Choir & Organ Winter 2024

For many of us, the Advent season is marked by an element of reflection and waiting, though this can be difficult to find amid the busyness of London in December. Music and words for Advent allow us to sink back from the tumult and into this subliminal space of waiting and anticipation. The words of the ‘O Antiphons’ and their settings used in the eight days before Christmas have recently felt close to me for providing space in the lead up. James MacMillan’s iconic setting of ‘O Radiant Dawn’ is a personal favourite, though so is the plainchant, sung especially beautifully on Advent Live 2 from Andrew Nethsingha and St John’s College, Cambridge. But when so much music, planning and stress go into rehearsing and performing concerts, how do we…

ASSOCIATES American Guild of Organists American Institute of Organbuilders Association of Canadian Choral Conductors Chorus America Cornell University International Society of Organbuilders Leicester Chorale Mount Royal University Oberlin College Conservatory Thornton School of Music USC To find out more about becoming a Partner or Associate, email choirandorgan@rhinegold.co.uk…

THE NORTHERN IRELAND INTERNATIONAL ORGAN Competition (NIIOC) has announced German competitor Jan Liebermann as its 2024 winner. The competition final, which took place in August, saw 13 organists compete at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh. Liebermann achieved success in the Senior category of the competition, aimed at post-Grade 8 players aged 21 and under. The 18-year-old organist received a trophy presented by Neiland & Creane Organ Builders and a cash prize of £4,000 awarded by the John Pilling Trust, plus five international recitals. Liebermann said: ‘It is such a great honour to be awarded the first prize at this wonderful competition. I experienced the competition as very open minded, and it was so great to have this cultivating exchange with all the different participants from all over…

STUDENTS FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HAVE announced the foundation of The Cambridge University Schola Cantorum – a cross-college ensemble of Cambridge’s most talented singers and an elite group of vocalists from the university. The Cambridge University Schola Cantorum will be run by award-winning cellist and conductor Graham Walker, the director of music at Emmanuel College and former director of the recently disbanded St John’s Voices choir. The St John’s Voices were widely known on a local and international level, with broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, albums on the Naxos label and numerous concerts and tours. The Cambridge University Schola Cantorum aims to step into the role of this predecessor. Schola will perform weekly services of candlelit Compline in a different chapel or church each Monday, as well as concert performances each…

THE PERFORMING RIGHT SOCIETY (PRS), partners of the Choir & Organ New Music scheme, hosted five of our composers for a day in September at its offices in London Bridge including a discussion with composer Roxanna Panufnik. New music editor Matthew Power spoke to the composer about her career, writing for the coronation and advice for emerging composers. Power also spoke to each of the composers about the works commissioned, either for choir or organ for the New Music scheme’s partner ensemble The Marian Consort. Daniel Lewis, head of classical at PRS, then gave a presentation about performing rights and advice for composers about their rights and royalties. The day ended with drinks and networking, a chance for the Choir & Organ team to get to know the composers and…

THE BBC SINGERS AND NATIONAL Youth Choir have announced a three-year partnership between the two organisations to open the pathway for the next generation of young voices. The partnership will focus on helping young singers gain experience of performing and recording, centring on education initiatives to provide opportunities for students from across the country to gain experience singing. It will encompass work involving National Youth Choir’s oldest singers, aged 18-25, its chamber ensemble National Youth Voices, and the Emerging Professional Artists programme, its professional development scheme for singers, conductors and composers. Jonathan Manners, director of BBC Singers, said: ‘The BBC Singers continue to thrive on building strong working relationships with National Youth Choir, and together we have the opportunity to build a significant development pathway, not just for the musicians…