RSCM Australia presents as the 54th Annual Summer School the INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC Brisbane Australia January 3rd - 11th, 2009 Course Director Ralph Morton International Guests Tony Funk (Canada), Lynne Gackle (USA), Michael Fulcher (NZ), Lindsay Gray (UK) Australian Course Leaders Graeme Morton (Qld) Rupert Jeffcoat (Qld) Nicholas Bannon (WA) Christopher Willcock (Vic) Michael Faragher (ACT)
This Festival is for you! Join one of eight exciting strands and explore its themes throughout the week. Be uplifted by keynote addresses, share in nine hours of wonderful electives with world class tutors, be thrilled by dynamic performances in inspiring sacred spaces, and be reinvigorated and energized through a week of experiencing sacred music with others who share your passion. The repertoire of this Festival is sacred, but the content is relevant to all who play, sing and conduct both within and outside the church and at all levels. So this festival is for you; If you have been to RSCM Summer Schools before If you are a primary teacher in a state school struggling with a small choir If you sing in a church choir in the suburbs If you play on a small electronic organ in a country church If you are a cantor in a provincial city If you sing in a Cathedral Choir (or conduct one) If you are an adolescent singing in a school choir If you conduct a school choir or a church choir No matter who you are or what your background Venues This Festival is based at Somerville House (The Brisbane High School for Girls), in its new state of the art music facility. Several accommodation options are available allowing delegates at all budget levels the opportunity to attend. Somerville House overlooks the famous South Bank precinct, the river and the city of Brisbane itself. Major celebrations have been arranged in St Andrew s Uniting Church, St John s Anglican Cathedral (whose unique neo-gothic interior has recently been completed) and St Stephen s Catholic Cathedral. Brisbane is Australia s most appealing subtropical city, and within an hour of some of the country s best beach destinations. Book to attend the Festival and plan to stay on to enjoy the other delights of the tourist state, from the wineries of the rural south-east to the rainforest and reef of the north. RSCM Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is an international and ecumenical organisation committed to helping churches with their music at all levels. Headquartered in the UK, RSCM has been active in all states of Australia for many years, and its annual Australian Summer School (of which this is the fifty-fourth), has been a significant factor in the education of choral, vocal and keyboard musicians in sacred music. For more information, visit the Australian website (www.rscmaustralia.org.au).
Do you sing, play, compose, listen, reflect or ponder? The International Festival of Sacred Music has just the program for you. Program I Church Music Workshop Leader Graeme Morton If you have attended any of the past 53 annual RSCM Summer Schools in Australia, or if you are keen to come and see what all the fuss is about, join us in the church music workshop. A stimulating week of plenary sessions, daily rehearsals, electives and discussions will see these participants singing in some of Australia s best cathedrals and exploring and experiencing the wonderful world of church music. Program II Vocal Ensemble Academy Leader Tony Funk This is the strand for specialist singers those who wish to live the life of a professional choral musician if only for a week. Your days will be filled with rehearsals, vocal tutorials, masterclasses, and special voice electives. Performances will occur in St John s Cathedral, and in regional centres. As you would expect, entry is by audition. Also check out the remarkable sound of Tony Funk s own ensemble in Canada (www.tonyfunk.ca). This will ensure that you want to join the Festival Vocal Academy. Details are on the RSCM Qld website (www.rscm.com.au). Program III International Organ School Leaders Rupert Jeffcoat, Michael Fulcher, Christopher Wrench Have you ever wanted to further your organ study with an international tutor? This is your opportunity to get up close and personal with leading recitalists and liturgical organists. Led by Rupert Jeffcoat, formerly Coventry Cathedral, now St John s Brisbane, your days will be spent in regular organ lessons, master classes, and in personal practice (for which a range of good instruments will be provided). Register quickly as places in this specialist program are limited. Program IV Developing a Singing Community Leader Nicholas Bannon This is another significant innovation in the Festival, and is geared to music teachers, school teachers, choral directors and everyone who works within a community of amateur musicians inside or outside the church. Participants in this strand will be involved in the electives, and in some of the rehearsals offered in the Church Music Workshop, as an experience of sacred music practice, and will further explore with Nicholas Bannon the processes and issues that underlie this practice.
