OPEN UP MUSIC

Registered charity 1167028 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as NATIONAL OPEN YOUTH ORCHESTRA

Open Up Music empowers young disabled musicians to build inclusive youth orchestras. Together we develop accessible musical instruments and repertoire, challenge expectations and forge new progression routes through the creation of great music.

Objects

The Objects of the Charity are to help young disabled people, who are based in the United Kingdom, by developing and providing:a) opportunities to participate and perform in youth orchestras up to the age of 25;b) opportunities for personal and professional development up to the age of 27;c) accessible musical resources, including instruments and repertoire.

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Disability · Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Bristol, City of, South West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity increased its total income to £982,070 for the year ending 31 August 2025, resulting in a net surplus of £130,868. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted free reserves stood at £423,076, which is above the stated policy target of £277,131 (three months' average operating costs). The trustees confirm that the charity is able to continue as a going concern with no material uncertainties identified.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 06414209

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Open Up Music (matched by registered charity number).

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

• ROBERTS, Jennifer Agatha — director, appointed 15/12/2025on trustee list
• STRACHECKY, Kathryn Anne — director, appointed 15/12/2025on trustee list
• GOULD, Emily — director, appointed 28/01/2025not on trustee list
• WEBSTER, Judith Olivia — director, appointed 25/07/2022on trustee list
• WATKINS, Jocelyn Lucie Hannah — director, appointed 04/05/2022on trustee list
• JOHNSON, Rosemary Caroline — director, appointed 23/09/2019not on trustee list
• LANE, Elizabeth Anne Mary, Dr — director, appointed 23/04/2019on trustee list
• SHERRY-STARMER, Evelyn Rosalind Ann — secretary, appointed 04/05/2022

Official officers record.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~6.0 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (86% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 11.7% of total income — above the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Dr Elizabeth Lane
• Emily Magrath · trustee of 1 other charity
• Jennifer Agatha Roberts
• Jocelyn Lucie Hannah Watkins
• Judith Olivia Webster · trustee of 1 other charity
• Kathryn Anne Strachecky
• Rosmary Johnson MBE

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Grants marked “Unverified read” were flagged by automated checks as possibly misread from the funder’s filed accounts. They are listed, but left out of the totals, counts and funder relationships this site computes.

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with AWARDS FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS.

• AWARDS FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS income £2.5m
• YORKSHIRE YOUNG MUSICIANS income £363k
• YOUTH MUSIC CENTRE income £114k
• THE OPENING DOORS PROJECT income £108k
• ORCHESTRAS FOR ALL income £853k
• OPEN DOOR PEOPLE income £167k

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.