Performance anxiety is common at all levels, and musicians are now catching up with sportsmen and women in acquiring techniques to overcome it. Knowing you’re performing way below your capability is immensely frustrating – here are some resources to help your public performances be as good as the ones you produce in private.

The Northern Ireland International Organ Competition, which takes place between 13th and 15th August in Armagh, has grown into an excellent opportunity for organists age 21 and under. This year there are increased prize funds, and recital opportunities for senior category prize winners at a range of international venues. The competition has been a stepping stone for many young players to establish their careers and take the next step forward. Dame Gillian Weir chairs the jury, and entries for this year close in July.

Listen to the Ede & Ravenscroft Recital which closed the College’s 2018 Conferment of Diplomas ceremony, performed by Peter Stevens, Assistant Master of Music, Westminster Cathedral, who played music by Jean Guillou, JS Bach, Maurice Durufle and Max Reger.

Watch the College’s 2018 Conferment of Diplomas ceremony in full, or as edited highlights.

Last Saturday, in the splendid setting of Southwark Cathedral, the RCO presented Diplomas and Certificates to 49 members of the college who were successful in the examinations in the past year – and for the first time this included the RCO’s new qualification, the Certificate of Accredited Membership (CAM). Distinguished guests were awarded the RCO Medal, and Peter Stevens gave the Ede & Ravenscroft recital – pictures of the day’s event as it unfolded.

The new Flentrop organ at the Royal College of Music in London is still to have its first proper public appearance, as it were, but already it’s gathering appreciative comments from those who’ve had a chance to play it. Flentrop Orgelbouw have created an instrument with a warm, clear sound that, although it has only 34 stops, is convincing, on its own terms, in French, North German, English, Baroque and Romantic repertoire. Thomas Trotter will give the opening recital on 25th February, to round off an organ festival that celebrates the organ music of composers associated with the College since the time of Parry.

The Liverpool Blue Coat School has a national treasure in its assembly hall – a 1874-built Father Willis organ. Thanks to support from the National Lottery, the school is developing a project to restore it, to be a focus for music within the school, and also to support a new Blue Coat Organ Scholarship. This scholarship will not only involve the restored Father Willis, but will extend to the use of both the Liverpool Cathedral and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral organs.

Ten years ago Will Fraser spotted a market for recordings of keyboard instruments, using the global reach of the internet to find their niche market. “I wanted to produce films that you can’t find on television, knowing there was an audience which would react when word of them arrived on the web. And out of that, Fugue State Films was born.” He talks about the challenges of fundraising and filming Fugue State’s acclaimed organ series, especially the recently released box set on Max Reger, their biggest project so far.

Two new competitions for university and conservatoire organ students (including recent graduates) have been launched this year, and the deadlines for entries for both are rapidly approaching, in February. Read on for details of the CAOS inaugural student organist competition to be held in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and the IAO – RCO competition, with finals in Peterborough Cathedral this summer.