Inverness

On Saturday 14th September 2013 RSCM Scottish Voices visit for the first time the beautiful city of Inverness where at 4pm we shall be singing Choral Evensong on the Feast of the Holy Cross in St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral, in Ardross Street.

We will be directed by our Assistant Musical Director, Richard Walmsley, and accompanied by Peter Wakeford, who as well as being a member of RSCM Scottish Voices is the Assistant Organist at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow.

Music will include Crux Fidelis (King John of Portugal), Preces and Responses by Bernard Rose, Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in D (George Dyson), Worthy is the Lamb (from Messiah by George Frideric Handel), and the hauntingly beautiful O pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Herbert Howells).

Inverness is a lovely city, and if you're in the area why not come and enjoy the tranquility of a peaceful Choral Evensong to round off your day.  We'd love to see you there, it lasts a bit less than an hour, so why not give it a go!

2014 dates and venues

Hot off the press, our choir members have just been singing in our annual residential rehearsal weekend, and during the weekend all of our dates and venues for our 2014 season have been announced.  All of what follows, and more, can be found on our Future Services and Events page which will be updated with more specific information of times and music list as it all becomes available.  The information below includes the rest of our 2013 dates as well as the 2014 ones, and all dates are Saturdays.

On 14th September 2013 at 4pm we will be singing Choral Evensong in St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral, in the beautiful city of Inverness.  This will be our first visit to Inverness, and all of the choir are very much looking forward to it, particularly our two members who live in Elgin who will have a significantly shorter trip than usual!

On 12th October 2013 we will be departing from our normal services, and will instead be taking part in a concert at 7.30pm in the historic Dunfermline Abbey.  It's a concert in conjunction with The Carnegie UK Trust, in their 100th year, and it's entitled 'Most Elevating of Voices' - The Musical Legacy of Andrew Carnegie: a transatlantic celebration.

As well as hearing RSCM Scottish Voices sing, this will also be an opportunity to hear the organ played by the exceptionally talented Michael Bawtree, who although Scottish based is very much in demand internationally as an organist and choir director.  You can read more about Michael on a Herald article here and on Glasgow Chamber Choir's website here

The first 15 minutes of the concert will be in the old nave (by kind permission of Historic Scotland) and we will then move to the newer (heated and lit!) Abbey to complete the evening.

The concert will include music by Thomas Weelkes, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Peter Philips, George Dyson, Herbert Howells, Edgar Bainton, Charles Villiers Stanford, and George Frederick Handel.

The transatlantic element of this is that on Wednesday 20th November 2013 the other half of the celebration takes place in the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine, New York City, USA, and there is quite a lot of music in common between the two concerts.  Sadly we don't get to travel to New York to sing, but conversely they don't get to come to Scotland either!  There is no charge for attending the Dunfermline concert, but it's by ticket only and they are being issued by The Carnegie UK Trust so to reserve yours please contact the Trust by email to centenary@carnegieuk.org or call their office on 01383 721445.

The press release from the Carnegie UK Trust is as follows:

To celebrate the musical legacy of Andrew Carnegie and the Carnegie UK Trust, there will twinned concerts in Scotland and the USA, featuring what Carnegie called ‘that most elevating of voices’ – the pipe organ, as well as choral music particularly associated with the Carnegie UK Trust. Carnegie funded 7,689 organs throughout the world, with over 4000 in the USA and over 3000 in the UK. The Carnegie UK Trust funded the pioneering publication in the 1920s of ten volumes of Tudor church music which was to transform musical life in the UK and throughout the world. In Dunfermline, the RSCM Scottish Voices choir will sing some of this beautiful repertoire in the mediaeval nave of Dunfermline Abbey, with the rest of the programme containing music by a former chair of the Trust, Sir George Dyson, as well as some of the finest repertoire for choir and organ, sung in the Abbey church.

On 23rd November 2013 we return to St Aloysius' RC Church, Rose St, Glasgow, where at 5.45pm we will take part in their Vigil Mass on the eve of the festival of Christ the King.  This is an absolutely stunning building, both visually and acoustically, and we are very much looking forward to our return visit there, having first sung in the Vigil Mass in 2011.

