Royal
Music in
in America
America
Royal School
School ofof Church
Church Music
Volume 5, Issue 1  Summer 2009
The Board of Directors Invites Your Nominations!
Inside this issue:
RSCM America Director
Nomination Form
2
San Francisco's Grace Ca3
thedral Choristers Tour Italy
Choirs Perform Haydn Mass 3
in New York City
RSCM America is a nonprofit, USA corporation
with a nine-member
Board of Directors. Of the
nine Directors, two (2) are
appointed by RSCM UK,
one (1) is elected by
RSCM America’s Training
Course Managers and the
remaining six (6) are
elected by the Board. The
terms of these six (6) directors are three (3)
years, with two directors
elected each year.
The Board is most aware
that there are a number
of RSCM America members who are highly committed to the RSCM program in his/her community and who are very interested to see RSCM expand its program in America. At its August 2009
meeting, RSCM America’s
Board of Directors will be
electing two (2) Directors,
each for a three-year term
beginning January 2010.
We invite your nomination
(s) of either yourself or
others who you think
would be a candidate for
a Director position.
Included with this newsletter (on the back of this
page) is a NOMINATION
FORM. The completed
form must be either
mailed to RSCM America’s office in Princeton or
e-mailed to office@rscm
america.org for receipt no
later than July 15, 2009.
RSCM America 2009
Summer Training Courses
4-5
St. Andrew’s Academy
Choir Heads to Canada
5
Isabella Shaw Reflects on the VOICE for LIFE Gold Award
Lawrence, Kan. Twins Earn
RSCM Gold Award
6
Topeka’s Grace Cathedral
Choristers Invade Chicago
7
Isabella, a chorister at St.
John’s Cathedral in Denver,
achieved the Royal School of
Church Music’s VOICE for
LIFE Gold Award in 2008.
Stephen Tappe, Cathedral
Director of Music, presented
Isabella with the prestigious
gold medal and distinctive
dark red ribbon on Sunday,
October 19.
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.
This summer, I sat the
examinations for the
Royal School of Church
Music Gold Award, the
RSCM’s highest award
under the new system. In
a process which took six
months, I had to prepare
a solo (“Domine Deus”
from the Vivaldi Gloria), a
responsorial and regular
Psalm, a hymn, an anthem (Stanford’s “Beati
Quorum Via”), and a liturgical setting (Howells’s
“Collegium Regale” Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis). In addition, I was required to prepare my
voice part in six other
pieces (by Tallis, Joubert,
Mozart, etc.), two of
which would be chosen
by the judge. I was expected to submit program
notes and to be able to
analyze and explain musical terms and figurations
in the chosen pieces, and
to sing any voice part the
judge asked for. Thus,
when I was finished with
sections A and B alone, I
had prepared 12 pieces
of music four times over.
The musicianship test
was relatively simple in
comparison; I was asked
to sight-read two pages of
a 16th-century or 21stcentury anthem (luckily, I
drew 16th-century, for
whose structures and patterns I had been well prepared by Mr. Tappe’s frequent choice of Tudor and
Renaissance polyphony.)
continued on page 6
Page 2
Royal School of Church Music in America
RSCM AMERICA
DIRECTOR NOMINATION FORM
Name: _________________________________________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________________
Phone #’s:
___________________________________(Home)
___________________________________(Work)
___________________________________(Email)
___________________________________(Cell)
Type of Membership: ____________________________________________________
(Affiliate, Individual or Friend)
Short biographical sketch:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Attend Board of Directors overnight meetings in January and August.
Be available for additional telephone conference call board meetings as needed.
Be a liaison between the Board, RSCM members and affiliate associations.
Participate in RSCM local and regional events.
Term of position – Three years, beginning January
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOMINEE NAME
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name of person placing the above name in nomination if different than nominee
Due Date for Receipt of Nomination Form @ RSCM America’s Office: July 15, 2009
Mail this form to:
RSCM America Office, Westminster Choir College, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540
or e-mail to [email protected]
Page 3
San Francisco's Grace Cathedral Choristers Tour Italy in June
The Grace Cathedral Choristers will travel to Italy,
June 12-22, for a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to
sing in spectacular
churches and learn firsthand the history of Italy
through actual experience.
