RSCM America celebrates the 80th anniversary of The Royal School of Church Music
Over 500 singers from church choirs as far afield as Ohio and Texas will gather at Washington National Cathedral this Saturday (2nd February), to celebrate the work of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) founded 80 years ago in London by Sir Sydney Nicholson.
The singers will participate in a special celebration - Psallam - a service based on music and readings from the psalms, which has a North American flavour, with traditional and new music from the United States and Canada. This service is being used worldwide to celebrate the RSCM – over 150 singers from Australia and New Zealand used it for a celebration in the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Dunedin, New Zealand, in January.
“This is testament to the importance of the work of the RSCM in the United States, and to the high regard in which it is held by choir directors and singers alike,” said Professor John Harper, the RSCM's Director Emeritus. “Over 200 of those singers will be young people – boy and girl choristers – who are the future of church music,” he said.
Before the service in the National Cathedral, the RSCM will pay tribute to six people who have contributed significantly to the church and its music by making honorary awards. Dr Joseph Dyer (Boston, MA) and Dr Robin Leaver (Westminster Choir College, NJ) are scholars of church music who have contributed very significantly to our understanding of the Christian musical inheritance. Bruce Neswick (Canon for Music, Atlanta Cathedral, GA) and Tom Whittemore (Organist and Choirmaster, Trinity Church, Princeton, NJ) are leading practitioners who direct the music of our churches today. Enid Oberholtzer (RSCM America board member) and Steve Lott (formerly head verger at Washington National Cathedal) are two of a large body of people whose non-musical work does so much to enable the music to be made in our worship.
The citations for the awards will be made by Dr John Harper, Emeritus Director, RSCM, and presented by Mark Williams, Chairman of the RSCM Council. “We are delighted and thrilled that both this event and the awards demonstrate the growth of the work of RSCM across the north American continent,” said Mr Williams.
28 January 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. For more information about RSCM America visit www.rscmamerica.org
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