Our 2014 season commences on 15th February 2014 at 4pm with a first visit to the lovely town of Linlithgow, where we will be singing in the beautiful St Michael's Parish Church, right next to Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots

On 5th April 2014, the eve of Passion Sunday, at 4pm we make our first foray into the Scottish Borders, when we sing in Peebles Old Parish Church, a lovely building overlooking the high street of Peebles.

They say that time flies when you're having fun, and this certainly seems to be the case with RSCM Scottish Voices, because having sung our first ever service in January 2009 our 2014 season is our fifth as a choir, so to celebrate this anniversary we've decided to put on a special Choral Evensong on 31st May 2014 at 4pm in the historic Paisley Abbey, and we're going to be inviting members of our sister choirs RSCM Young Scottish Voices, RSCM Voices North, RSCM Voices West, and RSCM Voices South, to join us.  So there will be singers from all over Great Britain converging on Paisley to raise the roof of the Abbey, which itself has been celebrating a rather more splendid anniversary year in 2013, being 850 years old!

Our Musical Director Frikki Walker is Director of Music at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow and many of our members also sing in the cathedral choir there.  Our choir is grateful for a variety of support we receive from St Mary's so we always enjoy a visit to what has become, despite our membership being drawn from all over Scotland, almost "home" territory.  On 14th June 2014, the eve of Trinity Sunday, we will be singing Choral Evensong in St Mary's Cathedral at 4pm, and doubtless it'll be followed by some of the best socialising we engage in throughout the year, as the cathedral (and specifically the cathedral choir members) know how to throw a party!

Our annual residential rehearsal weekend will take place from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th August 2014.  The venue has still to be decided, we'll have a think about how well Stirling University has just suited us this weekend and decide whether we want to return there or not, but in any case it involves no public performance or access, it's purely rehearsing and socialising.

Another welcome yet overdue return visit will be on 6th September 2014 when we travel to St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Dundee, to sing Choral Evensong at 4pm.  Our previous visit back in 2010 was memorable not just for the music we sang, but for the outstanding welcome we received from the cathedral, and in particular Stuart Muir and his choir members.

It's a year of first visits, and although it's taken us five years to get something scheduled, our trip to sing Choral Evensong in the very historic St Giles Cathedral on Edinburgh's Royal Mile on 4th October 2014 at 4pm is one to which we're really looking forward.

Our 2014 season will draw to a close with another eagerly anticipated return visit, this time to the stamping ground of our Assistant Musical Director Richard Walmsley who is also the Organist and Master of the Choristers in St Ninian's Episcopal Cathedral in Perth, where we will sing Choral Evensong at 4pm on 1st November 2014.

So, by the end of 2014, our fifth anniversary year, we will have sung in abbeys, cathedrals and significant churches throughout a large chunk of the Scottish mainland, from Dumfries in the south west to Inverness in the north west, Peebles in the Borders to Aberdeen in the north east.  We know there's a lot more of Scotland to be visited, and it's in our plans to visit further north than Inverness, (perhaps St Magnus Cathedral on Orkney, maybe Shetland), further west than Glasgow (Oban springs to mind, as does perhaps the tiny yet charming Cathedral of the Isles in Millport on Cumbrae), and further into the Scottish Borders (oh wouldn't it be great to be able to sing in one of the ruined Borders Abbeys).  But all of that's for the future.  Watch this space.  Or better still, come and hear us, maybe even come and join us!

RSCM Music Sunday

Although not one of our six core events, some 23 members of RSCM Scottish Voices (not that far off half our choir) were singing in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow yesterday where the cathedral choir, our singers, and choirs from around the diocese of Glasgow & Galloway joined to celebrate RSCM Music Sunday, and accompanied by Brass and Organ we raised the roof with glorious music including Parry's I was Glad amongst other delights!

The 100 strong choir included singers from as far afield as Dumfries in the south, Edinburgh in the east, and Elgin (near Inverness) in the north, all under the inspiring leadership of the Director of Music of St Mary's Cathedral, who also happens to be our own Musical Director, Frikki Walker.

