Principal Conductor

The Principal Conductor shall be appointed by the Council. His/her
tenure of office shall be determined by the Council annually on a yearly
rolling basis, announced at the AGM, and take effect from the following
September. His/her emoluments shall be determined by the Council and
reviewed annually. He/she will be required to undergo police vetting,
the cost of which shall be paid by SYO. In the event of a vacancy in
this position, Council shall advertise the post as widely as possible,
and be responsible for interviewing one or more candidates prior to
making an appointment.

9. Casual
Vacancies

The Council may fill casual vacancies among the officers by co-option,
and may also from time to time invite other persons to attend Council
meetings.



10. Meetings
of Council

Meetings of the Council shall be called by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman
as he/she thinks fit.

A quorum for a meeting of the Council shall be seven.

11. Powers
of the Council

The Council shall control all finances of the Orchestra and shall
have all administrative powers as are necessary for the proper implementation
of the objectives and work of the SYO.



12. Responsibility

The SYO and Council shall not be held responsible for the actions
of individual members or groups of members or associates unless such
actions accord with the decisions of the Council or, in cases of emergency,
have been agreed by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Council and
any one other Executive Officer.

13. Duties
of Members of the Council

The duties of members of the Council are appended to this document
as Annex A.



14. Conductors
and Tutors

The conductor and tutors for each concert shall be appointed by
the Council.



15. Subscriptions

The annual subscription for playing members of the SYO shall be
determined by the Council.



16. Finance

SYO shall be a Charity registered with HM Charity Commissioners.

The SYO shall have its own Bank Account
and may in addition have a Building Society Account. Payments into such
Building Society Account shall be made exclusively to and from the SYO
Bank Account.

All cheques shall be drawn and endorsed by the Treasurer and counter-signed
by one other Executive Officer.

The Treasurer and at least two Executive
Officers shall obtain authorisation by the Bank to sign SYO cheques.

A limit for spending of SYO money
shall apply as agreed annually by the Council and, for now, appended
to this document as Annex B.

The accounts, duly examined, shall be presented to the Annual General
Meeting of the SYO by the Treasurer for approval. Interim financial
statements shall be presented at Meetings of Council from time to time,
preferably quarterly.



17. Examination
of Accounts

The Council shall appoint an examiner who shall not be a member
of any committee of the SYO.

18. Annual
General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting shall be convened at a place and time
to be decided by the Council at intervals between meetings of not more
than fifteen months and in any case within each calendar year.

Members of the SYO shall be notified of the date, time, and place of
the Meeting at least fourteen days in advance.

A quorum for the Meeting shall be fifteen members.

In the event of there not being a quorum, the Council shall call a second
General Meeting. Should this second meeting not be quorate, then the
Council shall be empowered to act on behalf of the SYO until such time
as a General Meeting can be convened.

All motions, resolutions and decisions, except as hereafter provided,
shall be carried by a majority vote.

19. Special
General Meeting

A Special General Meeting may be convened by the Chairman
as he/she thinks fit.

The Chairman must convene a
Special General Meeting of the SYO whenever so requested in writing
by fifteen or more members of the SYO
who shall make clear the purpose and Agenda for that Meeting.

A quorum for the meeting shall be fifteen members.

In the event of there not being a quorum, the Council shall call a second
Special General Meeting. Should this second meeting not be quorate,
then the Council shall be empowered to act on behalf of the SYO until
such time as a Special General Meeting can be convened.

All motions, resolutions and decisions, except as hereafter provided,
shall be carried by a majority vote.



20. Winding
Up Procedure

If so ever it were considered necessary by the Council to dissolve
the SYO, its assets shall be disposed of as follows.

(a) The
decision to dissolve the SYO and to dispose of its assets shall be made

at the Annual General Meeting or at a Special General Meeting and shall
require a two-thirds majority of those present at that meeting.

(b) Any
property remaining after the discharge of liabilities shall be transferred
directly or indirectly to some other charitable organisation having
similar objects to those of the SYO.



21. Constitutional Amendments

Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by the Council or
by any ten members of the SYO who shall submit their amendments to the
Council in writing.

Such propositions to amend the Constitution shall be notified to all
members of the Orchestra with the Notice of the Annual General Meeting.

Such propositions to amend the constitution shall be approved by a majority
of two-thirds of those present at the Annual General Meeting.

