Choral Festival 2009

A long day today, as I traveled to Arnhem for the annual choral festival organized by the RSCM in North West Europe. There was a good turnout, with about 60 singers from choirs in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, led by Gordon Appleton of the RSCM, who flew over for the event.

As ever, it was nice to meet up with all my ECS friends, especially as those of us who took the RSCM Voice for Life exams last week had the chance to congratulate each other in person!

The choral festival is always fun, but hard work, and this year was no exception. A particular challenge were Moore's Preces and Responses, which took quite some studying. The day culminated with a service of Choral Evensong, during which those of us who took the Voice for Life exams last week were presented with our medals.

Thanks go to Karine, Graham, Martin and Alan for not only organizing the exams, putting up with our nerves, accompanying and examining us, but also for managing to return the results within a day, and have the medals (well, all but one) and the certificates signed by the director of the RSCM and ready within a week!

Music List:

• Introit: The Lord will come and not be slow Christopher Tye
• Preces and responses: Philip Moore
• Psalm 27
  
• Canticles: Wood in E flat (no 1)
• Anthem: Kindle a light to lighten the darkness Richard Lloyd
• Extroit: A Clare Benediction John Rutter