It's the summer now, and the next time we meet is for our annual residential rehearsal weekend in early August which doesn't feature any public service or performance, so the next time you can hear RSCM Scottish Voices sing will be on Saturday 14th September 2013 in St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Inverness, when we shall be singing Choral Evensong at 4.30pm.

More details including the music list will be announced here in due course, and you can follow us on Twitter at @RSCMScotVoices where we publish details of our activities.

RSCM Celebration Day

The 2013 RSCM Celebration Day service takes place next Saturday, 25 May, at 4.30pm in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh.  The cathedral choir, RSCM Scottish Voices, and RSCM Young Scottish Voices will join with massed choirs to celebrate the work of the RSCM world-wide, and awards are presented to many people from all parts of the globe for their contributions to the work of the RSCM.

The conductor of the massed choir will be Andrew Reid (Director of the RSCM), with Matthew Beetschen conducting some of the music. The organist is Donald Hunt, Assistant Organist at the Cathedral, and the service will be led by the Vice Provost, The Revd Canon John McLuckie.

Those receiving awards during the service are listed below.

Fellow of the RSCM:
Mr Lindsay Gray - formerly Director of the RSCM

Mr Gordon Appleton is also awarded Fellowship of the RSCM, but is unable to be present at this service.

Associate of the RSCM:
Mr Matthew Beetschen - Director of Music and Organist at Dunblane Cathedral, Chairman of RSCM Scotland

Reverend Malcolm Chalmers - Acting President of RSCM South Africa and Chairman of the Northern Branch

Mr Timothy Lees - Music director and organist, Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and member of the RSCM Eastern Cape Branch

Mrs Patricia Lynch LRSCM - formerly Secretary of RSCM Scotland, trainer and developer of music resources for churches with small congregations

Mr Michael McConnell - formerly Organist and Choirmaster at St Joseph’s Cathedral Dunedin, New Zealand, member of the RSCM Otago & Southland Branch committee and Special Commissioner for the RSCM

Dr June Nixon - organist, choir trainer and composer, formerly Organist and Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, Australia

Mr David Iliff is also awarded Associateship of the RSCM, but is unable to be present at this service

Honorary Member of the RSCM:
Mr Barry Williams - legal adviser to the RSCM years, and co-author of Everything Else an Organist Should Know

RSCM Sacred Music Studies DipRSCM:
Mrs Janet Holland
Ms Wynne Simister
Mr Sam Adams
Miss Jennifer Ball
Ms Fiona Carlile

RSCM Sacred Music Studies CertRSCM:
Mr Dean Roberts

The following RSCM-affiliated churches will be represented by singers in the Celebration Day massed choir:

Bearsden, All Saints Episcopal
Bridge of Allan, St Saviour
Colvend, Southwick & Kirkbean
Dalmahoy, St Mary
Dunblane Cathedral
Edinburgh, St Columba’s Episcopal
Edinburgh, St Ninian’s Episcopal
Edinburgh, St Peter
Helensburgh, St Michael and All Angels
Largs, St Columba’s Scottish Episcopal
Newlands, Glasgow, St Margaret’s Episcopal
North Berwick, St Baldred’s Episcopal Church Choir
North Berwick, St Baldred’s Episcopal Church Chamber Choir
Oban, St John’s Cathedral
Rosyth, St Margaret’s Scottish Episcopal
Stirling, Holy Trinity Episcopal

Support Scottish Adoption

One of our altos Sadie and David her husband are running in the Edinburgh half marathon in aid of Scottish Adoption, and she's asked that the following is published here.

Adopting Emily was a profoundly emotional, scary and fantastic experience for us, and after nearly seven years neither I, David or Alex (Emily's big sister) can imagine life without her as part of our family. Scottish Adoption are the reason we have such a wonderful, bonkers, delightful youngest daughter. Running the half marathon is a very small gesture of thanks to an organisation that literally transformed our lives.

We've got a donation web page (https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidhopkinson1) which people can donate through. Alternatively, we can accept donations 'offline'.

