RSCM – A church music organisation with local interests

Before I became Director of Music at St James, I had already heard of the RSCM – an organisation dedicated to developing and preserving the very best in church music in the UK and overseas.

What I didn’t realise was how interested they are in their local members.

Hope for Sutton Project Launch

I’m some six months (and a bit) late in writing this, but it’s been a busy time.

The Hope for Sutton project, which encompasses a range of activities and initiatives supporting the local community in and around Mere Green launched last October. As part of the celebrations I was delighted to present an original piece of composition recorded and performed by students from three local primary schools. In return for their hard work I decided to keep the recording online for free, so they would have easy access to hear themselves in what is technically a world premiere.

Sinking the Ark

It’s funny, isn’t it, how difficult its can be to express an idea. I had a concept of what I wanted to do, but I was under the impression the work already existed and I would be presenting somebody else’s genius.

Curinating

It’s been a while.

Honestly, I haven’t felt like there’s much to write about on a blog recently. The last year has been busy, and while good, there have been things I needed to deal with more urgently than composing and delivering blog content.

Ales Beers and Carols

We’re going carolling in pubs again. It’s another glorious romp around some excellent ale houses with a piano and a sheaf of carol sheets which seems to be an annual indulgence. I’ve just sent an order to the printers for flyers (download yours in advance here if you like) and we have more pubs than ever on the list.

Why should the Presbyterians have all the good music?

It’s been a while since I wrote about Christian music, but something this morning really made me pause and think.

Horatio Spafford is known for a few things, principally as a chum of great evangelist Dwight Moody and the writer of “It is well with my Soul” – a hymn inspired by the tragic loss of his four daughters in a shipwreck when crossing the Atlantic to holiday in England. The hymn, published by Sankey to a tune by Philip Bliss, is a standard in traditional protestant Christian churches, an inspiring message that whatever the world throws at a person God’s love and grace are sufficient to meet the challenge. It’s a hymn strong on key Christian themes, and recognised and sung across the English-speaking world.

Which is why I’m rather disappointed that Matt Redman nicked the chorus to shore up one of his recent compositions.

Carol Servicing

Like any good garage there are levels of service available from most churches this Christmas.

Christmas at the Parish church in Aldridge.

I’m a musician on the rota of band leaders at Aldridge Parish Church. This Christmas will be one of the more intense ones for me, because I’m playing at the carol services (two of them, back to back, December 22nd evening) and the morning of December 15th.

Christmas. Carols. Beer. Excellent.

It’s been in my diary for a little while now, but I’d like to take this opportunity to plug Ales Beers and Carols 2013 again. What a fantastic opportunity to drink beer and sing carols. For a concept, this one scores highly for simplicity and ease of execution.

Talk about last minute…

This morning someone found my blog using the search term “Harvest songs for Kids”. I fear my recent little rant about how we have no decent songs for this particular festival probably didn’t furnish them with the material they were after, and it strikes me as a little late in the day to be panicking about such things. Our service starts at half ten. This morning. I think looking for material now could be construed as last minute panic?