RSCM Pacific Northwest A New Course for 2015!

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1 Volume 10, Issue 2 Fall/Winter Training Course Reports inside this issue: Charlotte 2 King s College 2-3 Carolina 3 Gulf Coast 4 Tulsa 5 Washington 5-6 Rhode Island at Newport 6 Montreal 7 St. Louis 7 Bless O Lord, us thy servants who minister in thy temple. Grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts we may show forth in our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. RSCM Pacific Northwest A New Course for 2015! By Arwen Myers, Course Co-Manager The RSCM Pacific Northwest Course will take place for the first time this summer, June 29-July 5, 2015! We will be in residence at Menucha Conference Center in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge for the majority of the week, where we will rehearse, play, and learn together while surrounded by the beauty of the Gorge (a National Scenic Area). In our free time, we will enjoy exploring the famous waterfalls in the Gorge, a poolside Fourth of July barbecue at Menucha, and what will hopefully be the first of many annual talent shows on Saturday night! We are so fortunate to welcome the incredible Bruce Neswick, FRSCM as music director for our first year, and we will welcome boys and girls of all levels, ages 8-18, as well as a limited number of adult altos, tenors, and basses. Our final Eucharist and Evensong services will take place at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in nearby Portland, Ore. Between services, we will visit one of Portland s largest and most famous food cart pods, a short walk from the Cathedral, for a truly Portland dining experience. We ve already started the countdown to summer, because we can t wait to welcome new and familiar faces to the Northwest in June! Visit the Pacific Northwest Course s website at rscmpnw.wix.com/rscmpnw

2 2014 Training Course Report Charlotte By Alan Reed, The 11th edition of the Charlotte Training Course for Boys, Girls, Teens, and Adults was held on the campuses of Queens University of Charlotte and Myers Park Baptist Church from July The course included 113 participants youth, adults, and staff. Dr. Bryan Mock of Glendale, Ohio directed the course to great acclaim, and Dr. David Arcus presided at the organ. The theme of the week was The Name of the Lord. Fr. Ed Pickup, ARSCM, course chaplain, led discussions each evening on God s Name as it has been understood through the history of Judaism and Christianity. Musical highlights included Sumsion s They that go down to the sea in ships, Wood s Collegium Regale canticles, and the teen young men s rendition of a Tchaikovsky setting of part of Psalm 136, sung in Old Church Slavonic. A youth outing to Sports Connection on Saturday allowed a respite from study and singing with an opportunity for bowling, laser tag, and arcade games. Next year s Charlotte Course will be July 6-12, Training Course Report King s College By Addie Quinn, Choristers who participated in the King s College Course this past summer experienced a week of constant celebration and joyful music-making, based in the course s annual home at St. Stephen s Church in Wilkes- Barre, Pa. This was the course s 25th anniversary, and with a final participant count checking in at 196 strong, we celebrated in style! Guided by our full choir anthem by Johannes Brahms, How lovely is thy dwelling place, our theological theme for the week centered on God s Dwelling Place. The full choir successfully and enthusiastically spent the week preparing music director David Briggs Messe pour Saint-Sulpice, Stanford s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in B-flat, William Smith s Preces and Responses, and Brahms How lovely is thy dwelling place. Each house also prepared anthems: Briggs, O Lord, support us (Adults/Young Adults); Heinrich Schütz, Der Herr ist groß (Senior Girls); Eleanor Daley, Canticle to the Spirit (Junior/Intermediate Girls); Emily Crocker, Bound for the Promised Land (Teen Boys); and Bryan Kelley, Caribbean Psalm (Treble Boys). This year s music director, continued on page 3 Page 2 Royal School of Church Music in America