We run the day after the RCSM Celebration Day service in Edinburgh which happens on Saturday 25th May, so apologies if I'm a bit distracted with the singing thing :)

Paisley Abbey

After a most enjoyable visit to St Andrews yesterday, the next time you can hear RSCM Scottish Voices sing will be on Saturday 27th April 2013 at 4pm when we shall be singing Choral Evensong in the historic setting of Paisley Abbey.

Music will include Love Divine, by Howard Goodall, Preces and Responses by Richard Shephard, Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in F by Charles Wood, and Blessed City, Heavenly Salem by Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow.

Paisley Abbey was founded in 1163 and is therefore celebrating its 850th Anniversary throughout 2013 so we are particularly pleased to be making our first visit there in this auspicious year.

A royal connection

Our next outing is on Saturday 9th March 2013 when we shall be singing Choral Evensong at 4pm in Holy Trinity Parish Church, South St, St Andrews, which as will be very well known is the university town in which His Royal Highness Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, met.

Music will include Remember not Lord our offences (Henry Purcell), Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in g minor (Richard Farrant), When David heard that Absalon was slain (Thomas Weelkes), and Versicles and Responses by William Smith of Durham.

This will be our first visit to St Andrews, and Holy Trinity Church is a fitting venue, having played host to concerts by The Sixteen and the Tallis Scholars.

We can't guarantee that you'll meet the love of your life at the service, but why not come along anyway and take the chance!

RSCM Young Scottish Voices

This Saturday, 23rd February, at 5pm our wee sister choir the relatively newly formed RSCM Young Scottish Voices, will be singing Choral Evensong in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, 300 Great Western Road, Glasgow.

Music will include the Introit Come on all ye people by Christopher Norton, Plainsong Responses, Psalm 100 arranged by Colin Mawby, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in c minor by George Dyson, and the Mozart anthem Dona Nobis pacem which has been arranged by G Strid and M Donnelly.

RSCM Young Scottish Voices is a choir made up of enthusiastic youngsters, and the future for choral music in Scotland looks bright if they're anything to go by.  Please come along and support them if you can, in this their first visit to Glasgow.

If you can't get along but you have children aged 9-15 who may be interested in joining, please have a look at the RSCM Scotland website for details.

2013 season starts in Glasgow

The first event for RSCM Scottish Voices in 2013 is on Saturday 2nd February in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, 300 Great Western Road, Glasgow, where at 4.30pm we shall be singing a Choral Mass for Candlemas.

The Mass setting will be Communion Service in F Major by Harold E Darke, and anthems will include Exsultate Justi by Ludovica da Viadana, Alleluia - Senex Puerum by William Byrd, and Presentation of Christ in the temple by Johannes Eccard.

This kickstarts our 2013 season, and it's followed a few weeks later by a first visit to St Andrews, where we shall be singing in Holy Trinity Parish Church at 4pm on Saturday 9th March.

Choir member receives honour

MANY congratulations to Pat Lynch, Secretary of RSCM Scotland who also happens to sing alto with RSCM Scottish Voices, and to Matthew Beetschen, Chair of RSCM Scotland, who are each to be awarded the honour of Associate of the Royal School of Church Music (ARSCM) at the RSCM celebration Day service on 25th May 2013 in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh, a service at which our choir will be singing.

Well done to both of them!

The full press release on the RSCM Website relating to the 2013 honours is as follows:

Two well-known church musicians are among those to receive honorary awards from the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) next year. Lindsay Gray and Gordon Appleton, who both worked for the RSCM, are to receive Fellowships (FRSCM). Other recipients include cathedral organists from Scotland, New Zealand and South Africa. The main awards will be presented at a special service in St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh on 25th May 2013.

Honorary awards are conferred by the RSCM Council for outstanding contributions to church music, and range from Fellowship (FRSCM) and Associateship (ARSCM) to Honorary Membership and Certificate of Special Service. Nominations are received from RSCM volunteers all over the world.

