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.

In this article from the RCO Journal of 2017, John Scott Whiteley examines Bach’s selection of traditional hymns for the Orgelbuchlein, and the tensions between Pietism, a Protestant renewal movement, and Lutheran Orthodoxy, in his sources.

In this RHS-RCO Masterclass, Matthew Martin discusses the practicalities of performance of the French Classical Repertoire – from registration and articulation, to the fingering for ornamentation and the application of inègale.

Simon Williams presents a masterclass in hymn playing at the organ of the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk.  He advises on registration, playovers and console management for hymns, how to match your hymn playing to the organ and the acoustic, and how to encourage confident singing from the congregation. 

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.

Anne Page demonstrates methods that pianists use to learn fast passages of music with accuracy, which could be a helpful addition to your own practice techniques.

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.