Somerville Music Society

SMS Constitution

Article 1: Aims

The aim of the Somerville Music Society is to promote music and music-making within the college, to support and to accommodate groups and individuals with interest in music; and to organise concerts and other events.

Article 2: Membership

a) Eligibility:

i) Anyone with interest in music in Somerville, be they a member of the college or not, is eligible for membership.

b) Duration:

i) Anyone may remain a Member for as long as they have an interest in music in Somerville.

Article 3: Meetings

a) The Society shall meet twice during the Full Term in order to discuss general matters.

i) It is the duty of the President to summon these meetings with sufficient notice.

b) Should any urgent matters regarding the Society arise, the President shall summon an irregular meeting with sufficient notice.

c) Any matter concerning the Society can be decided upon in a full meeting of the Society, or through consultation of Members by other means (via e-mail).

i) The quorum shall be 3 Committee Members.

Article 4: The Committee

a) Duties:

i) The Committee shall provide for the day-to-day running of the Society.

ii) All of the Committee Members shall give reports regarding the execution of their office at each meeting of the Society.

b) Composition:

i) The Committee shall be composed of: The Senior Member, the President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer, the Secretary, the Publicity Officer, the Webmaster, the Social Secretary and the Recitals Coordinator.

ii) Further Committee posts can be created, with duties and responsibilities clearly defined, according to the needs of the Society.

Article 5: The Senior Member

a) The Senior Member shall be a member of the Congregation.

b) The Senior Member shall carry out his or her duties in accordance with and as defined by the current valid Dean’s Regulations.

Article 6: The President

a) The President shall be the principal Officer of the Society. As such, he or she shall:

i) Be responsible for the general administration of the Society.

ii) Co-ordinate the activities of other Committee Members.

iii) Liaise with the college authorities and the JCR on the Society’s behalf.

iv) Summon the meetings and set their agenda.

v) Be responsible for the organisation of concerts and other Society’s events.

vi) Delegate, as viewed proper and necessary, specific responsibilities and duties to other members of the Committee, or of the Society at large.

Article 7: The Vice-President

a) The Vice-President shall assist the President in all of his or her duties.

Article 8: The Treasurer

a) The Treasurer shall be responsible for the Society’s finances. As such, he or she shall:

i) Keep the Society’s accounts.

ii) Be responsible for the Society’s bank account.

iii) Liaise with the JCR Treasurer, taking responsibility for demanding and justifying JCR financial contributions to the Society.

iv) Have the authority to sign cheques on the Society’s behalf.

Article 9: The Secretary

a) The Secretary shall take minutes of all Society’s meetings, and circulate a copy of these minutes to all Members of the Society as soon as possible.

b) The Secretary shall maintain a list of Members.

i) The membership list shall indicate the dates on which individual Members joined, together with their e-mail addresses.

Article 10: The Publicity Officer

a) The Publicity Officer shall be responsible for publicising the Society and its events. As such, he or she shall:

i) Design, print and arrange for the distribution of posters (and/or flyers) advertising the Society’s concerts and other events.

ii) Arrange for the publication of the above-mentioned events via the JCR and MCR mailing lists.

Article 11: The Webmaster

a) The Webmaster shall design and maintain the web pages of the Society and manage the Society's online presence.

Article 12: The Social Secretary

a) The Social Secretary shall organise social events for members of the Society.

Article 13: The Recitals Coordinator

a) The Recitals Coordinator shall be responsible for organising the weekly lunchtime recitals in chapel as well as additional evening recitals.

Article 14: The Popular Music Officer

a) The Popular Music Officer shall be responsible for co-ordinating events, SMS equipment and encouraging the society's involvement with a wide range of non-classical music.

Article 15: Expenditure

a) Any expenditure authorised by the Society must be for the purpose of supporting and promoting music and music-making within college.

b) Expenditure on any given matter shall be authorised by at least 3 Committee Members.

c) Preference shall be given to projects involving a substantial number of Somervillians.

Article 16: Elections

a) The elections of all Committee Members, with one exception, shall take place during the last meeting of each Trinity Term.

i) The election of the President shall take place during the last meeting of the Trinity Term. The outgoing President shall assist the newly elected President during the following Michaelmas Term.

ii) Should any of the posts remain or become vacant, the procedure, as regards the vacant posts only, shall be repeated during the first following meeting.

b) The Returning Officer:

i) The role of the Returning Officer shall be assumed by the first of the following, who is not standing for any post: The President, the Vice-President, The Treasurer, the Secretary, the Publicity Officer, the Webmaster, the Social Secretary, the Recitals Coordinator.

ii) In the event that none of the above fulfil the necessary criteria, the role of the Returning Officer shall be assumed by the Senior Member.

iii) The Returning Officer shall be responsible for running the procedure of nominations and hustings, for the voting itself, for the observation of the quorum, for the count and for the announcement of the results.

c) Eligibility:

i) Anyone who is a Member of the Society is eligible to stand for election to any of the Committee posts.

ii) A Member can stand for any office an unlimited number of times.

d) Nominations and Hustings:

i) Any potential candidates shall offer themselves for an election during the last full meeting of the Trinity Term, and there also present their manifestos.

e) Voting:

i) The voting shall take place during the relevant full meeting.

ii) The necessary quorum shall be 3 Committee Members.

iii) The voting should take the form of an open show of hands.

iv) The form of scrutiny shall be that of a simple first-past-the-post system.

Article 17: Amendments to the Constitution

a) Amendments may be made by a 2/3 majority of those present and voting at a meeting of the Society.