The RSCM has the power to confer awards and diplomas - Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music (FRSCM) is awarded for achievements in church music and/or liturgy of international significance, or for exceptional musical and/or liturgical work within the RSCM. Associate of the Royal School of Church Music (ARSCM) is awarded for achievements in church music and/or liturgy of national significance, or for important musical and/or liturgical work within the RSCM. Honorary member of the RSCM (HonRSCM) is awarded for exceptional or very significant work that has contributed to the cause of church music and/or liturgy at international or national levels, or within the RSCM, but which is not primarily musical or liturgical. Certificate of Special Service is given for significant administrative work as a voluntary officer or member of staff within the RSCM; or an award for a significant contribution to church music and/or liturgy at a local level.

Two Fellowships (FRSCM) are being awarded in 2013; Lindsay Gray (from Cardiff) was Director of RSCM from 2008 until 2012. Before that he was Headmaster of Llandaff Cathedral School, where he founded and directed the cathedral girls’ choir. Lindsay is described by the RSCM Council as an outstanding director, and has raised the profile of the RSCM nationally and internationally. Gordon Appleton (from Ripon) worked for the RSCM for nineteen years in several senior posts, including regional director and adviser in the north of England. He also directed RSCM Voices North, and played a key role in the development of church music in Australia, South Africa and Europe.

Those receiving Associateships (ARSCM) include two from Scotland. Matthew Beetschen has been Director of Music and Organist at Dunblane Cathedral since 1992, where he has built up a large voluntary choir. Pat Lynch has served as Secretary of RSCM Scotland, and has provided training and worship resources for the Scottish Episcopal Church. David Iliff is being honoured for outstanding editorial work on RSCM publications including photocopiable choral resources such as The Carol Book and Songs, Psalms & Spirituals. David has recently retired as Director of Music at Malvern Priory.

Barry Williams who advises the RSCM on legal and contractual issues, and relationships between clergy and musicians, is to be made an Honorary Member of the RSCM (HonRSCM).

Commenting on the 2013 Awards, Andrew Reid, Director of the RSCM says, “There are so many people who give of their time and talents to sustain music in worship that it would be impossible to recognise them all. Nevertheless, it is a great privilege for the RSCM to celebrate these particular musicians whose dedication to music in their communities and spheres of influence has profoundly affected the worship of others.”

Awards will be presented at a special Celebration Day service in St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh on Saturday 25th May 2013. "We always enjoy Celebration Day each year,” says Lord Brian Gill, Chairman of the RSCM Council and Scotland’s most senior judge. “It is our opportunity publicly to honour those whose unselfish efforts have advanced the work of the RSCM, both at home and abroad. I am looking forward to welcoming everyone to Scotland!”

The full 2013 list of those to receive Honorary Awards from the Royal School of Church Music is as follows:

Fellows of the RSCM (FRSCM)

Gordon Appleton has given outstanding service to the RSCM and to church music over more than 30 years, most recently as Director of Voluntary Networks and Regional Music Adviser for the North of England. Gordon has also directed RSCM Voices North with distinction, led RSCM courses and played a key role in the development of church music in Australia, South Africa and Europe.

Lindsay Gray has been an outstanding Director of the RSCM. From a significant career in education he has maintained a passionate commitment to nurturing the musical abilities of young people, and has sought to ensure the future of church music by training the next generation of musicians. He has raised the profile of the RSCM nationally and internationally, worked hard to invigorate the network of volunteers and has been an excellent leader and motivator.

Associates of the RSCM (ARSCM)

Matthew Beetschen has been Director of Music and Organist at Dunblane Cathedral since 1992. As an organist he is a superb recitalist, advocate and teacher. As a choir trainer he has built up a large voluntary cathedral choir especially concentrating on musical training of boys and girls. Matthew has been Chairman of RSCM Scotland for eight years.

Malcolm Chalmers is Headmaster of St Martin’s Preparatory School in Johannesburg and Master of Music at St Boniface, Germiston, South Africa. He has served as Chairman of the Northern Branch of the RSCM in South Africa for five years, and has initiated youth choral programmes, singing festivals and three national Summer Schools.