Our tour begins in Venice,
where we sing Mass at
the spectacular St.
Mark’s Basilica. We then
travel onward to Ravenna
to visit San Vitale, one of
the earliest surviving
churches, dating from the
6th century. We’ll sing a
concert at San Lorenzo,
the Medici church of Florence, and sing with the
monks at St. Francis’ own
monastery in Assisi. Last
stop: Roma. The boys will
be particularly attracted
to the ancient ruins, catacombs and to the Scavi,
excavations under St. Peter’s basilica, including
the tomb of the apostle
himself. We’ll sing both at
the Basilica and also offer
a special concert at the
Sistine Chapel, a focal
point for the Church and
for generations of artists
and musicians serving
her.
In each of these locations, the 18 choristers,
aged 10-14, will gain a
deep historical and modern day understanding of
Italy. More than tourists,
they will sing services and
concerts in venerable and
venerated places in the
stead of Monteverdi and
Gabrieli in Venice, Palestrina and Allegri in
Rome. A team of chaperones will care for them
and provide the learning
context for this extraordinary experience. We are
Choirs Perform Haydn Mass in New York City
The Men and Boys Choir
of Trinity Church on the
Green, New Haven, Conn.
(Walden Moore, Director)
and the Girls and Men of
Trinity Church, Princeton,
N.J. (Tom Whittemore, Director) combined forces
for a performance of
Haydn’s Mass in Time of
War (Paukenmesse) at
The Church of the
Blessed Sacrament, 71st
and Broadway, in New
York City. The choirs were
accompanied by the
American Classical Orchestra (Thomas Crawford, Conductor), one of
the top period-instrument
ensembles in the United
States. The performance
was given on Wednesday,
February 11, 2009 at
8:00 p.m. to a packed
house. The choirs received a standing ovation
from the audience.
fortunate to integrate cultural enrichment, musical
opportunity, and spiritual
formation within the supportive environment of
Cathedral School for
Boys.
Buon viaggio!
Jeffrey Smith,
Canon Director of Music
415.749.6331
jeffreys@
gracecathedral.org
Page 4
Royal School of Church Music in America
RSCM America 2009 Summer Training Courses
GULF COAST COURSE in HOUSTON
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Participants: 20 Girls, age 10–18, and 10 Adults
Dates: June 8–14, 2009
Music Director: Tom Whittemore
Residential Venue: University of St. Thomas
Concerts/Services Venues: Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, Houston
Course Fees: $495. RSCM members receive a $30
discount (deposit of $150 due April 1, balance due
May 1)
Contact: Courtney Daniell-Knapp, Course Manager,
[email protected]
ST. LOUIS COURSE
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Participants: 25 girls, 25 boys, and 25 adults
Dates: June 16–21, 2009
Music Director: Stephen Tappe
Residential Venue: Todd Hall Retreat Center in Columbia, Illinois
Concerts/Services Venues: Grace Episcopal Church
in Kirkwood, Missouri
Course Fees: $520. Adults requesting a private room
add $100. RSCM members receive a $25 discount
Contact: Phillip Brunswick, Course Manager, [email protected]
CHARLOTTE COURSE
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Participants: 60 young singers age 10–18, and 30
adults, plus 1 organ scholar
Dates: July 6–12, 2009
Music Director: Malcolm Archer
Organist: Patrick Pope
Residential Venue: Queens University of Charlotte
Concerts/Services Venues: St. John’s Episcopal
Church, Myers Park Baptist Church
Course Fees: $495 before April 1, $520 after April 1.
