RCO heads around Britain for 2011 events programme

RCO heads around Britain for 2011 events programme


The Royal College of Organists has announced for 2011 its largest and most wide-ranging events programme ever.

The College’s 2011 Spring / Summer programme includes events for musicians of all ages and abilities, to be held at venues across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The season kicks off in Glasgow on 22nd January with Bach & Liszt, an event which takes a closer look at two composers who at first glance might seem poles apart.

The day includes privileged access to the new Koegler ‘Bach organ’ in the Barony Hall of the University of Strathclyde, with a masterclass from world-renowned Bach scholar, conductor and organist Professor John Butt. In the afternoon at Glasgow Cathedral Dr John Kitchen gives a lecture and recital of organ works by Franz Liszt, the 200th anniversary of whose birth falls in 2011.

The College moves on to Cardiff on 29th January for the first of four Raise Your Game! workshops for young organists. The others three are in Edinburgh on 14th March, Belfast on 19th March and London on 12th November.

February sees the focus switch to examinations. An RCO / ABRSM seminar at St Giles Cripplegate Church in London on 5th February will explore ABRSM’s new graded organ syllabus, highlighting the wide range of technical changes, the new pieces and the new Grade 1 organ examination introduced for 2011.

A second seminar on 26th February at City of London School for Boys will see Daniel Moult and RCO Chief Examiner Patrick Russill introduce and explore the new pieces for CertRCO, ARCO and FRCO from July 2011.

Anyone considering the RCO’s examinations should also look at Preparing for CertRCO, ARCO and FRCO, an event at Dulwich on 18th June which will offer a flexible pattern of tuition covering all aspects of the syllabuses for these three examinations.

Alongside this, the ever-popular RCO Easter Course will be held in Cambridge from 7th to 9th April, with participants able to attend as either residents or non-residents

Two performance events dominate the schedule in May, starting with the National Performance Festival for Young Organists in Oxford on 2nd May, and then moving on to Sing Mozart! in Bristol on 7th May – a ‘bring it and sing it’ featuring Mozart’s Requiem accompanied on the famous and recently restored Harrison and Harrison 4-manual organ in the magnificent church of St Mary Redcliffe.

The Spring / Summer season then finishes with two major events in August.

The Organ Scholar Experience in Oxford from August 2nd to 7th will be invaluable for anyone considering organ scholarships at universities, cathedrals and churches.

Finally, the RCO St Giles Summer Course for Organists from August 1st to 6th is a fitting close the Spring / Summer programme, with more than 80 organists set to gather for a unique week-long event for those of any age and any level who play, or want to play, the organ.

Director of RCO Academy Simon Williams said: “We are delighted to be able to offer an events programme for 2011 which contains such variety and diversity, not only in terms of the types of event but also in terms of their locations and the ages and levels of musicianship we are able to work with.

“Together with the RCO St Giles Organ School programme which includes a full schedule of classes through the year, this represents our most ambitious programme yet.

“It is important to stress how grateful we are to all of the partner organisations, the venues and the individuals who have worked with us to put this programme together. Their continued enthusiasm and support is absolutely essential to our work.”

More details on all our events can be found in the RCO Academy pages: www.rco.org.uk/education.php

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