Young Voices Festival 2008

The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) has just announced dates and venues for this year’s Young Voices Festival; an annual opportunity for young people from schools and colleges to sing together in inspiring venues all over the UK. The theme this year is “Search for Peace”.

There are seven events already arranged for venues across the UK; Dunblane, Ely, Winchester and Ripon Cathedrals, Eton College, King’s College School (Wimbledon) and St Alphege Church (Solihull) taking place in either June or October (dates below). A further event in London has yet to be announced.

“More than ever, as we see oppression and war around the globe, we yearn for peace in our world,” says the RSCM’s Leah Perona-Wright who has organised the festival. “That is the context for this year’s festival; the young people of today will play a vital role in shaping our world in the future.”

Each event is led by a leading church musician, and will begin with a rehearsal in the early afternoon, followed by a service which will normally have finished by 6pm.  There is no charge for participation in the festival, though singers will need to bring a copy of service booklet which is available on the Search for Peace CD-ROM, along with music from the Voice for Life Songbook (vol 1); both are available from RSCM Music Direct.

The Festival dates are as follows:

Festival venue	Date	Director
Eton College	Tuesday 10 June 2008	Ralph Allwood
Ely Cathedral	Wednesday 11 June 2008	John Wardle
Winchester Cathedral	Wednesday 11 June 2008	David Ogden
Dunblane Cathedral, Scotland	Saturday 21 June 2008	Matthew Beetschen
Kings College School, Wimbledon	Friday 3 October 2008	Daniel Phillips
Ripon Cathedral	Wednesday 15 October 2008	Gordon Appleton
St Alphege Church, Solihull	Wednesday 15 October 2008	Jon Payne
London (venue to be confirmed)	October (date to be confirmed)	Leah Perona-Wright & Esther Jones

To coincide with this year’s festival the RSCM is also launching a free guide to help schools and churches organise their own events.  Writing in the March edition of Church Music Quarterly (the RSCM’s magazine for members and affiliated schools and churches) Leah Perona-Wright says, “with my parish choir we have been using the RSCM Young Voices Festival Service as an opportunity for the youth choir to lead a special service in our church. Other churches and school choirs dip into the service and use individual items in their services and assemblies”.  The free guidance pack can be downloaded from www.rscm.com/youngvoices or obtained by post from the RSCM Education Department, 19 The Close Salisbury, SP1 2EB.

To book places

A booking form is available online from www.rscm.com/youngvoices. Some locations are extremely popular and early booking is advised. Please give an indication of the number of singers you expect to bring (we reserve the right to restrict the number of singers per choir if oversubscribed). Please book by 9th May for the events in June, and 12th September for the events in October.

What you will need

Each choir will only need to purchase a Search for Peace CD-ROM and a Voice for Life Songbook. These include all the musical and liturgical resources for the service which can be printed or photocopied as many times as necessary, and we hope the contents will also prove useful throughout the year for assemblies and concerts etc.

The Voice for Life Songbook contains 40 songs with training notes, demonstration CD, and advice on warming-up and rehearsing your choir. A CD of piano accompaniments is available separately. For further information, listen to the Voice for Life Songbook podcast and sample songs here.

These can be ordered online at www.rscm.com/shop or from RSCM Music Direct:
Tel: 0845 021 7726 (from outside UK: +44 845 021 7726)
Fax: 0845 021 8826 (from outside UK: +44 845 021 8826)
Email: musicdirect(at)rscm.com

Ends
8 April 2008

Notes for Editors:
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is an educational charity and promotes the best use of music in worship, church life, and the wider community. The RSCM also publishes music and training resources, and organises courses, short workshops and activities. With over 8,500 affiliates, members and friends in over 40 countries it is an international network, supported by over 750 volunteers and small team of staff based throughout the UK.

We will appreciate any coverage you can give to this festival; we would be willing to arrange interviews and provide any further information. You are welcome to send a reporter / photographer to cover these events, but please arrange this with us in advance.

PDFs of RSCM news releases are generally available here (go to "News Releases").

Photographs for media use are available from the Media & Picture Gallery (go to "RSCM picture gallery").

For further enquiries contact:
Stuart Robinson:
RSCM Media Relations Organiser
srobinson@rscm.com
T: 01492 556378 / 07831 827701

or

Heather Bamber
RSCM Marketing & Communications Administrator
E: hbamber@rscm.com
T: 01722 424847 or 07786 331364