Your RCO event details can be found below.
Please note that the 24-hour clock is used on all event listings, with all times being GMT/BST. To book courses and classes, please follow the Book Online link wherever you see it, and email bookings@rco.org.uk or call 020 3865 6998 with any queries. Where events are free or not bookable online, please follow the instructions for that event.
Join us for four days of stimulating learning on the easy-to-use Zoom platform! Although we are unable to meet in person this summer for our week-long course, learning and sharing ideas needn't stop, as too the renewing of friendships and the making of new ones. All you need to participate is a computer, a Wi-Fi connection and, for some sessions, an organ or other keyboard. Read on for more information, or go straight to the booking site https://conference.rco.org.uk/ (click here for a direct link).
Who is the course for?
The RCO Summer Course, whether running 'physically' or online, has become known as the big course with the personal touch for organists of all ages and stages, from beginner to Diploma level. This year we include a bespoke strand taught by Anne Marsden Thomas for those without any previous experience of playing the organ but who already play the piano/keyboard to at least Grade 5 level.
Course content
Mornings (10:00–12.30pm)
Choose two Essential Skills classes of 30 minutes each from the following list: Fundamentals of Technique, Improvisation, Keyboard Musicianship, Listening Skills, Theory, and Working with Choirs. Each class will be delivered at two levels of experience except for Keyboard Musicianship which has four levels.
Lunch time (13:20–13:40)
Each day a different group of students will be invited to join a relaxed, social session where you can introduce yourself and join in the conversation.
Early afternoon (14:00–16:30)
Book individual 30-minute lessons with our six teachers on Organ Performance (repertoire and technique), Keyboard Skills (sight reading, transposition, harmonisation, figured bass), Theory (ABRSM grades and RCO diploma written papers), and Liturgical Playing Skills (hymn playing and extensions, Anglican chant and other types of psalm playing, accompanying choirs). Subject to availability you can book more than one lesson with the same and/or different teachers on the same and/or different days (60-minute maximum per day subject to availability).
Later afternoon (17:00–17:40)
The whole course comes together for a lecture by a different teacher each day. The topics to be covered are: Organ Music and Culture of the French Golden Age (Janette Fishell); Celebrating the Anniversaries of Saint-Saëns, Demessieux and Dupré (Gerard Brooks); A Giant Reborn—the Rebuilding of York Minster Organ (Robert Sharpe and Andrew Scott); Student Showcase in which participants are invited to submit a short film introducing an organ of interest in their local area. Each session ends with the opportunity to ask questions and for general conversation.
Teachers
You will receive tuition from six highly experienced RCO Accredited Teachers.
Andrew Cantrill-Fenwick, who is also course director
Robin Harrison
Anne Marsden Thomas
Frederick Stocken
Gerdi Troskie
Simon Williams
Fees
The fees for all tuition except individual lessons are as follows:
RCO Members booking by 30 April £140
Non-members booking by 30 April £190
RCO Members booking from 1 May £180
Non-members booking from 1 May £230
Individual lessons are charged at £25 per 30 minutes
Bursaries
Click here to read about RCO bursaries and to download the application form. The deadline for receipt of completed forms is 1 May.
Join the RCO
Student Membership costs £55 a year and full membership £110. Click here for further details and to join online.
Safeguarding
Where participants are aged under 18 on 5 August 2021 a parent, guardian or trusted adult must be present in the same building as the student and the door of the room the student is using must be left open.
Comments areceived after the Summer Course Online 2020
I wasn't too sure what to expect but it turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating course, exceeding all my expectations.
I really enjoyed the course—a triumph of organisation and technology—and very much appreciated the skills of the teaching staff.
I found the whole content stimulating, inspiring and enjoyable.
I do hope the RCO will consider running similar courses in the future, even if and when we are no longer constrained by lockdown.
Click here to go to the special RCO Summer Course Online website to book and pay for your place and any individual lessons you may require.
For RCO courses and classes, the following key is used as a guide to level and suitability:
Beginner (Grades 1-4)
Intermediate (Grades 4-6)
Advanced (Grades 6-8 / CRCO)
Diploma 1 (CRCO–ARCO)
Diploma 2 (ARCO–FRCO)