3 2014 Training Course Report King s College continued from page 2 David Briggs, delighted all with his playful improvisations, and those choristers lucky enough to have a birthday during the course were surprised by Mr. Briggs with renditions of the Happy Birthday Song in the style of their favorite composers. Other highlights were evening presentations of silent films Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Charlie Chaplin s The Immigrant accompanied by Mr. Briggs on the tremendous organ at St. Stephen s. Adult enrichment activities included a workshop on healthy straight-tone singing and general vocal health, as well as the annually popular reading session of course participants own compositions. The younger choristers performances at Saturday night s Variety Show were entertaining as always, and Team-Building Night and Friday evening s dance were other highly anticipated evening activities. We re looking forward to hosting Scott Hanoian from Christ Church in Grosse Pointe, Mich. next summer as he joins us for the first time as our music director! Please join us from July 20-26, Training Course Report Carolina By Kevin Kerstetter, The girls and adults of the Carolina Course enjoyed the lovely setting of historic St. Mary s School in Raleigh, N.C., where their fine musical work was guided by the confident and extraordinarily kind leadership of Malcolm Archer, FRSCM. They were accompanied beautifully by course organist Edie Johnson and organ scholar Paul Thomas. With the theme If God be for us, The Rev. Nancy Allison, course chaplain, inspired participants to respond more fully to their various callings as children of God, and to share their unique gifts with the world. Adult participants were treated to workshops on mind/body awareness for musicians, choir training, the English cathedral tradition, and the 2015 AGO Southeast Regional Convention. The girls enjoyed energetic, rewarding rehearsals as well as relaxing recreation time. Toward the end of the week, an organ concert was played by four staff organists, the adults presented a cabaret, and the girls performed in their annual talent show. Closing services, which included music by Archer, Stanford, Mawby, Brewer, and Bairstow, were held in Raleigh at Christ Episcopal Church and St. Michael s Episcopal Church. The Carolina Course looks forward to celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2015, with Simon Lole as music director. Next year s Carolina Course will be July 13-19, Royal School of Church Music in America Page 3

4 2014 Training Course Report Gulf Coast By Anna Teagarden, The 2014 Gulf Coast Course, which featured a Harry Potter theme, was quite magical this year. The girls arrived not knowing which House they were to be in. Tensions were high as the girls came forward to be sorted by the Sorting Hat in the historic Baker Commons, reminiscent of Hogwart s. As the girls were sorted into Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, they joined their fellow housemates for a cheer created by the proctors prior to the trebles arrival. This created instantaneous bonding for each house. Clinician Ben Hutto, FRSCM started the week off with a vigorous rehearsal of Stainer s I Saw the Lord and Howells Collegium Regale. The trebles were joined by adult altos, tenors, and basses the next evening for a run-through of Evensong in beautiful Rice University Organ Hall, with an Evensong for the public the following night. Later in the week, a second Evensong was presented at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston. Mr. Hutto led the girls in a most beautiful and poignant noon concert on July 4 in Houston s acclaimed Medical Center. July 4 was celebrated with a cookout and fireworks. Sunday morning Eucharist was glorious. Mozart s Missa Brevis, K. 194 with strings set the tone as the service ended with a rousing rendition of The Storm is Passing Over. It was a wonderful week! Next year s Gulf Coast Course will be June 29- July 5, A personal experience as told by longtime chorister, now proctor, Meg Brigman: I have attended the RSCM Gulf Coast Course for seven years but nothing compares to this year, the first time I served as a proctor. Growing up, it seemed like my proctor, Rachel, was the most amazing person I had ever encountered. She was an inspiration to me musically, spiritually, and emotionally. I looked up to her and longed to be just like her someday. I used to wonder why women like her would volunteer so much time towards the course. Now that I am walking in her shoes, I understand the motivation to work towards organizing the course. Being in a position of inspiration for a whole group of girls for a week is an incredible experience. If in one week you can impact a young girl s life enough to guide her closer to Christ and to get her more involved in her faith as a stronger Christian and musician, you ve done something priceless. The girls dependence on you, while they are away from home, influences you to become exactly what they need in each moment. Do they need a teacher, a mentor, or a friend? You adapt to serve them because making their week the best it can be is your goal. One moment that stands out in my memory happened on the last day. As everyone was getting ready to go home, I noticed one of the younger girls crying, and given the crazy week that was just wrapping up, I jumped to the worst conclusions. I rushed over to find that she was simply distraught that the course was over and that all her new friends were leaving. After trying to comfort her, I realized she was not the only one. So many of the girls were crying because they didn t want the week to end. It shocked me that they were so upset and that they seemed willing to spend forever at the course. I thought back to my times as a camper and realized that I had felt the same way. As a camper, the entire week seems perfect and amazingly wonderful, but as a proctor, you know the flaws, the plan B s, and the drama that is dealt with on a daily basis. At the end you are looking forward to recovering from the stress, lack of sleep, and constant chaos. I m so glad I was able to experience both sides of the course, because my memories of being a chorister inspired me to try my hardest as a leader. Page 4 Royal School of Church Music in America

