One of the ways you can share your love of singing is by leaving a gift in your will to Ex Cathedra.

Ex Cathedra is a charity about singing. We believe that everyone should be able to experience the remarkable physical, mental and emotional health benefits of singing together, and have opportunities to be inspired by extraordinary choral music from the past and present.

By leaving a gift to Ex Cathedra in your Will, you can continue to support the music you have enjoyed in your lifetime, and help us to continue to develop the choral repertoire and share inspirational choral experiences.  It will help us to:

• bring exceptional music to audiences in our home city of Birmingham and beyond
• develop ambitious projects, research and commission new music, and make this available to others to perform
• provide outstanding opportunities for children, young people, students, emerging professional singers, and singing leaders
• engage tens of thousands of children and adults in schools, hospitals and communities so they can experience the wonderful benefits of singing together

Testimonials

“My mother and father were passionate about classical music, and especially choral and sung works. After they had both passed away, we discussed as a family what we could do to help us grieve. We wanted to put some of my inheritance to good use and do something positive for the city, that has been my home for the past 20 years.

Everyone at Ex Cathedra has always been so understanding towards me and my feelings; to bring new music into the world, to be shared with so many people, is one of the most precious moments in my life.” (Isabel Churcher)

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“I am passionate about music, performance and musicianship – all of which Ex Cathedra has helped me to discover and enjoy. Leaving a legacy is about passing this on to the next generation so that more people can learn about and participate through Ex Cathedra’s outreach programmes, online engagement and especially live concerts.

I wrote my first will when I was in my late 20s and have reviewed it every so often since then. I’ve always taken a long view about what we leave behind and/or pass on to the others. The enjoyment and love of classical music came to me from my parents. My mother was a singer and piano teacher. Leaving a legacy to Ex Cathedra is my way of both honouring their gifts to me and sending them out to others.” (Jane Arthur)

Practicalities

If you don’t already have one, a Will is easy to make and can be done at relatively low cost. By creating a Will, you will be safe in the knowledge that the people and charities you care about will be looked after. We recommend that you discuss this with your solicitor who will be able to suggest a form of words.

At present, all legacies to charities are free from inheritance tax and leaving charitable gifts in your Will could reduce your inheritance tax liability. Visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax for further details.

You can choose to leave Ex Cathedra:

• all, or a share of what is left of the value of your estate, once other obligations and gifts to loved ones have been fulfilled
• a fixed sum
• a specific asset such as an item of property, a house, valuables or shares

If you decide to leave a gift to us in your Will, please include the following information: Ex Cathedra, CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham, B1 2LF, registered charity number 1004086.

An unrestricted donation will enable us to use your gift where it is most needed at the time. If you are happy with this, state that the gift is “for the general charitable purposes of Ex Cathedra”. However, if you wish your gift to be used to support a particular area of our work that is important to you, such as our education and community projects, supporting talent or commissioning new music, please contact us. This will ensure that we have a clear understanding of your wishes, so that they can be faithfully observed.

We’d like to thank you

Thank you for considering supporting Ex Cathedra in this way.

You do not need to let us know in advance, but we would be honoured to have the opportunity to say thank you during your lifetime through:

• an optional credit to acknowledge your bequest in concert programmes and on our website
• invitations to our Host of Angels events such as open rehearsals
• invitations to special events, with the opportunity to meet Jeffrey Skidmore and members of Ex Cathedra
• advance concert information with priority booking for our Birmingham season

You can let us know your intentions by contacting us directly or by completing and returning this form.

If you would like to discuss leaving a legacy in confidence, please contact Julie Watson, Grants & Individual Giving Manager or Peter Trethewey, General Manager.