Why do we need patrons?
If you look at our list of recent concerts, and most earlier ones, you will see major choral works. Many are the familar and loved; others are less well known but just as musically demanding and powerful. If any is to deliver a deeply satisfying performance for the audience this choir must engage professional orchestras and soloists.
Such forces represent by far the largest expense which the Oratorio Society faces. The cost of a major concert runs well into the thousands and the larger the work, the greater the outlay. This unavoidable fact has broken many choirs.
The Oratorio Society itself, of course, contributes. Each member pays a significant annual subscription simply for the right to sing, and some voluntarily pay far more than the minimum. Many choose to be patrons as well as members. In fact, all our singers help to subsidize the society’s concerts and so our audience’s enjoyment.
Despite this, despite the support of the cathedral, and despite revenue from ticket sales, a fine, varied programme of works which will attract a cathedral-filling audience always leaves a financial hole. The society’s long-term viability is — and is likely to remain — finely balanced.
Many believe that such a musical city as Wells should be able to put on and enjoy major works — such as the Verdi Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem, the B Minor Mass, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah — sung by a large, local choir in Wells Cathedral. Many are prepared to support the society further by becoming Patrons ...
Corporate Patrons Scheme
The society’s Corporate Patrons Scheme allows local businesses to offer us long-term support, relatively modest in any one year.
For a minimum subscription of £250 a year, nominally committed for 5 years, Corporate Patrons receive preferential treatment: tickets allocated before they are available to the public, and at a 10% discount. The name of the company, with due appreciation, appears in all our concert programmes.
Should a business wish to make an already stimulating evening into a truly memorable occasion for their guests it may be possible, by separate arrangement, to hire the 15th century Vicars’ Hall, attached to the Cathedral, or the Cathedral Restaurant, with refreshment either before or after the concert. Such arrangements may be made through the Cathedral Restaurant (01749 676543).
To find out more about the Corporate Patrons scheme — or our Sponsorship Schemes for separate concerts — please email the Hon Treasurer. See also the Corporate Patron Subscription Form.
Individual Patrons
Any individual can similarly become a Patron of the society for the small annual sum of £15. This gives similar rights: priority booking for any of the choir’s concerts, for several tickets (no limit on numbers is currently defined), all at a 10% discount. For more information, please contact the Patron’s Secretary or simply complete and return the patron’s subscription form.