RSCM members receive a $25 discount
Contact: Alan Reed, Course Manager 704.408.7489
or [email protected]; Tracy Reed, Course Manager 704.849.9791
More Information: www.saintjohns-charlotte.org/rscm
CAROLINA COURSE
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Participants: 40 girls, age 10–18, and 25 adults
Dates: July 13–19, 2009
Music Director: Katherine Dienes-Williams, ARSCM
Organist: Matthew M. Brown
Residential Venue: Saint Mary’s School, Raleigh, N.C.
Concerts/Services Venues: Christ Church, Duke
Chapel
Course Fees: $550. RSCM members receive a $25
discount
Contact: Nancy Hendricks, Course Manager
843.889.0428 or [email protected]
More Information: www.carolinarscm.org
WASHINGTON COURSE FOR
ADVANCED TREBLES
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Participants: 8 boys and 22 girls of advanced ability
(red or yellow ribbon, or equivalent)
Dates: July 20–26, 2009
Music Director: Bruce Neswick
Organist: Christopher Jacobsen
Residential Venue: St. Albans School
Concerts/Services Venues: Resident choir at Washington National Cathedral
Course Fees: $600. RSCM members receive a $25
discount
Contact: Douglas Beck, Course Manager
703.549.3312, ext. 17 or [email protected]
KING’S COLLEGE COURSE
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Participants: 60 girls, 40 boys, 30 teens/young
adults, and 20 adults, plus 2 organ scholars
Dates: July 27–August 2, 2009
Music Director: Richard Tanner
Organist: Mark Laubach
Residential Venue: The Campus of King's College
Concerts/Services Venues: St. Stephen's ProCathedral, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Page 5
RSCM America 2009 Summer Training Courses
Course Fees: $525. RSCM members receive a $25
discount
 Contact: Addie Peyronnin, Registrar,
[email protected]
 More Information: www.kingscollegecourse.com

Also in North America:
MONTRÉAL COURSE
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Due to current economic conditions, we have canceled the Rocky Mountain, New York and Tulsa
Courses for the 2009 season. There are, however,
openings at some of the other courses around the
country.
Please contact any of the course managers listed
on these pages for course availability and additional information.
(continued)
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Participants: 40 boys, age 10–18, and 25 adults
Dates: July 26–August 2, 2009
Music Director: Andrew Lumsden
Organist: Patrick Wedd
Residential Venue: Sedbergh School, Montebello,
Quebec, Canada
Concerts/Services Venues: Christ Church Cathedral,
Montreal, Quebec
Course Fees: $650, American or Canadian. A deposit
of $100 is due with each registration
Contact: Larry Tremsky, Course Manager
516.746.2956, ext. 18 or [email protected]
More Information: www.mbcc.ca
St. Andrew’s Academy Choir Heads North to Canada
This past October, with
changing leaves and falling temperatures, the St.
Andrew’s Academy Choir
of Lake Almanor, Calif.
was heading north on another tour. And not just
any tour. This one made a
few firsts for the choir,
who had been to the
Southeast, to the southern West Coast, and in
the Midwest. This tour
included the Northwest of
the United States, and
Vancouver Island in Canada.
Victoria, B.C. was the furthest-away destination for
this most recent trip,
where the choir led Evensong for about 300 people at the beautiful
Church of our Lord, built
in 1876. The congregation seemed to enjoy the
service, and the choir
received many invitations
to sing around the country. When not singing, the
group toured Victoria, ate
at a few local restaurants, and even got some
studying in.
The choir also led services in Shoreline, Wash.,
a suburb of Seattle; in
Portland; in Redding; and
in Grant’s Pass, Ore. At
most locations, grandparents, cousins, siblings,
parents and friends of
the choristers who lived
nearby joined the other
congregants. Students
and teachers alike were
pleased to see far-away
loved ones on this tour.
For the seniors on the
trip, especially, Father
Brian Foos arranged
some college visits. In
Seattle, they toured Seattle Pacific University; Portland featured Multonomah University and
Lewis and Clark College;
and in Eugene, Ore., they
sat in on classes at
Gutenberg College, and
even sang for the student
body.
The trip was a success,
but one complaint was
voiced a few times. What
was it? “We didn’t eat
any Canadian bacon!” So
perhaps the choir will
have to visit Canada
again sometime.
