The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a

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organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, training courses and an award scheme. The organisation was founded in England in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and today it operates internationally, with 8,500 members in over 40 countries worldwide, and is the largest church music organisation in Britain. The RSCM was originally named the School of English Church Music and was only open to members of the Anglican Communion; today it is an interdenominational organisation, although it is still overseen by the Church of England. Choirs affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music often wear the RSCM

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, which features a picture of Saint Nicolas, its patron saint.

History

The School of English Church Music (SECM) was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson, and opened at Buller’s Wood in

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

in 1929. In 1945, it became the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), and moved to Canterbury Cathedral. In 1954, it moved to

Addington Palace Addington Palace is an 18th-century mansion in Addington located within the London Borough of Croydon. It was built on the site of a 16th-century manor house. It is particularly known for having been, between 1807 and 1897, the summer resid ...

and then in 1996 to Cleveland Lodge,

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. Since 2006, it has been based at Sarum College in Salisbury.

Activities

The RSCM seeks to engage and encourage church music through awards, exams, publishing, residential courses and professional advice. Education programmes include the ''Voice for Life'' and ''Church Music Skills'' schemes, as well as the long-running residential courses. The RSCM publishes church music and other materials for choirs and organists, and produces a magazine, ''Church Music Quarterly'' (CMQ) which alongside ''Sunday by Sunday'' provides useful information for church musicians. The ''

Millennium Youth Choir The RSCM Millennium Youth Choir is a British choir for singers aged between 15 and 23. It is the RSCM's leading national choir. In 1999 the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, George Carey, suggested its formation and it gave its first perform ...

'' is the charity's national youth choir which has sung for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

Choral Evensong and the Proms. The ''RSCM Voices'' and ''RSCM Cathedral Singers'' are other choirs run by the RSCM.

Leadership

* The Director is Hugh Morris (since 2018) *President of the Royal School of Church Music in America is Joseph Causby *President of RSCM Australia is Ross Cobb *President of RSCM South Africa is Malcolm Chalmers *President of RSCM New Zealand is Paul Ellis *The patron is HM The Queen.

Directors of the RSCM

1927–1947 Sydney Nicholson (formerly Organist of

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and Manchester Cathedrals, and Westminster Abbey) 1954–1972 Gerald H. Knight (formerly Assistant Organist of

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It i ...

) 1972–1989

Lionel Dakers Lionel Frederick Dakers (24 February 1924 – 10 March 2003) was an English cathedral organist who served in Ripon Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral. Background Dakers was born on 24 February 1924 in Rochester, Kent. He studied organ under Haro ...

(formerly Organist of

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and Ripon Cathedrals) 1989–1998

Harry Bramma Harry Wakefield Bramma (born 11 November 1936, Shipley, West Yorkshire) is a British organist and composer of Anglican church music. He served as director of the Royal School of Church Music from 1989 to 1998 and as director of music at All Sain ...

(formerly Assistant Organist of Worcester Cathedral and Organist of Southwark Cathedral) 1998–2007 John Harper 2007–2012 Lindsay Gray 2012–2018 Andrew Reid(formerly Master of the Music at Peterborough Cathedral; subsequently Director of

Harrison and Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the R ...

) 2018–present Hugh Morris (formerly Organist of Derby Cathedral)

Awards and medals

The RSCM provides a series of grades and awards to signify varying levels of musical achievement. There are four basic merit awards – the light blue ribbon, the dark blue ribbon, the red ribbon and the yellow ribbon. These awards share the same medal. Beyond these are several medals awarded after successful coursework and examination: * The Bronze award * The Silver award * The Gold award The prerequisites of the Silver award are to hold either the Bronze award (or its predecessor, the Dean's/Provost's award), to have attended an RSCM event as a member of the choir and it is suggested that the candidate have a Grade 3 Theory (ABRSM) level of understanding. The prerequisites of the Gold award are once again, to hold the level below, to have completed an RSCM course (preferably residential) and it is suggested that a Grade 5 Theory (ABRSM) level of understanding. The ABRSM Grade 8 Singing is of an approximate level but the Gold award has a larger syllabus and does not require the candidate to commit pieces to memory. Unlike the grade 8, a candidate must also create an order of service for any event he or she wishes, with an appropriate music list. The new awards are now available to choristers of any age and have been brought in to standardise the awarding process. There are many area based rules for the old medals, which will all disappear as the old award candidates decide not to wear their medals due to age. Examples include * in some areas a chorister may wear all medals at the same time while in others there is a limit of one. * a red ribbon (St Cecilia/Nicolas) may only be worn by those over 18 years in some areas, while other areas the highest medal always has a red ribbon. The former medals are as follows: Head Chorister and Deputy Head Chorister medals are also used by some choirs.

Honorary awards

Every year the RSCM Council confers Honorary Awards on those who have made outstanding contributions to church music. They are divided in: * Fellow of the RSCM (FRSCM): *: 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 RSCM (ARSCM): *: 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): *: 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 (CERTSS): *: Awarded 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.

References

External links

RSCMRSCM CanadaRSCM AmericaRSCM AustraliaRSCM New ZealandRSCM King's College Training CourseRSCM OxfordRSCM Ireland
{{Authority control 1927 establishments in the United Kingdom Music-related professional associations Anglican church music Music education organizations Music education in the United Kingdom Music education in the United States Music education in Canada Anglican education Music in Wiltshire Music publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1927 Sheet music publishing companies