Notes2014-11

November 2014
The Newsletter of The Royal School of Church Music Waikato Branch St Peter’s Choir carol singing in Garden Place
Notes – November 2014 – Page 1 Chairwoman’s comments
Dear RSCM family,
I must be getting old – the years are flying
by faster than ever these days and already we
are starting to think about Christmas again. It
must also be an indicator of how busy our
lives are that there hardly seems time to
draw breath between one season and the
next.
That is why it is so nice to be able to spend an afternoon
occasionally singing new music in a friendly environment, with
good colleagues and an energetic and good-natured leader. Read
Rhonda Gibbison’s account on the next page of our recent
Choral Festival at St. Andrew’s, Cambridge, led by NZ
composer Nigel Williams. The afternoon was full of good
humour, good music and great company. Nigel was an excellent
and generous leader, gifting several pieces of his Christmas
music to those who were present. I know that Nigel’s music will
be heard in St. Andrew’s Cambridge, the Cathedral of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Peter’s Cathedral this
Christmastide. (For more of Nigel’s choral music, visit
www.nigelwilliamscomposernz.com).
We were slightly disappointed that only four choirs were
represented at the Festival, three of those from St. Peter’s
Cathedral. By hosting the festival in Cambridge, we were
hoping we could get some choirs from outside of Hamilton to
attend, but it was not to be. If anyone can think of a solution to
solving the geographical difficulties of our branch so that we
can have one almighty, enormous Choral Festival in 2015,
please do be in touch.
There is some information about the 2015 RSCM Summer
School to be held in Brisbane in this edition. It looks like a great
lineup of tutors and activities. If anyone from our branch attends
we would love to hear from you after the event.
For those of us staying home this summer, I wish you all the
best for the Advent and Christmas music ahead and for a restful
Notes – November 2014 – Page 2 end of year. A big thank you to our committee, who work very
hard at trying to think up and run events that others may find
interesting, stimulating or just fun!
Best wishes,
Rachael
RSCM Waikato Branch Choral Festival
Saturday 27th September saw a goodly number of Branch
supporters gather at St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Cambridge,
for our annual choral festival. We were lucky, in these times of
suddenly changeable weather that the day remained fine, but
were disappointed that only four choirs were present to perform.
However, this in no way dimmed the interest of working
with Nigel Williams, recently returned from Britain, who led us
with enthusiasm and gentle humour in the somewhat formidable
task of learning and performing three of his recent
compositions. At the time of writing, one choir in Tauranga and
one in Hamilton will be including one of these pieces in their
repertoire, for instance, the choir of the Cathedral of the BVM
will be singing Nigel’s Christmas Bells during the coming
festivals. Nigel has generously placed each piece in the public
domain.
Our thanks go to the folk of St Andrew’s for their hosting
of the day, and the provision of a delicious afternoon tea to keep
up our strength and provide a warmly social break in the middle
of the hard work.
The Branch would have found it difficult to mount this
choral festival without the help of the Guyon Wells RSCM
Fellowship, a stalwart supporter of choral and church music in
the Waikato.
RSCM Young People’s Choral Festival
The Waikato Branch of RSCM holds a biennial Young People's
Choral Festival for christian schools in the Waikato.
Two years ago we work-shopped and performed the Fauré
Requiem at St Paul's Collegiate led by Timothy Noon, Director
Notes – November 2014 – Page 3 of Music at Holy Trinity Cathedral Parnell. Schools represented
were Waikato Diocesan, St Paul’s Collegiate, Southwell and St
Peter’s Cambridge. The students involved were very
enthusiastic about the day and were keen to repeat the event.
In 2015 we plan to workshop Rutter’s Mass of the Children
at Southwell School on 1st August.
The format is that we workshop the main work with a guest
conductor for the afternoon. We put on an informal
performance for parents and the general public at the end of the
day. Schools are also invited to put on individual choir
performances (up to 8 minutes), should they wish, as part of the
massed programme.
It is useful if choirs familiarise themselves with the set
work beforehand. RSCM will provide scores for all.
This is an invitation to ALL choirs in the RSCM Waikato,
whether young or old, to enjoy an afternoon of massed singing.
We need a children’s choir and an adult choir so the more the
merrier!
Contact:
Mark Eyre
121 Taylor Street
Cambridge
027 2838400
[email protected]
Guyon Wells – RSCM Fellowship
The Trustees of the Guyon Wells—RSCM Fellowship are
delighted to announce the appointment of an additional
member.
It is with pleasure to have the advice that the Charites
Commission has approved the appointment of Mark Eyre to the
Trust.
Mark’s life has revolved around music. He began playing
the organ as an 11-year-old student at St Peter’s School,
continued through his secondary school years at St Paul’s
Collegiate and then after school studied under Anthony
Notes – November 2014 – Page 4 Jennings. Mark trained at Hamilton Teachers’ College and
taught at St Peter’s School, Cambridge, then St George’s
School, Wanganui, where he was Deputy Principal, Director of
Music and Assistant Organist at Wanganui Collegiate School
before returning to St Peter’s School, where he was Head of the
Performing Arts Faculty and Director of Music until retiring
from teaching in 2006.
