Queen of the South revisited

Our next outing is a very welcome return visit to sing Choral Evensong in the beautiful town of Dumfries, close to the border, in St John's Episcopal Church at 4pm.


Introit: Abendleid (Josef Rheinberger)
Responses: Herbert Sumsion
Canticles: Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis in G (Herbert Sumsion)
Anthem: Let the people praise Thee O God (William Mathias)

We will as usual be directed by the wonderful Frikki Walker and on this occasion, having recently said a sad goodbye to our friend and Assistant Musical Director Richard Walmsley who with his family has now moved to Cambridgeshire to take up the position of head of music at the King's School in Ely, we will be accompanied by Steven McIntyre, Assistant Organist at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow.

2018 season announced

After several months of work our administrator has finally put the last pieces into place for our 2018 season, so we can now officially announce all of our future dates and venues from this point onwards.

All of it will be rewarding and enjoyable, but in particular we're looking forward to our second proper foray across the border, and having sung in Carlisle Cathedral in 2016 we travel a little further south and lots further east to the magnificent Durham Cathedral.  Another highlight will undoubtedly be taking part in a Mass in King's College Chapel in Aberdeen, featuring music by Francois Couperin (1668-1733) which has been a particular interest and study subject of our Musical Director Frikki Walker who had the opportunity to travel to France in June this year with a group of fellow organists from the Royal College of Organists to play various organs including one in the Palace of Versailles.

Friday 11th to Sunday 13th August 2017
Annual Residential Rehearsal Weekend, Scottish Police College, Tulliallan Castle (NB no public access)

9th September 2017
St John's Episcopal Church, Dumfries
Choral Evensong at 4pm

7th October 2017
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow
Choral Evensong at 4pm

11th November 2017
St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee
Choral Evensong at 4pm

17th February 2018
Bothwell Parish Church
Choral Evensong at 4pm

24th March 2018
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow
Chrism Mass at 4pm

19th May 2018
Durham Cathedral
Choral Evensong at 5.15pm

2nd June 2018
Along with choirs from around Scotland we will be taking part in the RSCM Scotland Triennial Festival in Dundee

Friday 10th to Sunday 12th August 2018
Annual Residential Rehearsal Weekend, Scottish Police College, Tulliallan Castle (NB no public access)

15th September 2018
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh
Choral Evensong at 4pm

6th October 2018
King's College Chapel, Aberdeen
Mass at 4pm, featuring music by Couperin

17th November 2018
Dunblane Cathedral
Choral Evensong at 4pm

We are a non-denominational choir that sings in churches of varying traditions, and often in them we sing Choral Evensong which although of Anglican origin is a beautiful Christian service which lends itself wonderfully to some of the most fantastic music ever written.  The following was spotted by our administrator in a cathedral in England and they did not object when they were asked if we could use it, so for several years it has been included in all of our Choral Evensong Orders of Service:

Some have said that Choral Evensong seems to be more of a concert that an act of worship. That would be true if the singing were offered to those present – but it isn’t. It is offered by the Choir, on behalf of the whole church, to Almighty God – who alone is the audience to all worship; we are part of that offering, even though we say little and sing even less; by our presence and our silent assent we are worshipping as we allow the Choir – doing something beautiful for God who creates, preserves and redeems us – to lift our hearts beyond the mundane into the realms of the eternal and glorious life of heaven.

2017 season announced

The venues for our 2017 season have just been finalised, so including the last half of our 2016 season from this point forward our plans are listed below.  Other than our rehearsal weekend when there is no public access we'd be delighted to see you at one or more of our services, which generally start at 4pm, last under an hour, and contain glorious music!

10th September 2016
Bothwell Parish Church
Choral Evensong at 4pm

8th October 2016
St Cuthbert's Parish Church, Lothian Rd, Edinburgh
Choral Evensong at 4pm

12th November 2016
Culross Abbey
Choral Evensong at 4pm

14th January 2017
St Michael's Parish Church, Linlithgow
Choral Evensong at 4pm

4th March 2017
Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling
Choral Evensong at 4pm

20th May 2017
Peebles Old Parish Church
Choral Evensong at 4pm

11th to 13th August 2017
Scottish Police College, Tulliallan Castle, Kincardine on Forth
Annual Residential Rehearsal Weekend (NB: No public access or performance)

9th September 2017
St John's Episcopal Church, Dumfries
Choral Evensong at 4pm

7th October 2017
St Machar's Cathedral, Aberdeen
Choral Evensong at 4pm

11th November 2017
St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee
Choral Evensong at 4pm

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.

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.