5 2014 Training Course Report Tulsa By Casey Cantwell, The 2014 Tulsa Course for Boys, Teen Boys, and Adults was led by Michael Kleinschmidt, music director, and Jason Roberts, organist. The course was housed on the beautiful campus of the University of Tulsa and sang services daily at Trinity Episcopal Church in historic downtown Tulsa. For Evensong and Eucharist services, the choir of boys and adults sang works by Bairstow, Tippett, Mathias, Spicer, and Tallis. The most challenging pieces for the week were the Michael Tippett Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. With Mr. Kleinschmidt s thoughtful and thorough preparation, all of the music came to fruition beautifully. Jason Roberts taught and mentored three organ scholars during the week. Dr. Roberts taught the organ scholars in improvisation, accompanying, and service playing. Each of the organ scholars accompanied some of the music for the services. Our fun outing for Wednesday was bowling, where the boys and adults enjoyed an afternoon of friendly competition. The boys had a wonderful evening of swimming, movies, and pizza on Friday following Evensong, while the adults enjoyed a lovely dinner at the home of a Trinity parishioner. The final night of the course was the annual talent show. Boys and adults participated and displayed a wide array of talents. The Tulsa Course for Boys, Teen Boys, and Adults next year will be July 13-19, 2015 with Richard Webster, FRSCM as music director. For more information and registration, visit the course website at rscmtulsa.com Training Course Report Washington By Ben Keseley, The Washington, D.C. Course provides a challenging and thrilling week-long music experience for choristers of advanced ability. Choristers experience fine repertoire, intense rehearsals, and sing several services throughout the week. This was the 14th year for the course, one marked with several firsts and many wonderful happenings. We moved our residential venue for the course to Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. this year. Everyone was thrilled with the wonderful accommodations, excellent food, and friendly and helpful staff. The extra space, rooms, and fine facilities allowed us to expand the course to welcome advanced teenage young men to the course, which all agreed was a successful addition, and one we are excited to build upon for Choristers, under the direction of the marvelous Richard Webster, FRSCM, music director, sang six beautiful services and one concert throughout the week. This heavy service schedule, a unique aspect of this course, provided opportunities for singing in many historic places: Evensongs at Episcopal High School, Christ Church in Alexandria, Va., and at the National Cathedral; a concert at Union Station in D.C.; Vigil Mass at St. Luke Catholic Church in McLean, Va; and Sunday morning Latin Mass at St. Matthew s Catholic Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Mr. Webster s superb leadership and musicianship brought forth the best in these singers and made for a wonderful week, not only of high-quality music making but of lasting friendships continued on page 6 Royal School of Church Music in America Page 5

6 2014 Training Course Report Washington continued from page 5 and human formation. Beyond all the musical highlights and beautiful singing, other highlights included pool time in the EHS pool, a cookout and talent show, and an evening exploring Old Town Alexandria, along with a sneak peek at Sacred Sound, a forthcoming RSCM documentary film. The choristers developed strong bonds with one another through this fun, intense, and memorable week of singing together. The 2015 course will be held from July with Bruce Neswick, FRSCM, as music director. We are excited to remain at Episcopal High School and to continue to build on our wonderful tradition of offering an ultimate experience for the advanced chorister Training Course Report Rhode Island at Newport By Brent Erstad, Course Co-Manager Having now enjoyed four successful years, the Rhode Island Course until recently the youngest of the RSCM America Training Courses felt like it grew up this summer. While continuing to enjoy the picturesque setting of our residential campus along Newport s rocky seacoast, we also took delight in living in two entirely new worship spaces. Even as we enjoyed all that Newport has to offer, we also took pride in giving something unique back to the community. As has been the course s tradition, our Wednesday Evensong was held at historic Trinity Church. Dating to 1726, this remarkable colonial building, situated in the heart of Newport s busy tourist center, always seems the perfect place to begin a New England church music course. Under the adept musical leadership of Bruce Neswick, FRSCM (and after only two days of rehearsal), the course participants offered both Grayston Ives Canticle of Brother Sun and Philip Moore s anthem All Wisdom Cometh from the Lord. A journalist and photographer from the Providence Journal spent the day documenting the work of the course and interviewing several participants, resulting in a video posted online and a feature article in the state s largest newspaper. The Course Hymn Festival was held for the first time at St. Joseph s Roman Catholic Parish. The high marble vaults of this grand building were filled with sound as the course raised its collective voice in hymns and descants under the leadership of our five organ scholars and Dr. Jason Roberts. Compline on Thursday evening was chanted by the whole course over an organ improvisation by Mr. Neswick. The week ended on a high note as we concluded the course with both an Evensong and Eucharist in the impressive chapel at St. George s School. Other highlights of the week included our elective tracks, two trips to the beach, and the everpopular course mixer and talent show. Our two new chaplains, Fr. Sawicky and Canon Boston, contributed a certain hilarity to the week even as they elevated our understanding of liturgy and particularly the singing of psalms through their classes and leadership of the Daily Offices. We loved hearing about the impact of the course from members of the community. As one kind stranger shared: she had driven down to Newport on a whim to stroll the cliff walk in hopes of finding God. Upon hearing the voices of our singers carrying over the Atlantic, she realized she had found what she was looking for. Next year s Rhode Island Course at Newport will be August 3-9, Page 6 Royal School of Church Music in America

