There is always a lot of news to share, and this edition of NFTD is a bumper one.

It was a joy to lead our course for young people in Bath last week. To see a few highlight pictures, click here. It is equally delightful to announce a new course we are offering in partnership with Sing for Pleasure, using their tried and trusted methods of choral directing to support those working in church music. For details of the first in what we hope will be a whole series of these offerings, click here.

We always appreciate hearing your news, too. Please send in reports and pictures that we can share more widely.

Hugh Morris
RSCM Director

Continuing our series of online events, we invite you to join us on 4 September at 7pm for the first presentation and discussion, which is called ‘New Year, New Start’.

Is admin every musician’s favourite task? Perhaps not. Join us for a discussion on the best ways to manage admin, planning, and keeping your music and musicians organized. RSCM Director Hugh Morris and Christopher McElroy, Director of Music at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, will explore various tools and solutions, including those offered by the RSCM, in an open forum.

This event is open to all and free for RSCM Members. £10.00 per event for non-members (refundable if you become a member within a month). You can book by clicking the button below. 

Click here for details of all upcoming online events, which will be held every first Wednesday of the month starting 4 September.

For composer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is a cherished memory: ‘It’s the first piece of music I remember from childhood. I used to dance around the sitting room to it. To celebrate the 300th anniversary of its publication in 2025, I thought it would be wonderful for choirs to perform it. Vivaldi’s tunes are so magnificent they deserve to be sung.’

In A Season to Sing, Joanna reimagines The Four Seasons for choir and organ or piano, blending texts from poetry and the Bible about spring, summer, autumn and winter with Vivaldi’s beloved melodies. This 40-minute piece is set to become a favourite for choirs worldwide and can be performed at any time of the year due to its seasonal themes.

The RSCM invites choirs to join this special commissioning project. For a contribution of £300/$500, choirs will receive exclusive benefits, including the chance to perform A Season to Sing before its general release and a special edition of the score signed by the composer. You can enjoy a preview of the music in the video above. To learn more about the project, click the button below.

This year marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of hymn writer Isaac Watts. Simon Aiken, President of RSCM South Africa, has put together a festival service to celebrate Watts’s anniversary. Wherever you are in the world, consider holding a festival of your own; a resource template, which you are welcome to use, is available here.

Music has always been central to worship, but most composers associated with its development are historically male. Yet, women of faith have composed music just as they have sung and played it since the earliest times.

Join Anna Macham, Canon Precentor of Salisbury Cathedral, online on 17 October from 10am to 1pm for a session exploring how women have composed sacred music across different historical periods, reflecting on their lives and works. Participants will be invited to consider their own spiritual responses to the music discussed and how these composers engaged with the musical styles and religious contexts of their time.

For full details and booking, click the button below. Enter the code ‘womencomposersRSCM’ at the payment portal for special RSCM Member 15% discount on the course fee (£32 instead of £40).

We are one of several organizations supporting Play the Organ Year 2025, co-ordinated by our friends at the Royal College of Organists. The campaign is designed to inspire a year-long effort by the whole organ-playing community to increase the number of people learning to play the organ, as well as understanding and appreciating its music. Organists will be encouraged to organize First Encounter performances, hold Play the Organ sessions, or simply invite anyone who might be interested to experience the organ first hand. Organizer packs and information are due to be published in September, but in the meantime, more details can be found at www.rco.org.uk/play

Postscript:

RSCM Music Direct has a new Facebook page!

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