Program V Composing for the Australian Church Leader Christopher Willcock Composers are not born they are made. If you are a composer, or are interested in becoming one, then this program is for you, and Christopher Willcock is the perfect tutor. His music spans that suitable for the least skilled of congregations through to elaborate settings for professional ensembles. Whatever you want to write, Christopher will be able to assist. Imagine a week of intensive composition group sessions, individual writing time, and performance opportunities, stopping only to eat, drink, and on occasions sleep, and to check out some of the marvelous performances of the Festival that will inspire and enliven your own composing. Program VI Playing for God Leader Michael Faragher The traditional church music programme is often built around the organ and choirs or vocal ensembles. But what of instrumentalists - how does one set out to engage the plentitude of musical talent found in those with instrumental skills? Come to the Festival and explore how to make your church s music engaging, inclusive, vibrant and exciting for such musicians, and for the whole church community. Father Michael Faragher, an ex-cathedral chorister, band leader and jazz sax player has much to offer you. Program VII Church Music Summit Leader Ralph Morton Are you a professional church musician? Do you direct a cathedral program, or perform at an equivalent standard? This strand is a meeting of colleagues to share ideas of mutual interest. Church music can be an isolated experience your nearest colleague may be hardly known to you. Mostly using the round table format, this is your opportunity to spend time with colleagues in formal and informal contexts. Program VIII Youth Course Leader Lynne Gackle Florida conductor Lynne Gackle returns to Australia to lead the Festival Youth Course, which expects to attract 100 high school aged singers from across the country. This program offers participants a week of rehearsals, electives and social activities as exciting as any Summer Camp. Those who register for this course MUST be residential, living at home, or living in accommodation specifically approved by parents. This course concludes on Friday evening January 9th with a concert in St John s Cathedral and the residential accommodation is available until Saturday morning.
Electives With over thirty electives on offer there is something for everyone. Be excited, challenged or just informed. Each delegate participates in three elective programs each of three hours, so you can cruise the offerings, or choose the same elective back-to-back to consolidate your understanding and skill in one particular area. Full details are available on the Festival website. Trade Displays Throughout the Festival take the opportunity to peruse thousands of titles that will be on display. Place your order and take the music home with you for immediate use when your 2009 programme commences. Evenings An exciting and diverse range of activities are planned for evenings, ranging from performances by some of Australia s best church musicians, to performances by the various Festival ensembles. On Break-Out night, feel free to explore some of sub-tropical Brisbane and on Saturday night enjoy what for many is the climax of the week the traditional RSCM delegates dinner. Services and Chaplaincy The Festival includes four major services in Anglican, Catholic and Uniting Churches, daily Morning Prayer and Vespers, and daily morning devotions led by Festival Chaplain, Neale Nuske, formerly Pastor of St Andrew s Lutheran Church, Brisbane. A number of other clergy will be available to share the experiences of the festival with delegates, and to offer pastoral and spiritual care where requested. Costs, Accommodation and Meals We have structured this festival so that whatever your budget, you may find a way to attend. This is a non-residential festival and delegates can choose from a number of convenient accommodation options. You may book hotel/motel accommodation You may live in at St. John s College at the University of Queensland and use the transport provided to and from the festival each day You may stay with friends For information on the first two of these options, please visit the RSCM Qld website. This gives information on pricing (in a variety of price ranges from budget to luxury), distance from Somerville House, transport arrangements, etc.
In booking accommodation please note that the Festival Registration desk is open from 2.00pm on Saturday afternoon January 3rd, and the festival will close at St John s cathedral at 5.00pm on Sunday January 11th. The festival will generally provide two meals a day at Somerville House plus morning, afternoon and evening refreshments. A value-for-money Festival After the cost of meals is deducted, you will receive all of the lectures, workshops, rehearsals, concerts, services etc with local and international experts for approximately $25 per day! In a world where petrol, food prices and the cost of living is generally going through the roof, you will receive a first class education and experience at bargain basement prices! An anti-inflation Festival The cost for a full time residential registration for a RSCM Summer School in 2006 was $100 per day. The cost of this one (using the St. John s College accommodation option) with 3 years inflation is less than $110 per day! Funding your Festival Of course, those of us who love sacred music are quite happy to pay the full cost of a Festival like this, but there may be other partial or full funding possibilities available. Don t forget to approach your church or choir for some financial help to attend, or perhaps even ask for help as a Christmas gift! School employees may have access to professional development funds. Festival Fees Early bird registration (before October 15) $490 Registration after October 15: $550 Special daily rate of $80 per day for those not attending the full festival Youth Course early bird non residential registration (before October 15) $315 Youth Course non residential registration (after October 15) $350 Youth Course early bird residential registration (before October 15) $715 Youth Course residential registration (after October 15) $760 Payment may be made by cheque or using PayPal
Further information including updates, schedules, lists of electives, presenter biographies, audition forms for the Vocal Ensemble Academy, pre-requisite information for the organ school, registration forms, and accommodation options is all available on the RSCM Qld website. Website: www.rscm.com.au Email: qld@rscmaustralia.org.au Mailing address: Royal School of Church Music (QLD branch), P.O. Box 358, Paddington, QLD 4064 Phone: (07) 3336 9104