No future amendment to the Constitution may allow the application of
the funds of the Orchestra to any purpose which may not be charitable.



22. Copies
of the Constitution

A copy of this Constitution and any subsequent amendments shall
be available from the General Secretary to any member of the SYO upon
request.

As Agreed at the SYO Council Meeting on 27^th April
2008

and
ratified by the SYO GM 10^th May 2008

Annex
A

Duties
of Members of Executive Council of Sheffield Youth
Orchestra.

(Revised
March 2007)

On initial election all council
members will be asked to undergo screening to meet the requirements
of the Children Act (Protection from Offenders) (Miscellaneous Amendments)
Regulations 1997 in accordance with SYO Child Protection Policy.

All Council members are expected
to attend Council Meetings and the Annual General Meeting. If they are
unable to attend they should send their apologies to the Minutes Secretary
or Chairman with any appropriate reports.

Parent Representatives

• Offer views and
  opinions on behalf of parents, carers and guardians of playing members.
• Will be encouraged
  to take up executive positions on the council.

Chairman

• Chair Annual General
  Meetings and Council Meetings
• Act as signatory
  on all legal documents and official communications.
• Formalise contract
  details, including expenses between the orchestra and principal conductor,
  guest conductor, guest soloists and tutors.
• Be responsible for
  overseeing the strategic development and image/profile of the orchestra
  both in Sheffield and elsewhere.

Vice-Chairman

• Deputise for the
  chairman.

Minutes Secretary

• Notify meetings
  of the Orchestra and Council and keep accurate minutes of such meetings

General Secretary

• Conduct the administrative
  correspondence of the orchestra
• Act as the official
  Orchestra addressee as required
• Advise Croft House
  management of rehearsal requirements re rooms or extra long sessions

Treasurer

• Maintain an effective
  stewardship and disbursement of the monies of the orchestra.
• Notify players of
  subscriptions due and maintain payment records.
• Keep the accounts
  of the orchestra
• Prepare and present
  to the AGM an examined statement of account for the preceding year.
• Present a financial
  statement to the Council, normally quarterly.
• Maintain the insurances
  of the orchestra.
• Act as correspondent
  to the Charities Commission
• Ensure correct returns
  are made to the Inland Revenue as appropriate.

Membership Secretary

• Maintain and update
  a list of orchestra members with complete details of their addresses
  and telephone numbers.
• Circulate updated
  copies of the membership list to Chairman, Secretary, Concert Secretary
  and Treasurer as and when necessary.
• Produce a register
  for the Principal Conductor.
• Update Welcome Pack
  annually.
• Send out welcome
  letters to new members of the orchestra.
• Issue leaving certificates.
• Organise Saturday
  morning coffee rota and circulate to those concerned.

Concert Secretary
and Ticket Sales Co-ordinator.

• Be responsible for
  the booking of venues for concerts and payment of hire charges and performing
  rights fees.
• Notify playing members
  of the orchestra of the dates and venues of concerts and final rehearsals.
• Organise payments
  or gifts for soloists.
• Arrange production
  of concert tickets and programmes.
• Be responsible for
  the sales of tickets for the orchestra concerts.
• Liase with council
  members immediately over any problems encountered with sales of concert
  tickets.
• Be responsible for
  all aspects of the transportation of orchestra equipment to each concert
  venue, its installation at the venue and its subsequent return to the
  orchestra headquarters.

Publicity and Sponsorship
/ Fundraising Secretary

• Be responsible for
  all publicity required by the council for the orchestra.
• Act as press agent
• Arrange the distribution
  of advertising posters.
• Liase with local
  personnel at externally organised events (e.g. tours) to confirm, as
  far as possible, that ticket sales effort is adequate.
• Arrange concert
  publicity
• Be responsible for
  generating sponsorship of the orchestra and its activities.
• Procure advertising
  for placement in concert programmes.

Patronage Secretary

• Be responsible for
  generating patronage of the orchestra and its activities.
• Maintain contact
  with existing sponsors and patrons ensuring regular communication of
  orchestra events and invitation s to at least one concert a year.
• Maintain and update
  a list of patrons and provide a copy of the same for inclusion in each
  concert programme.

