Royal School of Church Music
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) supports a world-wide network of 9,000 churches, schools and individuals. It is committed to achieving the best use of good music in worship – whatever the resources, whatever the styles. Through education, training, publications, advice and encouragement, it aims to support church music today and to invest in church music for the future.
Following the Report In Tune with Heaven (1991), the General Synod appointed the RSCM as music agency to the Church of England. The RSCM works closely with the Liturgical Commission to provide musical resources to support the introduction of Common Worship. For details of current and forthcoming publications, click here.
The RSCM is involved in a number of projects in the area of liturgical formation:
Voice for Life exists to support and promote singing in churches, schools and other communities. It provides a range of training materials, repertoire, courses and training choirs to help encourage and develop a singing culture; whether in a church, school or in the wider community.
The Sacred Music Studies course (in association with the University of Wales, Bangor), is a flexible, part-time distance learning course over 1-4 years designed to explore the use of music in church, develop understanding of the role of music in worship, and enable the effective use of skills.
Skills of the Church Musician is a comprehensive new programme to equip for leadership in music in the local church. It sits alongside both national short courses and local workshops and training schemes. This core programme is currently being developed. It is hoped that the first phase of the programme will begin early in 2008, and that the whole programme will be available by January 2009.
The RSCM publishes Sunday by Sunday, a quarterly liturgy planner which provides suggested hymns, songs, Psalm settings, choral music, organ music and music or children to support the readings in the Common Worship Principal Service Lectionary and the Revised Common Lectionary.
For details of RSCM training events, click here
To subscribe to the RSCM e-Newsletter. click here