In a beautiful setting on the south bank of the River Tay across from Dundee, Newport-on-Tay features two beautiful historic organs, the Willis organ at Newport-on-Tay Church of Scotland, and the John R. Miller instrument at St Mary's Episcopal. The organs are within a couple of minutes' walk of each other and within easy reach of shops and cafes for refreshments.

Join us on 6 June for a day of workshop sessions led by Hannah Chan and RCO SCOTS administrator Andrew Macintosh. 

 

1030 Assemble (refreshments available

1100 Repertoire workshop Bring any pieces you are working on, whether they're performance-ready or you're just beginning to learn.

1200 Break

1215 Technique surgery Anything goes! Hannah will offer advice on practice technique, pedalling, fingering and anything else that you might find useful. (If you have something specific that you'd like us to cover here, please let us know (andrew.macintosh@rco.org.uk)

1315 lunch (bring a packed lunch or find something locally)

 

1430 Talk on recent developments in SCOTS

1445 Choral accompaniment We'll cover techniques for leading and accompanying a choir on your own, and how to approach the accompaniment task in the SCOTS stage assessments. Bring anything you're working on with a choir at the moment, or any of the options in the syllabus. (We are expanding the syllabus to include items from the Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems, available here.)

1600 Ends

 

The two churches are at either end of Blyth Street, Newport-on-Tay DD6 8DB, a couple of minutes' walk from each other. On-street parking is free and you should be able to park without difficulty. If you are arriving by public transport take the train to Dundee or Leuchars then catch the Stagecoach 99 (every 9/10 minutes) to the Forgan Roundabout stop. The church is a 20 minute walk from here (downhill!) but it may be possible to arrange a pickup—please let us know in advance if you require this.

 

Hannah Chan was born in Scotland in 1991. From an early age she had an interest in music and took piano lessons with Judith Wilkes, followed by the organ with Stuart Muir at St Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee.

In 2009, she joined Royal Birmingham Conservatoire's organ department on a scholarship. She won the Birmingham Organists’ Association Leonard Gibbons Fund Competition in her first year and competed in the Northern Ireland International Competition in 2011. She also studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, studying principally with Pier Damiano Peretti.

In September 2015, Hannah completed her Master of Music degree with Distinction, studying under Henry Fairs and Daniel Moult. Since moving back to Scotland in 2019, she combines her freelance portfolio as a Visiting Instructor of Piano at the High School of Dundee, teaching privately, and serving as the Organist of Newport-on-Tay Church of Scotland, Fife.

Andrew Macintosh is Director, RCO Scotland & Northern Ireland and administrator of RCO SCOTS. He is also Director of Music at All Saints Episcopal Church, St Andrews, and Deputy University Organist at the University of St Andrews. He is currently chair of the Friends of the Caird Hall Organ in Dundee.