Music Secretary

• Obtain sets of music
  according to the concert programme content.
• Agree terms of hire
  and other expenditure in relation to such hire.
• Act as librarian
  of existing music owned by the orchestra.
• Report to the council
  any substantial shortfalls in owned or hired music sets.
• Ensure that every
  player has a complete set of music prior to each concert.
• Be responsible for
  collecting, sorting and the storage or return of all music after each
  concert.
• Make necessary arrangements
  for additional players to be present at concerts when requested by the
  Principal Conductor.
• Liase with guest
  soloists and conductors and staff at concert venues.
• Supply independent
  musical advice to the orchestra as necessary.
• Organise the collection
  and return of special instruments.
• Have general charge
  of all orchestra equipment and its maintenance.
• Maintain an annually
  updated inventory of all orchestra equipment.

Child Protection Officer

• Be responsible for
  child protection and child welfare issues for the orchestra.
• Maintain the child
  protection policy documents and distribute the same to all necessary
  parties.
• Be responsible for
  making appropriate checks against information held by the Criminal Records
  Bureau made in line with the orchestra screening policy and take charge
  of the returned documents.

Principal Conductor

• Take charge of rehearsals
  and conduct concerts.
• Be responsible for
  auditioning Playing Members.
• Produce a report
  on the progress of the orchestra and its members at each Council meeting.
• Make every effort
  to forecast vacancies in the orchestra so as to ensure a full orchestra
  complement
• Be responsible for
  appointing a replacement conductor to take rehearsal in the event of
  illness or unavoidable absence.

Social Secretary.

• Organise social
  events for players.
• Write termly newsletters
  for distribution to players and patrons.

IT Officer

• Maintain the SYO
  web site and update information re Council, concerts and other activities.
• Pass email information
  e.g. membership enquiries on to the appropriate Council Members.

Playing members.

• Attend each meeting
  of the Council
• Report the views
  of the players at the Council meetings.
• Relay relevant information
  from the Council meeting to the Playing Members.

Sheffield Youth
Orchestra Constitution

Annex
B

A limit for spending of SYO
money shall apply as agreed annually by the Council:-

• £100 can be spent
  by one Council Member.

• Up to £250 can
  be spent by 3 Council Members in agreement.

• More than this amount
  shall be agreed by a quorum of Council Members.

• All payments to
  be made by cheques drawn up by the Treasurer.

Annex C:

Never be satisfied with the tuning note. Fussing about the pitch takes attention away from the podium and puts it on you, where it belongs.
When raising the music stand, be sure the top comes off and spills the music on the floor.
Complain about the temperature of the rehearsal room, the lighting, crowded space, or a draft. It's best to do this when the conductor is under pressure.
Look the other way just before cues.
Never have the proper mute, a spare set of strings, or extra reeds. Percussion players must never have all their equipment.
Ask for a re-audition or seating change. Ask often. Give the impression you're about to quit. Let the conductor know you're there as a personal favor.
Pluck the strings as if you are checking tuning at every opportunity, especially when the conductor is giving instructions. Brass players: drop mutes. Percussionists have a wide variety of dropable items, but cymbals are unquestionably the best because they roll around for several seconds.
Loudly blow water from the keys during pauses (Horn, oboe and clarinet players are trained to do this from birth).
Long after a passage has gone by, ask the conductor if your C# was in tune. This is especially effective if you had no C# or were not playing at the time. (If he catches you, pretend to be correcting a note in your part.)
At dramatic moments in the music (while the conductor is emoting) be busy marking your music so that the climaxes will sound empty and disappointing.
Wait until well into a rehearsal before letting the conductor know you don't have the music.
Look at your watch frequently. Shake it in disbelief occasionally.
Tell the conductor, "I can't find the beat." Conductors are always sensitive about their "stick technique", so challenge it frequently.
As the conductor if he has listened to the Bernstein recording of the piece. Imply that he could learn a thing or two from it. Also good: ask "Is this the first time you've conducted this piece?"
When rehearsing a difficult passage, screw up your face and shake your head indicating that you'll never be able to play it. Don't say anything: make him wonder.
If your articulation differs from that of others playing the same phrase, stick to your guns. Do not ask the conductor which is correct until backstage just before the concert.
Find an excuse to leave rehearsal about 15 minutes early so that others will become restless and start to pack up and fidget.
During applause, smile weakly or show no expression at all. Better yet, nonchalantly put away your instrument. Make the conductor feel he is keeping you from doing something really important.