RCO members, students and their families filled Southwark Cathedral on Saturday for the 2016 Conferment of Diplomas.

If you are reading this, then you have reached iRCO, an innovative virtual campus from the Royal College of Organists, designed to provide easy access to learning, research and general information for organists and choral directors.

A downloadable short history of the Royal College of Organists, written by Andrew McCrea in 2014 to mark the College’s 150th anniversary. 

A history of the development of the Royal College of Organists, with notes on the development of the RCO Library.

The Conferment of Diplomas is the public centrepiece of the Royal College of Organists’ year. In 2015 it was held in Southwark Cathedral, London, and you can watch a video of the proceedings here.

The Conferment of Diplomas is the public centrepiece of the Royal College of Organists’ year. In 2013 it was held in Southwark Cathedral, London.

The Conferment of Diplomas is the public centrepiece of the Royal College of Organists’ year. In 2014 it was held in Southwark Cathedral, London.

The College’s library is as old as the College. From modest beginnings it has grown over the years into a library of great distinction, whose comprehensive specialist holdings of organ and choral music and books are known across the world.

In this article Rosemary Golding examines the professional status and remuneration of the organist in the run-up to the foundation of the College of Organists in 1864, by examining contemporary advertisements and correspondence in The Musical Times and similar publications.  It originally appeared in The RCO Journal in 2014. RCO Journal 2014_Golding