Royal School of Church Music

The School of English Church Music (SECM) was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson, and opened at Buller’s Wood in Chislehurst in 1929. In 1945, it became the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), and moved to Canterbury Cathedral. In 1954, it moved to Addington Palace and then in 1996 to Cleveland Lodge, Dorking. Since 2006, it has been based at Sarum College in Salisbury.

The RSCM seeks to engage and encourage church music through awards, exams, publishing, residential courses and professional advice.

Education programmes include the Voice for Life and Church Music Skills schemes, as well as the long-running residential courses.

The RSCM publishes church music and other materials for choirs and organists, and produces a magazine, Church Music Quarterly (CMQ), which alongside Sunday by Sunday provides information for church musicians.

The Millennium Youth Choir is the charity's national youth choir which has sung for BBC Radio 3 Choral Evensong and the Proms. The RSCM Voices and RSCM Cathedral Singers are other choirs run by the RSCM.

The following are RSCM leaders:

• The Director is Hugh Morris (since 2018)
• The President of the Royal School of Church Music in America is Joseph Causby
• The President of RSCM Australia is Ross Cobb
• The President of RSCM South Africa is Simon Aiken
• The President of RSCM New Zealand is Paul Ellis

Directors of the RSCM

• 1927-1947 Sydney Nicholson (formerly Organist of Carlisle and Manchester Cathedrals, and Westminster Abbey)
• 1954-1972 Gerald H. Knight (formerly Assistant Organist of Truro Cathedral)
• 1972-1989 Lionel Dakers (formerly Organist of Exeter and Ripon Cathedrals)
• 1989-1998 Harry Bramma (formerly Assistant Organist of Worcester Cathedral and Organist of Southwark Cathedral)
• 1998-2007 John Harper
• 2007-2012 Lindsay Gray
• 2012-2018 Andrew Reid (formerly Master of the Music at Peterborough Cathedral; subsequently Director of Harrison and Harrison)
• 2018-present Hugh Morris (formerly Organist of Derby Cathedral)

Chairmen of the RSCM Council

The following have chaired the RSCM Council:

• 1996-2005 Sir David Harrison
• 2005-2010 Mark Stephen Williams
• 2010-2018 Brian Gill, Lord Gill
• 2018-2023 Reverend John Hall, Dean of Westminster
• 2023-2024 Phil Taylor
• 2024-present Sue Hayman, Baroness Hayman of Ullock

The RSCM provides a series of grades and awards to signify varying levels of musical achievement.

There are four basic merit awards, the light blue ribbon, the dark blue ribbon, the red ribbon and the yellow ribbon. These awards share the same medal and are widely used within individual choirs to encourage progression and development, being managed and awarded at a parish/choir level. Beyond these are three awards achieved by examination:

• The Bronze award
• The Silver award
• The Gold award

There are no prerequisites for taking the awards exams. In broad terms, a Bronze award is equivalent to ABRSM grade 4 in terms of difficulty, though its requirements are broader. Similarly, Silver roughly equates to grade 6 and Gold to grade 8.

The former medals are as follows:

Honorary awards

Every year the RSCM Council confers Honorary Awards on those who have made outstanding contributions to church music. They are divided as follows:

• Fellow of the RSCM (FRSCM):
  • Awarded for achievements in church music and/or liturgy of international significance, or for exceptional musical and/or liturgical work within the RSCM.
• Associate of the RSCM (ARSCM):
  • Awarded for achievements in church music and/or liturgy of national significance, or for important musical and/or liturgical work within the RSCM.
• Honorary Member of the RSCM (HonRSCM):
  • Awarded for exceptional or very significant work that has contributed to the cause of church music and/or liturgy at international or national levels, or within the RSCM, but which is not primarily musical or liturgical.
• Certificate of Special Service (CERTSS):
  • Awarded for significant administrative work as a voluntary officer or member of staff within the RSCM; or an award for a significant contribution to church music and/or liturgy at a local level.