RCO awards Diplomas, Certificates & Medals in cathedral ceremony

The Royal College of Organists has presented Diplomas and Certificates to 55 members of the College, and awarded the RCO Medal to two distinguished organists.

In a ceremony at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 9th March, RCO President Martin Baker conferred College Members with Fellowship of the College (FRCO), Associateship of the College (ARCO) and Colleague of the College (CRCO), and awarded Certificate of Accredited Membership (CAM).

He presented the RCO Medal to Hans Fagius and Nicolas Kynaston HonFRCO, both in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ playing.

The ceremony closed with the Ede & Ravenscroft Recital in which Mr Steven Grahl MA, PGDip, FRCO, ARAM (Organist and Tutor in Music, Christ Church, Oxford) played: Fantasia, Op. 136 by York Bowen; Pièce d’orgue by Huw Watkins; Fanfare by Percy Whitlock; St Bride, assisted by angels, by Judith Bingham; and Finale from Sonata in G minor, Op. 23 by Oskar Lindberg.

The vote of thanks was given, according to custom, by Steven McIntyre, winner of the Limpus Prize at Fellowship in Summer 2018. At the conclusion of the ceremony, William Fairbairn, the recipient of the Coventry Cathedral Recital Award 2018/2019 played Komm heiliger Geist, erfüll die Hertzen by Piet Kee. Piet Kee was conferred with honorary Fellowship of the College in 1988 and this work was commissioned by the College for The Orgelbüchlein Project in 2017.

Awards were made as follows:

RCO MEDAL

Mr Hans Fagius, in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ playing.
Mr Nicolas Kynaston HonFRCO, in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ playing.

FELLOWSHIP DIPLOMA (FRCO)

Summer 2018
William Fairbairn (Tonbridge)
Ed Jones (Belfast)
Benjamin Newlove (London)
Marko Sever (London)
Steven McIntyre (Stirling)
Charles Warren (Beckenham)

Limpus Prize, Frederick Shinn Prize, and Durrant Prize - Steven McIntyre
Turpin Prize and Durrant Prize - William Fairbairn
Harding Prize and Durrant Prize - William Fairbairn and Marko Sever
Samuel Baker Prize - William Fairbairn Lawrence
Phelps Prize - William Fairbairn
The Coventry Cathedral Recital Award 2018/2019 - William Fairbairn

Winter 2019
Jonathan Allsopp (Leatherhead)
David Grealy (Salthill, Galway, Republic of Ireland)
Tim Harvey (Liverpool)
David Quinn (Reading)
David Rees (Maidstone)

Limpus Prize, Frederick Shinn Prize, and Durrant Prize - David Rees

ASSOCIATESHIP DIPLOMA (ARCO)

Summer 2018
Ben Banks (Bury St Edmunds)
Michael Butterfield (London)
Kyoko Canaway (Derby)
Anita Datta (Durham)
Andrew Gardner (Nedlands, WA, Australia)
Matthew Kelley (Guildford)
Alexander Knight (Whitton)
Andrew Kai Yin Liu (Harrow)
Richard Meehan (Reading)
Imogen Morgan (Ripon)
Aeron Preston (Llandinam)
Christopher Too (Bridlington)
Adam Wilson (Edinburgh)
Christopher Woodward (London)

Limpus Prize, Frederick Shinn Prize, and Durrant Prize - Anita Datta
Sawyer Prize and Durrant Prize - Alexander Knight
Lord St Audries Prize - Andrew Kai Yin Liu
Sowerbutts Prize and Durrant Prize - Alexander Knight
Doris Wookey Prize - Andrew Kai Yin Liu
Samuel Baker Prize - Alexander Knight

Winter 2019
Samuel Austin (Elstree)
Eleanor Carter (Guildford)
Derek Collins (Limavady)
Jacob Collins (Milton Keynes)
Thomas Coxhead (Ampleforth)
Charles Francis (Faversham)
Nicholas Graham (London)
George Inscoe (Norwich)
Laurence John (Oxford)
Christopher Jones (Bristol)
James Mitchell (Crediton)
Gus Orchard (Weedon)
Alexander Robson (Tunbridge Wells)
Joshua Roebuck (Birmingham)

Limpus Prize, Frederick Shinn Prize, and Durrant Prize - Samuel Austin
Sawyer Prize and Durrant Prize - Charles Francis and Laurence John
Lord St Audries Prize - Charles Francis
Sowerbutts Prize and Durrant Prize - Samuel Austin
Doris Wookey Prize - Thomas Coxhead
Dr F. J. Read Prize - Samuel Austin

COLLEAGUE DIPLOMA (CRCO)

Summer 2018
Amy Dalziel (St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada)
James Fox (Clarborough)
Ikuyo Nakajima (Tokyo, Japan)
William Pierce (Hadlow)
Margaret Simpson (Tamworth)
Alistair Warwick (Dunblane)

Limpus Prize, Frederick Shinn Prize, and Durrant Prize - Ikuyo Nakajima
Sowerbutts Prize and Durrant Prize - Alistair Warwick
Freemasons’ Prize (United Grand Lodge of England) - Alistair Warwick

Winter 2019
Michael Andrews (Chessington)
Edward John Mansfield (Farnham)

Sowerbutts Prize and Durrant Prize - Michael Andrews

CERTIFICATE OF ACCREDITED MEMBERSHIP (CAM)

Spring, Summer and Autumn 2018, and Winter 2019
Robert Burgess (Kendal) Stage 1
Gillian Collins (South Plympton, South Australia) Stage 2
Saralynn Culpepper (Oxford) Stage 1
James Janossy (Lincolnwood, Illinois, USA) Stage 2
Callum Lawrence (London) Stage 2
Joe Perry (Bungay) Stage 2
Martin Rhodes (Melton Mowbray) Stage 3
Charlie Terry (Hayes) Stage 1

The following Members were awarded the Dr John Birch Scholarship: Ben Banks ARCO, Eleanor Carter ARCO, Amy Dalziel CRCO, Edward John Mansfield CRCO, Imogen Morgan ARCO and Margaret Simpson CRCO. This award was founded in 2015 in memory of a former President, Treasurer and Examiner of the College.

The Trustees also announced the award of Honorary Life Membership (HonLMRCO) to the following Members for their distinguished service to the College: Prof. Philip Meaden; Prof. David Saint.