David Iliff has done outstanding editorial and type-setting work on the RSCM’s photocopiable resources The Carol Book, The Carol Book Supplement, Season by Season, and Songs, Psalms & Spirituals. David has recently retired as Director of Music at Malvern Priory, concluding a 50-year career directing music in churches.

Timothy Lees has been an outstanding music director and organist at the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and an invaluable member of the RSCM Eastern Cape Branch. Timothy was Royal Organist for the Sultan of Oman 1990–2001 and has been Director of Music in several schools in the UK.

Pat Lynch has made an outstanding contribution to church music in Scotland over many years, particularly to the Scottish Episcopal Church, providing resources for worship and cantor training. She has served as secretary of the RSCM Scotland Committee from 2005 to 2012, running courses and training days as well as handling administration.

Michael McConnell has given 50 years’ service to church music at St Joseph’s Cathedral Dunedin, NZ. Michael was a member of the RSCM Otago & Southland Branch committee for 30 years and in 1991 was appointed a Special Commissioner for the RSCM. He has contributed to RSCM Summer Schools and helped organize and lead RSCM festival services.

Dr June Nixon is known internationally as an organist, choir trainer and composer. In 2013 she will complete 40 years’ service as Organist and Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, Australia.

Honorary Member of the RSCM (HonRSCM)

Barry Williams has advised the RSCM for over 20 years on legal questions, in particular relating to contracts and relationships between clergy, PCCs and musicians. He has also led RSCM workshops on these topics and co-authored with Robert Leach a helpful book Everything Else an Organist Should Know.

Certificate of Special Service

These are awarded at local events to those who have given outstanding service to their Branch or Area:

Nigel Bates, Oxford Area
Ken Diffey, Ely Area
Richard Hill, Northumbria Area
Michael Jones, Liverpool Area
Nigel Perona-Wright, Guildford Area
Paul Rose, Peterborough & Northampton Area
Derek Sadler, Liverpool Area
Marjorie Simmance, Lincoln Area
Hilary Spurgeon, Isle of Wight District
Barbara Stout, RSCM South Africa, Eastern Cape Branch
Brian Watson, RSCM Australia, NSW Branch
Ada Wrightson, Lincoln Area

Hadley Court Singers job vacancy

One of our choir members, who sings in the choir concerned, has asked that the following job advert is placed here, and we're happy to oblige.  Contact them through their website if interested or for further information.


WANTED: MUSICAL DIRECTOR, HADLEY COURT SINGERS, HADDINGTON, EAST LOTHIAN

The Hadley Court Singers is an SATB choir of around 35 to 40 singers based in Haddington, East Lothian. We perform regularly three times a year and in the past have sung at special events throughout Scotland. Although presently non-auditioning we can sing to a high standard, and enjoy exploring a wide range of musical styles from early classical to more challenging modern works. 

Our present Musical Director, Simon Nieminski, is, sadly, leaving us at the end of 2012 after 8 1/2 years of directing the choir. We are looking for someone willing to make a long term commitment to Hadley Court Singers and take us forward with energy, enthusiasm and originality of approach!

Visit to Dumfries

At 4pm on Saturday 10th November 2012 RSCM Scottish Voices will be singing in St John's Episcopal Church, Lovers' Walk, Dumfries, directed by our Assistant Musical Director Richard Walmsley.

The service of Choral Evensong, the day before Remembrance Sunday, will have the theme of remembrance running through it, and the music will be:

Introit: Cantique de Jean Racine (Gabriel Fauré)
Responses: Richard Shephard
Psalm: 121 (Henry Walford Davies)
Canticles: Charles Villiers Stanford in C
Anthem: Greater Love hath no man (John Ireland)
Blessing: Irish Blessing (Bob Chilcott)

All are welcome to attend the service, which promises to be very moving.

This first trip to Dumfries will be the furthest south in Scotland we've yet visited, and with a trip to Inverness scheduled for 2013 our ongoing aim to further push the geographic scope of RSCM Scottish Voices is well in hand.

Audition success

Congratulations to the three new members of RSCM Scottish Voices, one alto and two basses, who were successful at our audition day yesterday and who will be joining us in 2013.

