THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF CHURCH MUSIC

GUILDFORD AREA

News of recent events

Events in 2007

Meet, Eat and Sing

Some 40 people assembled at Farnham United Reformed Church on 28 April at an event run jointly between the Guildford Area Committee of the RSCM and the local branch of the United Reformed Church Musicians' Guild. After enjoying lunch together they were taken through music marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. The leader was Rufus Frowde, Organist and Assistant Director of Music at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court, who brought a group of people who had never sung together before through some quite unfamiliar music -Negro spirituals, a modern setting of the Benedictus by Philip Moore and Stanford's Magnificat in C (the last item being familiar to some, at least, of the singers). The excellent accompanist (on piano and organ) was John Belcher. The day's proceedings concluded with a short service, led by the Revd Michael Hopkins, minister of Farnham United Reformed Church, which incorporated the music rehearsed during the afternoon.

Click on either picture to see an enlarged version

Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting reviewing the work of the RSCM in the area took place in the chapter house of Guildford Cathedral on 22 January. Gordon Appleton, RSCM Director, Voluntary Networks, addressed the meeting and told of past achievements and future plans of the RSCM.

The pictures show, first, Gordon Appleton addressing the meeting and, secondly, some of the attendees.

Events in 2005

Let all the world

Take a dream…a large building (Guildford Cathedral)…some priests (three Bishops, one Dean, one Methodist leader)…eight leading composers and musicians…five hundred delegates…

The result…

One amazing day…

Saturday 1st October saw the dream realized as Guildford Cathedral opened its doors to over five hundred musicians from the south of England. Singers, instrumentalists, worship leaders, pastors and priests enjoyed a full day of workshops and worship led by some of the biggest names in contemporary church music.

The day was organized by Jan Brind and sponsored by the RSCM Guildford Area, Guildford Cathedral, The Methodist Church and the Catholic Diocese of Arundel & Brighton. Several years ago, Jan - who worships at St Andrew's Church in Cobham - attended the conference of the ecumenical National Network of Pastoral Musicians, and came away inspired by the mix and diversity of music used in the worship there. In fact, she was so inspired that she decided to organise her own one day conference - with support from Andrew Maries, Rev Stuart Thomas, David Davies and a large team of willing helpers.

This was no ordinary worship day. Andrew Maries, Music Advisor for the Exeter Diocese, persuaded some of the UK's most popular church musicians and composers to run workshops in the Cathedral, including Bernadette Farrell, Dave Bilbrough, Geraldine Latty and David Ogden.

Following a welcome from the Dean of Guildford, Victor Stock, and Cathedral Organist, Stephen Farr, the day started in the Cathedral Nave with all the delegates singing a traditional Argentinian Gloria. The singers and musicians then made their way to the first of three pre-selected workshops.

Instrumentalists enjoyed sessions with Andrew Maries, and Cathedral sub-organist David Davies combined instruments and singers at his seminar on music for prayer. The Iona Community was represented by Alison Adam who asked the participants to sit together and 'sing as the body of Christ'.

Catholic composer Bernadette Farrell told delegates of her work to overcome poverty and injustice in London's East End, and how she started the campaign for fair salaries for the lowest paid employees - usually the cleaners - at one of our major banks. Although Bernadette introduced several of her own pieces, she also used well known melodies in effective arrangements, demonstrating that new and old music can work side by side.

Dave Bilbrough (composer of 'Abba, Father'), discussed popular misconceptions, especially the feeling in some quarters that only new music has a spiritual value. He advised delegates to use the best of the new and old, and not to discard the rich heritage we have. His wife, Pat, introduced 'Fun with Percussion' - a noisy but enjoyable session set in the somewhat inappropriate but soundproof setting of the Cathedral Library!

Gospel music was introduced by Baptist Geraldine Latty, who soon had her delegates singing unaccompanied songs rhythmically and in harmony. RSCM Advisor and Songs of Praise conductor David Ogden led delegates through a wide range of choral and congregational music, and gave valuable tips on communicating the message of the music.

During lunch (provided by the Cathedral Refectory), delegates had a chance to browse and purchase music and books from several publishers, two of whom launched books written by some of the organizers. Kevin Mayhew introduced contemporary uses of the psalms in 'With a new voice' by Rev Stuart Thomas, and Canterbury Press launched 'Creative Ideas for Evening Prayer' by Jan Brind and Tessa Wilkinson.

After lunch, and before resuming their workshops, delegates returned to the Nave to enjoy the 'Big Sing' with Alison Adam.

The day closed with a collective act of worship combining the different musical styles from each of the workshop leaders, accompanied by worship band 'Emmaus'. The service was supported by the leaders of the Catholic, Anglican and Methodist churches in Surrey. The Bishop of Arundel & Brighton, The Rt Revd Kieran Conry, read the lesson; Revd John Swarbrick, Chair of the London South-West District of the Methodist Church gave an address, The Bishop of Dorking led the prayers, and the Bishop of Guildford summarized the day's events and gave a Blessing. The day ended appropriately with the hymn 'Let all the world' accompanied by the organ and all available instrumentalists - it was quite a sound!

The illustrations show, above, Andrew Maries (Diocesan Music Advisor for Exeter, conducting delegates at the start of the day) , Catholic composer Bernadette Farrell, and Gospel singer Geraldine Latty conducting part of the closing act of worship; below, The Bishop of Dorking and ex-Archdeacon, Mark Wilson, enjoying the 'Big Sing' at lunchtime, Percussionists on the chancel step of the Cathedral during the final act of worship, and, singing from the same songsheet, the Bishop of Arundel & Brighton, the Bishop of Dorking, the Chair of the London South-West District Methodist Church, the Bishop of Guildford and the Dean of Guildford.

The photographs were taken by The Rev. Neil Lambert, Curate at Pyrford. Click on any photograph for a larger version.


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This page was last updated on 2 February 2007