Page 6
Royal School of Church Music in America
Lawrence, Kan. Twins Earn RSCM Gold Award
passed the Royal School
of Church Music’s Gold
Award exam in 2008.
Pictured are Maggie and Katie
Burk with their parents, Steve
and Sally, and the Very Rev.
Steve Lipscomb, Dean of Grace
Cathedral, Topeka
The award, which required extensive preparation over the course of
five months, is the most
prestigious honor that
can be attained from the
RSCM, a worldwide organization that promotes
the advancement of music education and choral
singing in a liturgical setting.
Maggie and Katie Burk,
choristers at Grace Cathedral, Topeka, Kan.,
Proctored by Mr. Richard
Webster, organist of historic Trinity Church, Copley Square, in Boston, the
two high school seniors
exercised every musical
and liturgical brain cell in
their arsenals during an
exam which tested their
knowledge of everything
from music theory to
church history. Additionally, they each prepared
15 pieces of music to be
sung, wrote extensive
sets of program notes,
created an original evening service liturgy, and
discussed extensive background information for all.
Not only did Katie and
Maggie pass the hourlong exam, they passed
Isabella Shaw Reflects on the VOICE for LIFE Gold Award
Finally, I was required to
submit an evening service of my own devising,
including an original
prayer, Bible passages
and music, for discussion. I chose to write an
Evensong service for
Epiphany, that being the
feast day I could most
easily relate to (and find
music for—Tallis’s “Te
Lucis Ante Terminum,”
Lauridsen’s “O Nata Lux”
and the Tallis “Short Evening Service in Dorian
Mode” inspired me.)
It was difficult at first to
work on preparation,
though I knew that time
was quickly ebbing: the
sheer number of pieces
to choose and prepare
was overwhelming. With
the help of Jenevora Williams of University of Sus-
sex, England, who was in
Denver and at St. John’s
for a brief time last
spring, I was able to begin. As I had passed my
RSCM Silver Award with
distinction the previous
summer, I had an inkling
of the quality required
here; still, as the months
went on, I found myself
having to really work to
keep up momentum; it
sometimes seemed as
though August, and the
exam, would never arrive.
We set off for the UK, to
the RSCM Bath Singing
Course for Young People,
with but a few last-minute
voice lessons. I was
scheduled to take the
exam on the fourth day of
the course. Fortunately,
this year, the course organist, Steven Grahl, was
with Honors; currently,
they have the top scores
in the United States and
some of the best in the
world. The Very Reverend
Steve Lipscomb, Dean of
Grace Cathedral, presented the girls with their
medals during the Sunday morning service on
January 18, to a standing
ovation by parishioners.
“I was pretty confident
about my exam,” said
Maggie. “It took a lot of
time and preparation, but
I am very glad that I did
it.”
(continued from page 1)
to accompany me for the
exam—last year, for the
Silver Award, I was assigned an organ scholar
who had no previous experience of accompanying exams—it was a very
good learning opportunity
for both of us, but I was
grateful nonetheless for
the reassurance of a
more experienced ally.
I am immensely grateful
as well to all who aided
me in this process—Mr.
Tappe, friends and teachers who were of especial
help, my family, the Bath
Course staff for once
again taking on the trouble of organizing my
exam, and those who
supported my goals
throughout my journey at
St. John’s Cathedral. Sacred music in the English
Cathedral tradition sometimes feels an odd thing
fall in love with, but it has
been extremely important
to me. As the world
churns forward and as
old customs are being
replaced by the new, I
think it is essential to
continue to preserve and
nurture this tradition of
musical excellence.
Page 7
Topeka’s Grace Cathedral Choristers Invade Chicago
On March 19-22, the Choristers from Grace Cathedral in Topeka, Kan.
headed to Chicago for
their yearly tour.