Welcome to the choir Lynne from Dollar, John from Elgin and Chris from Dunblane!

Although we have no further audition days planned at the moment, we do keep a list of interested singers who we may invite for audition as and when required, so if you'd like an application form or just a bit more information, as long as you're 18 or older, live in Scotland, and have experience in church choral singing please contact the administrator using the details in the sidebar on the right.  You too could be part of this exciting national choir.

Hadley Court Singers

There's an audition day for prospective new members of RSCM Scottish Voices on Saturday 22nd September and it isn't too late to apply to join - just contact the administrator using the details in the sidebar on the right.

In the meantime though, if you're interested in joining a choir in Haddington then the Hadley Court Singers, which is conducted by the very talented Simon Nieminski and in which one of our members sings, could well be the very one for you, and they're having an open evening on Wednesday 19th September 2012 from 7.30pm until 9.30pm in Holy Trinity Church in Haddington. 

Contact their membership secretary via their website which is at www.hadleycourtsingers.co.uk

Come and join us

We're having an audition day on Saturday 22nd September 2012 for prospective new choir members who are interested in filling one of the limited numbers of vacancies we currently have.

For further information and to apply contact the administrator by email, using the details in the sidebar on the right, but don't forget to have a read through the criteria for membership, especially age and residence.

2013 season announced!

The next time you can hear us sing is on November 10th 2012 in St John's Episcopal Church in Dumfries when we bring our 2012 season to a close with a Remembrance themed Choral Evensong, but hot off the press this weekend the 2013 season for RSCM Scottish Voices has now been announced.

We start the year on Saturday February 2nd in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow, home church of our Musical Director Frikki Walker and several of our choir, where we shall be taking part in a Choral Mass for Candlemas at 4.30pm.

On Saturday 9th March we will be making a first visit to the university town of St Andrews, where we will be singing Choral Evensong in Holy Trinity Parish Church, which in the past has been host to concerts by The Sixteen and The Tallis Scholars.

Saturday 27th April sees us helping celebrate the 850th anniversary year of the founding of Paisley Abbey, with our first visit to sing in that historic building.

In June we will be singing somewhere, but the exact date and the venue is still in negotiation, so watch this space!

Friday August 2nd to Sunday August 4th* will be our annual residential rehearsal weekend, venue to be decided but it features no public performance so the finer details may well not be publicised here.
* please note this is a date change from that first posted here (updated 13/10/2012)

Our stretching of the Scottish geographic boundaries continues on Saturday 14th September when we pay a first visit to sing Choral Evensong in St Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Inverness.

As well as the 850th anniversary of Paisley Abbey, the year 2013 is the centenary of the Carnegie Trust undertaking the first ever publishing of Tudor Church Music, and we're delighted to be able to help them celebrate this auspicious occasion by singing Tudor music for them on Saturday 12th October.  The venue is still to be finalised, but we're hopeful it'll involve singing in a suitably old abbey, cathedral or church.

Our 2013 season comes to a close with a return visit to the outstanding acoustic of St Aloysius' RC Church in Glasgow, where although the details of the service have still to be discussed we hope to take part in their regular Vigil Mass on Saturday 23rd November.

Full details, including music lists of all of the above will be announced here as and when information becomes available, and on a rolling basis our Future Services and Events page will be updated.

Strathallan residential weekend 2012

This evening members of RSCM Scottish Voices will gather from all over the country and assemble in the delightful setting of Strathallan School in rural Perthshire to take part in the 2012 annual residential rehearsal weekend.

There will be loads of good music (I know, I've seen the secret list!), good friends, good fun, good laughs, and, naturally, good and extended partying!

The 2013 season will be announced to the choir over the weekend, and posted here on Sunday afternoon, so watch this space.

We hope to organise an audition day in the autumn for prospective new members hoping to join us in 2013.  Contact the administrator using the email address in the sidebar to the right if you're interested, or you want to find out more.  But read the blurb on the right first, there are some criteria which need fulfilled by members (age, residence etc).

