Page 23 - Church Music Quarterly June 2018

names have been retained to indicate continuity in o fce with those who held them in those earlier centuries. When a new prebendary is installed during a special evensong, they are assigned a stall within the Quire, which signifes their right to occupy it when attending Divine Service in the Quire.
Matthew has led the Wells Cathedral Choir in its nine services per week since January 2005, and during that time has striven to uphold the 1100-year-old choraltraditionwhilealsochampioning newmusic,raisingthestandardo the choir and raising its profle locally, nationally and globally.
FROM THE DIARY OF
HELEN BENT
The Revd Helen Bent, the RSCM’s Heado MinisterialTraining,continues her teaching in three main streams: training o ered to ordinands through Anglican Dioceses, training to RSCM Areas through Events, and training through the centrally-run Strengthen
or Service, which is a series o residential courses giving concentrated tuition to very small groups and which o ers a great deal o opportunity or interaction and individual development. Strengthen orServicerunsthreetimes per year in di erent locations, and providessomethingo amini-retreat. The courses are wonder ul learning opportunities!Feedback romattendees alwaysmentionsthequalityo the Scripturally-based approach, and the peace ul delivery o the materials
(at Helen’s events, di erent viewpoints and debates are encouraged in a spirit
o enquiryandinormation-sharing). AlookatHelen’sdiary orthecoming
months reveals engagements in Canterbury, Exeter, Winslow, Rochester, Portsmouth and Ely, and all this alongside her ongoing work writing and researching resources to support the leadership in churches whether well- or under-resourced.
ULSTER SOCIETY OF ORGANISTS AND CHOIRMASTERS CENTENARY CONFERENCE
To celebrate the centenary year o theUlsterSocietyo Organistsand Choirmasters,acentenaryconerence
is being held on Saturday 15 September 2018.One eature,whichwillbeo particular interest to RSCM members, is a seminar on Maintaining Choral Traditions. The programme and registrationdetailscanbe oundon our website www.ulsterorganists.org.
DavidSaint,Organisto StChad Cathedral, Birmingham, will consider how to teach and how to learn the
di fcult art o choral conducting. MarkDuley, ormerlyorganisto Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
and ounder-director o the Resurgam Chamber Choir, will address the issue o proessionalmusicinchurchand describe his success ul university choralscholarschemeinGalway.
Amajor eatureo thecentenary con erence will be the launch o Alasdair MacLaughlin’s book A Society Forme ,whichembodieshisresearch into the Ulster Society’s activities over the past 100 years. An early visitor
to the Society in 1927 was Mr [later Sir] Sydney Nicholson who talked about his project to establish the School o English Church Music, now the RSCM. MichaelCallen eran JamesMcConnell
A NEW JUNIOR CHOIR
A new junior choir was established at St John the Baptist, Westbourne, West Sussex in October 2017, shortly a ter the arrival o Stewart Taylor as Director o Music and the Revd Andrew Doye
as Rector. Seven girls joined the choir and all have now completed their White level Voice for Life training. All seven were
ormally admitted to the choir on 18 March. Stewart’s previous choir, Holy Trinity, Here ord, continues to fourish underStewart’ssuccessorJackPickord.
DAME GILLIAN WEIR
PRIZE FOR ORGANISTS
Young organists at Birmingham
City University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire are being given the opportunity to compete or a new prize donated by one o the world’s oremost musicians, Dame Gillian Weir.
The Gillian Weir Messiaen Prize will be awarded annually or the next 10 years or the best per ormance by a student at the institution o a work or works by French composer Olivier Messiaen. The frst competition will take place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire later this year, with the winner awarded £1,000.
PROFESSOR STEPHEN DARLINGTON
Pro essor Stephen Darlington is retiring a ter 33 years o distinguished service. The post at Christ Church,
Ox ord is highly unusual. As well
as being Director o Music or the Cathedral, and overseeing the world- class Cathedral Choir, the appointment o Organist includes a signifcant academic role in the Faculty o Music in both university and college.
Therewillbeanumbero special events to mark Pro essor Darlington’s departure, including a per ormance
o HowardGoodall’sInvictus:APassion, a concert at St John the Evangelist, Oxordon29June ollowedbya ormal dinner at Christ Church, and a celebratory evensong on 7 July.
The Ulster Society of Organists and Choirmasters will celebrate 100 years in September
RSCM NEWS 23
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