During their four-day tour
of the Windy City, the
Choristers had the unique
opportunity to sing at a
church with one of the
finest organs in the country. St. Luke’s Church in
Evanston, Ill. houses a
1922 Skinner organ in an
exquisitely reverberant
space, and it features one
of the most storied
church music programs in
the Midwest. The Choristers partnered with the
Choir of Boys, Girls, and
Adults to sing the Sunday
morning Eucharist; along
with Harris’s “King of
Glory, King of Peace” and
Rossini’s “O Salutaris
Hostia,” the choirs presented Charles Wood’s
setting of the “Missa Portarae Honoris,” featuring
soloists from both choirs.
After a relaxing lunch pro-
vided by St. Luke’s choir
families and a walk down
to Lake Michigan, the
Choristers sang Evensong
featuring music by Herbert Howells, Malcolm
Archer, Martin How, and
an arrangement of the
traditional spiritual “Steal
Away” by Cathedral organist/choirmaster Steve
Burk.
Aside from the singing,
the Choristers, aged 1018, explored many famous attractions, ranging
from the glamorous Magnificent Mile to the everpopular Museum of Science and Industry. The
16 singers and their
seven adult chaperones
also enjoyed performances of “Put the Nuns in
Charge” (a hilarious onewoman show set in a
small, classroom-like
theatre) and the trademark percussion/comedy
hybrid of the Blue Man
Group. However, the attractions were not the
Alexandra Dixon-Ernst,
now a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University,
earned the VOICE for
LIFE Gold Award in
June 2008. She is an
eleven-year veteran of Alan
Lewis’s choir at Calvary
Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, Pa. Dixon-Ernst
earned her Silver and
Bronze Awards in 2007
and 2006, respectively.
only perks: when asked
about the trip, senior Katie Burk said her favorite
part of the trip outside of
the singing, of course,
was “The food. The first
night, we ate at a place
called Roy’s Hawaiian
Fusion,” where, she says,
“we had an absolutely
incredible meal.” Many of
the other choristers
agree; junior Anna Hamilton also mentioned the
“quite heavenly” deepdish pizza at Geno’s East
and the “life-altering”
caramel popcorn at
Garrett’s.
For three of the Choristers, however, the trip
was bittersweet: seniors
Katie Burk, Maggie Burk,
and Robert Hamilton
have been in the choir for
upwards of six years and
will all be moving on to
their respective colleges
next year. “As a senior
with a beard, it’s always
nice to surprise people
with high G’s,” joked
Robert, who will attend
Kansas State next fall.
“I’ve also gained a better
understanding of how a
choir can use different
talents to become a unit.”
And what will these three
miss most about being
Cathedral choristers?
Says Maggie, “Stepping
into our vestments, smelling the incense, hearing
an organ voluntary, and
singing tradition-laden
music with my best
friends reminds me that
what we’re doing is something much bigger than
ourselves. I’ll carry that
experience with me forever.”
Royal School of Church Music in America
Westminster Choir College
101 Walnut Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 609-921-3012
Website: www.rscmamerica.org
RSCM America
Board of Directors
Cynthia DeDakis, ARSCM
President
Enid Oberholtzer, HonRSCM
President-elect
RSCM America Welcomes New Board Members & President-Elect
We are pleased to announce that RSCM
America Board member ENID OBERHOLTZER was elected President-elect of
RSCM America at the Board’s annual
meeting in January 2009.
We also welcomed three new Directors to
the Board in January: LORI MULLER
(Training Courses Committee Representative), ANDREW SHERANIAN, and RANDEL L. WOLFE.
Ernest Plunkett
Secretary/Treasurer
Lori Muller
Training Courses
Committee Representative
Garmon Ashby
Frank Boles
Karen Knowles
Andrew Sheranian
Randel L. Wolfe
Ex Officio members
of the Board:
Kevin Radtke
Coordinator, RSCM America
The Rev. Edmund Pickup
Pastoral Advisor/Chaplain
Isabella Shaw, Maggie Burk, Katie Burk and Alexandra
Dixon-Ernst each earned the VOICE for LIFE Gold Award in
2008. Read more about their accomplishments in this newsletter.