Sun Shine Songs

On Friday 17th August, one of the members of RSCM Scottish Voices will be taking part in a free concert entitled Sun Shine Songs in St Baldred's Church in North Berwick, with donations taken on the door for Leuchie House and St Baldred's Church.

It's a concert featuring Chick Lyall, Phil Grieve, Wesley Bradd and Sadie Maskery who together make up the group Eyebroughty, and it's going to be a mixture of jazz, folk and classic summer songs with special guests and buck's fizz (the drink, not the group!).

Not only will it be marvellous, it's for a good cause, so why not take a chance and go along if you're in the area.

New RSCM Director appointed

Copyright © The Royal School of Church Music

The Council of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) has appointed Andrew Reid (pictured), currently Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral, to be the next Director in succession to Lindsay Gray, who is leaving the RSCM this autumn. A start date has yet to be agreed.

Andrew Reid has been Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral since 2004 and before that he served in a number of assistant organist posts including both Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.

Originally from Sevenoaks in Kent, he studied at Cambridge University where he held organ scholarships at St Catharine’s and Robinson Colleges, studying the instrument with Peter Hurford and David Sanger. In 1994 he performed the complete works of JS Bach in one twenty-five hour recital. As Assistant Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral from 1996, and four years later as Sub Organist of Westminster Abbey, he accompanied both resident choirs in recordings, broadcasts and on tour. He also played the organ for occasions of national significance including the funeral of Cardinal Basil Hume and the state funeral of the Queen Mother in Westminster Abbey.  At Peterborough Cathedral, he has directed the Cathedral Choirs of boys, girls and lay clerks in live broadcasts of Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3, has performed with renowned groups such as His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and Charivari Agréable, toured the Netherlands, Ireland and France, and has given many concerts within the UK.

Andrew Reid is looking forward to the new post. “I am delighted and honoured to be appointed Director of the RSCM. As a parish church chorister I greatly benefited from the work of the RSCM, and its inspirational leadership. I look forward to leading the RSCM forward in its work of inspiring, training and encouraging church musicians.”

Commenting on the appointment, Lord Gill, Chairman of the RSCM Council, who also chaired the appointment panel and is Scotland’s most senior judge, said, “Andrew Reid has been chosen from a strong field of candidates. His experience ranges from choral music at cathedral level to the training and encouragement of amateur musicians and singers in the parish churches, including young people. His vision for the RSCM is imaginative and exciting, and we look forward to a successful directorship. Andrew will build on the foundations laid by our departing director, Lindsay Gray, whose contribution to the RSCM has been immense.”

The Dean of Peterborough, the Very Reverend Charles Taylor, said, “Although Andrew’s departure will be a real loss to the Cathedral community and the Diocese, we congratulate him on his appointment to a post of national and international significance. He will take with him remarkable gifts of musicianship, choir training and teaching as well as a strong sense of vocation, vision and purpose.”

New conductor for our sister choir

The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) has appointed a new choral conductor to take over direction of its training choir for singers in the North of England. Robert Poyser will direct RSCM Voices (North) from September 2012.

Robert is also Director of Music at Beverley Minster, and brings to the choir a wealth of choral directing experience, particularly with children, from his work at Beverley and previously at Chelmsford Cathedral. He takes up the post in September, beginning with Evensong at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral at 3.00pm on Saturday 8th September 2012.

Robert succeeds Gordon Appleton, who retires this summer after a long and successful tenure in which he built the choir up to a strong membership of boys, girls and adults.

RSCM Voices are the Royal School of Church Music’s training choirs of singers drawn from affiliated churches around the country. As part of Voice for Life, the RSCM’s singing training scheme, they seek to build upon the work done in parish choirs. “These choirs provide excellent choral training which explores new and challenging repertory in lots of great venues” says Colin Davey, the Programme Manager of Voice for Life. “The remit of the group is to explore ways of encouraging young people in particular to sing, and to give a rounded experience of different kinds of church music, all the while inspiring them to reach the highest possible standard.”

RSCM Voices (North) has a busy programme of singing engagements arranged throughout the region, from Newcastle to Peterborough and from Carlisle to Liverpool. Entry is by audition and further details can be found at the RSCM website, www.rscm.com