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 CONSTITUTION

1. The Name of the Association shall be the Leeds Organists’ Association.

2. The Objects of the Association shall be to facilitate the study of the art of music, with particular emphasis on organ and choral music; their history, repertoire and technique.

3. Membership of the Association shall be open to anyone who is interested in the objects of the Association. Application for membership shall be made in writing to the secretary. On election to membership, new members shall be furnished with a copy of the Constitution. Membership shall become effective on payment of the first annual subscription. The Committee shall have the right, if there is good and sufficient evidence, to decline a request for membership from, or to require the resignation of, any person whose membership would be likely to bring the Association into disrepute. The proceedings of the Association may be open to non-members on payment of such fee as the Committee shall from time to time determine.

4. Each member shall pay a minimum Annual Subscription of such an amount as shall from time to time be determined by the Committee. This subscription shall fall due on the date of the Annual General Meeting in each year. Any members joining six months or more after the date of the Annual General Meeting in any year shall pay a reduced subscription of such amount as the Committee shall determine for the period up to the next annual subscription date. Concessionary rates, and the qualifications therefore, shall be determined by the Committee. Any member whose subscription has not been paid within nine months of the date on which it fell due shall cease to be a member of the Association. Upon payment of all arrears, any such member may be reinstated at the discretion of the Committee.

5. The business of the Association shall be managed by a Committee, which shall consist of:

  • four officers, comprising the President, the President-Elect or the immediate Past-President, the Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer;

  • nine ordinary members, who will serve for three years;

  • co-opted members.

The Committee shall have the power to co-opt any member on a temporary non-voting basis, for a specific purpose.
The immediate Past-President retires from office on the election of the President-Elect.

Whenever any ordinary member of the Committee shall be elected to one of the four offices named above, his/her position as an ordinary member of the Committee shall immediately become vacant and the Annual General Meeting shall elect another member of the Association in his/her stead until such
time as the original member would have been due to retire.
The Committee may fill any vacancy occurring during the year by electing another member of the Association to act until the next Annual General Meeting.
If the Association is a registered charity, all members of the Committee, whether officers or elected members, will be Trustees of the charity and should be provided with a copy of the leaflet Duties & Responsibilities of Trustees published by the Charity Commissioners.
The President shall serve for a term of two years, and shall be elected as President-Elect at the Annual General Meeting a year before his/her term starts. The Committee shall present a recommendation to the Annual General Meeting, but further nominations from the floor may be made.
The President shall take the chair at all meetings of the Association.
The Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.
An Honorary Auditor, who must not be a member of the Committee, shall be appointed at each Annual General Meeting.
No member may hold more than one office simultaneously.
The Committee shall meet from time to time, as may be found necessary. Five shall form a quorum.

6. The Annual General Meeting shall be held in January or February of each year:

  • to receive the reports of the relevant officers for the year ended the previous 31 December;

  • to receive and approve the audited accounts for the year ended the previous 31 December;

  • to elect officers and members of the Committee;

  • to conduct such other business as may be appropriate.

The members shall be given at least 14 days notice of the meeting.
The Committee may, and shall, if so requested by not less than 25% of the members, call an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting for the transaction of special business. 14 clear days notice in writing of the business of any such General Meeting shall be given.
The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to, or the non-receipt of such notice by, any person entitled to receive notice thereof shall not invalidate any resolution passed, or proceeding held, at any meeting.

7. Suitable persons may be nominated by the Committee to the Annual General Meeting for election as Honorary Life Members; such Honorary members may be elected to hold office or serve on the Committee.

8. Ordinary Meetings of the Association shall be held not less than once during each quarter of the year.

9. The Income and Property of the Association shall be applied solely to the promotion of the objects of the Association as defined in paragraph 2 and no payment or transfer of any part of such income or property shall be made to or for the benefit of any member of the Association, provided that nothing shall prohibit any payment in good faith by the Association of reasonable and proper remuneration of any member of the Association, not being a member of the Committee, for any services rendered to the Association, of out-of-pocket expenses to any of its officers, or of any member of the Association, not being a member of the Committee, being a professional musician, for musical work which he/she is engaged by the Association to perform.

10. No Amendment of the Constitution shall be made except by resolution at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting of the Association of which 14 days notice shall have been given to the members and no alteration shall be made which would cause the Association to cease to be a charity at law. A copy of any such amendment(s) shall be sent to all members.

11. The Dissolution of the Association may be effected only by a resolution passed by a three-quarters majority of the members of the Association present in person or by proxy at a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose and of which at least 28 days notice has been served on every then member of the Association at his/her last known address. If, upon the winding up or dissolution of the Association, there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid or distributed among the members of the Association, but shall be given or transferred to some other charitable institution having similar objects to the objects of the Association.

This Constitution was adopted at a General Meeting of the Association in October 1999.

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