In this holiest of seasons, please receive our good wishes and thanks for all the contributions you will make to worship over the coming days. When the joy of Easter arrives, let us all add our voices to the church’s great shouts and songs of praise. 

Thank you to everyone who responded to the poll we conducted around Christmas time. The hundreds of responses we received showed clear patterns: that congregation numbers were better than the previous year and that many churches have choirs, but mostly with either no young people or just a few. This information is helping us to use our resources effectively as we work to enable the flourishing of church music both now and in the future.

Hugh Morris
RSCM Director

The Festival of Faith and Music, which is brought to you by The Church Times in association with the RSCM, is only a month away! Since the RSCM has curated the contents, the festival takes the place of our annual Membership Conference. 

Taking place in York, Friday 26 April to Sunday 28 April, there will be an exciting and engaging range of speakers, discussions and workshops, including a keynote speech by the Archbishop of York, and special services held in York Minster. This event is for clergy, music leaders, people involved in church music, and those with a general interest in sacred music. It will be a source of celebration, inspiration, encouragement, support and resource. 

Tickets are available for the whole weekend, for Saturday only, and as an online-only option. Special discounts are available for RSCM Members. For more information and to buy tickets click the button below.

The RSCM is delighted to be working once more in partnership with the Cathedral Music Trust to recognise and develop excellence in choral music making by church choirs, and to give choirs the opportunity to take their work further.  

Choirs are invited to apply to the Cathedral Music Trust for up to £10,000 for a specific, innovative, or enriching project that lasts up to one year. For more information about projects the Award could support, please visit the CMT’s website here. Award holders will also receive one year's RSCM group membership and one year's free access to the RSCM's Voice for Life digital training programme.  

Key dates for 2024  

Friday 5 April – the application window opens

Wednesday 15 May – application deadline  

July – successful applicants  announced

We encourage you all to join with us this year, as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Charles Villiers Stanford.

You may already have read about the Stanford Singing Break taking place in Cambridge in mid-July. Tickets are now available separately for the Illustrated Organ Recital on Friday 12 July and the lecture on Saturday 13 July, which will be given by the leading Stanford expert, Professor Jeremy Dibble.

In terms of finding your own ways to mark the centenary, why not look beyond the standard fare to some of the lesser-known works, or try an orchestral version of an evening service? The score and parts are available from the RSCM Hire Library. Or, why not try the RSCM’s newly published The Stanford Responses?

We have also recently published Come & Sing Stanford Evensong!, a collection that provides everything you need to put on an evensong, including introit, hymns, psalm, responses, canticles and anthem. It is a great way to celebrate Stanford’s glorious works.

Please let us know your Stanford centenary plans by clicking the button below.

It is easy to play your part in bringing the RSCM family together on our day of celebration. Make sure your church joins in!  

Our Big Hymn Sing poll was won hands down by How shall I sing that majesty. It joins nine other hymns, and a new hymn by Gordon Giles and Thomas Hewitt Jones, Sing to the Lord, a new song of creation, in a downloadable pack we have put together to help you put on your own Big Hymn Sing. Find the pack and more ideas for how to participate in this year’s Music Sunday, including special prayers, a Music Sunday anthem, and resources to support concerts on the website here. 

Whilst celebrating Music Sunday, can you or your church make a donation to support the work of the RSCM? To find out how your donations can help the RSCM in its mission, please watch the video below.

The RSCM is looking to recruit a motivated and experienced safeguarding professional to lead our safeguarding strategy and ensure good practice in everything we do. If you have the right skills and experience in this area and are looking for a new and exciting opportunity, we’d love to hear from you. Alternatively, if you know someone else who would be interested in this role, do forward this email to them. Find out more by clicking the button below.

The February edition of this newsletter was introduced by Sal McDougall. Sal is moving to a new role as chaplain of St George’s Anglican Church, Madrid. In perhaps the ultimate expression of hybrid working, Sal has divided her time between Spain and Salisbury over the last four years. We wish her every happiness in her new role and offer our heartfelt thanks for all she has done as a Deputy Director. 

RSCM, 19 The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2EB

The Royal School of Church Music is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England, no 00250031.
It is also a registered charity, no 312828.