The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of

Anglican church music Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing '' a cappella'' or accompanie ...

, 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 The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

; today it is an

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...

organisation, although it is still overseen by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Choirs affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music often wear the RSCM medallion, which features a picture of Saint Nicolas, its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

History

The School of English Church Music (SECM) was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson, and opened at Buller’s Wood in Chislehurst 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 and then in 1996 to Cleveland Lodge, Dorking. Since 2006, it has been based at

Sarum College Sarum College is a centre of theological learning in Salisbury, England. The college was established in 1995 and sits within the cathedral close on the north side of Salisbury Cathedral. The Sarum College education programme ranges from sho ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

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'' is the charity's national youth choir which has sung for BBC Radio 3 Choral Evensong and the

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. 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 Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson (9 February 1875 – 30 May 1947) was an English choir director, organist and composer, now chiefly remembered as the founder of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) and the compiler of ''The Parish Psalter''. Li ...

(formerly Organist of Carlisle and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Cathedrals, and

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

) 1954–1972 Gerald H. Knight (formerly Assistant Organist of Truro Cathedral) 1972–1989 Lionel Dakers (formerly Organist of Exeter and

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

Cathedrals) 1989–1998 Harry Bramma (formerly Assistant Organist of

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...

and Organist of

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...

) 1998–2007 John Harper 2007–2012 Lindsay Gray 2012–2018 Andrew Reid(formerly Master of the Music at

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Pau ...

; 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 ...

) 2018–present Hugh Morris (formerly Organist of

Derby Cathedral The Cathedral Church of All Saints Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status, to a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, w ...

)

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