Mark is former Deputy Musical Director of the National
Male Choir of New Zealand and was Director of Music at St
Andrew’s Anglican Church in Cambridge until recently. Mark
also has wide experience as a competition accompanist on the
piano at local, regional and national levels for singers and brass
players. Mark is an active member of the Waikato Branch of
the Royal School of Church Music.
Since retiring from teaching Mark continues to be involved
musically through private tuition and his business Toccata
which comprises a café and retail organ music in ‘The Pink
Church’ in Cambridge.
Musical Resource
Readers are reminded of the resource which Peter McMillan of
Matamata has very generously prepared particularly for those
churches which would like to include music in their services,
but have no musicians. For details, see the list at
http://rscmnz.org.nz/?p=1758. If then you would like to order
one or more of the DVDs, send the right number of blank DVDs
to the Editor, RSCMNZ Waikato Branch, c/- St Peter’s
Cathedral, PO Box 338, Hamilton, with an appropriately
stamped package for return postage.
Notes – November 2014 – Page 5 Notes – November 2014 – Page 6 Young People’s Council
You will have read of our intention to set up a Young People’s
Council for RSCM Waikato. Members will be between twelve
and twenty three years old. We hope to accept all who are
interested and nominations from choirs will be taken in the New
Year.
Members will be given opportunity for input in the Youth
Festival 2015 and given a column in Notes to share their
experiences and ideas.
Member Profile Survey
If you haven’t yet filled in and returned the survey to be found
in the last issue of Notes, please do so, as the information will
be very helpful for the committee in its planning of activities. If
you no longer have your copy, you can download a new one
from the RSCMNZ website: http://rscmnz.org.nz/?p=1755.
Concerts in New Plymouth
There are still two concerts at St Mary’s Cathedral, New
Plymouth, in its series of Lunchtime Organ Recitals:
20th November at 12.15p.m. and the 2014 Christmas Organ
recital, at 2.00p.m. on Saturday 20th December.
A gold coin donation would be appreciated, and all recitals are
followed by refreshments on the Hatherly Hall.
Reminders of concerts in and around Hamilton
Russell Armitage has begun a very useful and welcome service
to concert goers in Hamilton, an email reminder sent out shortly
before each concert. If you would like to receive these
reminders and notices, just write to:
[email protected], and ask him to add your address
to his mailing list.
Cantata Vespers at the Cathedral
There is one more service this year in this highly successful
series. At 5.00p.m. on 15th November, at St Peter’s, Hamilton,
Notes – November 2014 – Page 7 the evening service of Vespers will include the cantata Ihr
lieben Christen, freut euch nun (Rejoice now, ye dear
Christians) for choir, strings and trumpets by Buxtehude.
The series will continue next year, beginning on Saturday,
st
21 February with Telemann’s Fleuch der Lüste Zauberauen.
Notes – November 2014 – Page 8 Notes – November 2014 – Page 9 Summer Singfest:
Choral Experience for Youth
Introduction
Summer Singfest is a magnificent opportunity for young people
of secondary school age to rehearse and perform in a splendid
youth SATB choir with their peers under the leadership of
Andrew Reid (Director of RSCM and formerly Director of
Music at Peterborough Cathedral), as well as performance in the
dynamic acoustical environments of St. John’s Cathedral, St.
Stephen’s Cathedral and St. Peter’s Lutheran College Chapel.
The programme will include music education, social
activities, games, etc.
Dates
Saturday 3rd January 2015, 9.00 a.m. until Friday 9th January
2015 (after evening programme).
Who Can Participate?
The Singfest is open to choristers from Year 8 to Year 12. There
is no audition requirement. The choir accepts female sopranos
and altos, as well as male trebles, altos, tenors and basses.
Daily Programme
Summer Singfest is a “day course”, with participants arriving at
9.00 a.m. each morning and departing at the end of the day. On
some occasions, this will be 5.00 p.m., but the Summer Singfest
Choir will sing at a number of the evening events such as the
two major services (Tuesday and Friday evenings) and the
concert (Wednesday evening). Parents and guardians are
invited to these evening events, and information will be given at
the beginning of the Singfest concerning pickup times and
pickup places for evening events.
Accommodation
Is available locally. Arrangements can be made by emailing the
Summer School committee - [email protected]
Venues
The Singfest will be held at Duchesne College, St. Lucia.
However, on some mornings young people need to be delivered
to St. John’s College at 9.00 a.m. to begin the morning with the
Summer School Massed Choir. A detailed timetable with
Notes – November 2014 – Page 10 dropoff and pickup points and times will be given to parents and
guardians at the beginning of the Singfest.
Information
For more information on the Summer School in general, and to
register, go to: http://rscmaustralia.org.au/ and follow links to
Summer School
CHRISTMAS MUSIC
St Andrew’s Extended Choir
sings Christmas Carols at:
Cambridge Town Hall 11.00a.m. Saturday 6th Dec
St Stephen’s Tamahere 11.00a.m. Saturday 13th Dec
St Andrew’s Carol Service 7.00p.m.Sunday 14th Dec
Advent and Christmas services at the
Cathedrals:
St. Mary’s, Hamilton:
Christmas Eve: Children’s Mass and Carols at 6p.m. Carol
Service at 11.15p.m., followed by Midnight Mass. The choir
sings for these.