7 2014 Training Course Report Montreal By Larry Tremsky, Executive Director The 54th Montreal Boys Choir Course saw us at yet another site, our fifth in ten years. Having moved to the U.S. last summer, we hoped to find a place to which we could plan on returning for a long time to come. And we did! St. Mark s School, located in countryside about 30 minutes from Boston, offered an idyllic location with comfortable facilities, fantastic food, an outdoor pool, playing fields, and much more. It was ideal in every way, and we are delighted with our new, permanent site. Our guest music director was Katherine Dienes- Williams, ARSCM, Director of Music at Guildford Cathedral. She was a fantastic addition to our roster of conductors, and she engaged boys, teens, and adults in a week of great music-making. She was also lots of fun! We had a great bunch of campers this summer, who took full part in the week with the usual energy and enthusiasm, all aided by the facilities of St. Mark s School and our usual crew of dedicated staff. In addition to normal rehearsals, there was quite a bit of voice coaching during the course of the week, a very popular addition to our schedule. Our final services took place at Trinity Church, Copley Square, where we enjoyed the hospitality of Richard Webster, Colin Lynch, and the entire Trinity crew. And, we sang to a nearly full church on Sunday morning! All in all, MBCC 2014 was a wonderful event, leaving us all excited about the possibilities for our new home at St. Mark s School. Next year s Montreal Course will be August 2-9, Training Course Report St. Louis By Debra Nethercott, The 17th year of the St. Louis Training Course was another memorable week of stellar music-making by a group of over 70 boys, girls, teens, and adult singers. Under the skilled musical leadership of Garmon Ashby (Director of Music at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Nassau Bay, Tex. and Director of Music at Episcopal High School, Houston), choristers enjoyed not only superb repertoire but also outstanding vocal training. Separate sessions were held by Mr. Ashby for young men with changing voices, which made for an even fuller and more beautiful sound to the choir. Organist and Adult Housemaster Debbie Smith gave support to both Mr. Ashby and singers alike and proved her hours of practice did not go unnoticed. The culmination of long hours of rehearsal was realized at the closing services of Choral Evensong on late Saturday afternoon, featuring Canticles by Thomas Attwood Walmisley and Preces and Responses by Stephen Carletti, and at Mass on Sunday morning with Agnus Dei by Rupert Lang. Among the wide variety of repertoire, a favorite was by South African composer Peter Klatzow How Bright These Glorious Spirits Shine. Other anthems included works by Camille Saint-Saëns, Eleanor Daley, and David Halls. Toddhall Retreat Center, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, served as the perfect setting for rehearsals, meals, and many social gatherings, where the choristers participated in their yearly games, including Paper, Rock, Scissors and The Game of Champions. The 2015 course will once again be held at Toddhall Retreat Center from July 20-26, with closing services at First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood, Mo. and The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Royal School of Church Music in America Page 7

8 Royal School of Church Music in America at Westminster Choir College 101 Walnut Lane Princeton, NJ / Have you hosted an RSCM event recently? Send us an article and photos! RSCM America Board of Directors Bruce Neswick, FRSCM directed the 2014 New Jersey RSCM Festival Andrew J. Walker President Gary R. Correll Treasurer Ebert W. Landman, Jr. Secretary Vincent Ignatius Bache, O.S.B. Training Courses Committee Representative Betsy Calhoun Diane D. Caruso Christopher Harrell Stephen M. Rosebrock John Wahlstrom Ex Officio members of the Board: Kevin Radtke Coordinator Rev. Edmund Pickup, ARSCM Pastoral Advisor/Chaplain Michael Kleinschmidt and Arwen Myers led a Youth Choir Kickoff at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland, Ore.