Christmas Day: Masses at 7.30a.m. and 10.30a.m.
St Mary’s, New Plymouth:
Sunday 23rd November: 10.00a.m.
Festal Mass for Christ the King
The Madrigal Companie, The Cathedral Consort
Missa Brevis in G, and Church Sonata in D, W.A. Mozart
Sunday 30th November: 5.00p.m.
Service of Lessons & Carols for Advent
Choir of the Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary
Ars Nova Choir
Wednesday 17th December: - 7.30p.m.
Service of Nine Lessons & Carols
Wednesday 24th December: 11.30p.m.
Notes – November 2014 – Page 11 Midnight Mass
St Peter’s, Hamilton:
First Sunday of Advent, 30th November: 7.00p.m. Advent carol
service
Fourth Sunday of Advent, 21st December: 6.00p.m. Service of
Nine Lessons and Carols
Christmas Eve: 9.00p.m. Carol Service with the Cathedral
Singers, and 11.00p.m. Midnight Mass (choral)
Christmas Day: Choral Eucharist at 9.45am
Events calendar for your diaries
Cantata Vespers:
Ihr lieben Christen, freut euch nun (Rejoice now, ye dear
Christians) by Buxtehude: St Peter’s, Hamilton, 5.00p.m.,
15th November.
Fleuch der Lüste Zauberauen by Telemann: St Peter’s,
Hamilton, 5.00p.m., 21st February 2015.
Cathedral Services:
See above.
Bach’s Christmas Oratio:
Hamilton Civic Choir, St Peter’s Cathedral, 7.30p.m., 6th
December.
Notes – November 2014 – Page 12 Australia and New Zealand RSCM Summer School:
Brisbane, 3rd-10th January 2015 (see above).
RSCM Waikato branch AGM: 2nd May. Format and venue
TBA.
RSCM Young People’s Choral Festival:
1st August, Southwell (see above, and next Notes).
Music Sunday:
Evensong at St Peter’s Hamilton, 5.00p.m., 28th June.
RSCM Choral Festival: 31st October. Venue TBA
Editor’s column
First of all, my sincere thanks again to those who have
contributed material for this issue.
Yes, the little excerpt on the title page was the beginning
of Parry’s ‘I was glad’, which was sung at the Music Sunday
Evensong, so should have been recognisable to a lot of you.
This issue’s one should be similarly well known, though
perhaps not sung so much these days as in earlier decades.
Notes is freely available at the RSCMNZ website, and
when it is placed there an email is sent to everyone whose
address I have to let them know that a new version is out, and
how to get to it. If you would like a paper copy but do not at
present receive one, please get in touch with the treasurer to
become either a member/friend or ‘Noter’, that is, someone who
subscribes to the paper version. The paper copy will always
appear some time later that the internet copy.
If you have received this as hardcopy, but did not receive
an email about access to the electronic copy, it is because I
haven’t got your email address. I’d be very grateful if you
could just drop me a line to this effect to the email address
below in the list of officers and committee.
The next edition of Notes will appear in March, and I
would like to be able to publicise Passiontide and Easter
services around our region, especially those featuring music. I’d
thus be very grateful for relevant timetables from churches.
It’s not always easy to find appropriate pictures for the
front cover. I’d very much welcome pictures of our choirs or of
Notes – November 2014 – Page 13 RSCM events from members for inclusion in Notes (not just on
the cover!), along with relevant news items and articles on
members’ choral experiences.
Deadline for material for the first issue for 2015: 28th
February.
Chairwoman
Past
Chairwoman
Secretary
Treasurer
Special Adviser
Editor NOTES
Chaplain
Mark Eyre
Sister Colleen
Morey
Chalium Poppy
Vaughan
Chetwynd
Jeremy
Whimster
OFFICERS
Rachael Griffiths-Hughes,
70 Nixon St, Hamilton.
[email protected]
Paula Spiers,
73/312 Victoria Street, Hamilton.
Rhonda Gibbison,
166B Tramway Road, Hamilton.
[email protected]
Virginia Gallagher,
6 Cambrae Road, Raglan.
[email protected]
Francis Cowan
Ray Harlow
24 Marama St, Hamilton 3204
[email protected]
Revd Peter Lord Cowell,
c/- St Peter’s Cathedral
856 6365
834 3403
855 7363
825 7443
839 3473
839 4683
COMMITTEE
121 Taylor Street, Cambridge.
827 7011 or
[email protected]
027 2838400
37C Clyde Street, Hamilton East 3216
[email protected]
8566583
07 575 6223
St Andrew’s Church,
PO Box 356, Cambridge.
REGIONAL CONTACTS
49 Rimu St, Tauranga.
07 578 6056
RSCM (NZ) Website http://rscmnz.org.nz/
RSCM (England) Website http://www.rscm.com
Notes – November 2014 – Page 14 Notes – November 2014 – Page 15