WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BRANCH

The Western Australian branch was formed in December 1956, and the committee is based in Perth.

The branch committee organises an exciting program of activities which includes a Choral Festival, tours of local churches and workshops on hymn singing and choosing music for worship.

An important part of the annual program is the Annual Choristers' Course, usually held in a country location. The course is held each year in July and is open to all young people interested in church music. Registration for the course is now open.

A history of the branch has been recorded by Barbara Good in: Served with Joy: The Story of the Royal School of Church Music in Western Australia (© 1982 and 2006). For more information contact the branch chairperson, Deirdre Russell (wa@rscmaustralia.org.au).

Contact the WA branch: wa@rscmaustralia.org.au

BRANCH OFFICERS AND APPOINTED REPRESENTATIVES

Branch Chairperson Mrs. Deirdre Russell 32 Second Avenue Rossmoyne, W.A. 6148 wa@rscmaustralia.org.au	Secretary Mrs. Moya Sherlock 13 Michael Street Beaconsfield, W.A. 6162	Treasurer Mrs. Sheila Byfield 59 Alvaston Drive Carine, W.A. 6020
WestNews Editor Ms Carol Crass	Choristers' Camp Administrator Mr Brad Wake rscmcamp@amnet.net.au	Perth Metro Committee Members Mrs. Gillian Burbidge Miss Jacinta Jakovcevic Mr. Bradley Wake Mrs. Ruth Styles

Representatives of the following church bodies:
Archbishop's Committee on Liturgy and Music, Anglican Diocese of Perth: The Rev'd Tony Murray-Feist
Committee on Church Music of the Western Australian Synod of the Uniting Church of Australia: Deirdre Russell
Liturgical Office of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth: Jacinta Jakovcevic

Area Representatives (appointed by the Branch Committee):
Geraldton: Mrs Deb Hood
Albany: Mrs Sheena Price, (08) 9841 3715

MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES

Membership enquiries should be directed to the Branch Chairperson/Secretary.
We welcome all those wth an interest in church music; including church musicians, choir directors, choristers, organists and other instrumentalists.

Click here to download a membership application form.

Membership benefits

Membership can include:

25% discount on multiple RSCM publications.
Church Music Quarterly (CMQ), a magazine from RSCM UK containing news, articles, repertoire suggestions, and music and CD reviews.
Sunday by Sunday (SBS) magazine.
WestNews, the RSCM WA branch newsletter, which contains information on upcoming branch events.
Church Music Australia, the national RSCM newsletter.
Members have the opportunity to publicise Church Music events in WestNews.

THE BRANCH NEWSLETTER

The Branch Newsletter, WestNews, is published bi-monthly.

Editor:
Miss Carol Crass
4 Hewitt Way
Booragoon, WA 6154

Click here for a recent issue of WestNews

THE BRANCH LIBRARY

The Branch Library is located at St Aidan's Uniting Church office, cnr Princess Road and Chester St, Claremont.

For information and to obtain a key please contact Geoff Dimmock, 08 9384 4521, Deirdre Russell, 08 9457 4010, or Moya Sherlock, 08 9337 2939.

UPCOMING BRANCH EVENTS

	24 April	Discover the Organ Day, Mount Lawley
	16 May	Evensong, St. George’s Cathedral
	20 June	Congregational Hymn Singing, St. Columba’s, Northgate St. Scarborough.
	6-11 July	Choristers’ Camp, Northam
	14 August	Choral Festival, Wesley Uniting Church, Perth
	16-17 October	Country trip to Bunbury
	13 November	Venite, St. Michael’s, Mt. Pleasant

Click here to download the Calendar of Events for 2010

Scroll down for further information on selected events

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Choral Festival

The annual Choral Festival has been confirmed for Saturday, 14 August, which is the 200th anniversary of Samuel Sebastian Wesley.

Location: Wesley Uniting Church corner Hay & William Streets, Perth
Time: Full Rehearsal 2pm, Service Starts 5.30pm
Clothing: Please wear the traditional black bottoms and white top.

Rehearsals for this event will be as follows:
2 pm Saturday July 31, Willetton Uniting Church, Herald Ave, Willetton
7:30 pm Monday August 9, St Mark’s, Bassendean, 2 Wilson Street

Music and parts practice CD’s will be available from the middle of July and at the first rehearsal for $5. People who are keen to get a head start on learning the music can contact either Deirdre Russell (94574010) or Sheila Byfield (9447 0824). We will be singing Blessed Be the God and Father (from the 2009 Hospice Concert, Lead me Lord from the New Anthem Book and Ascribe unto the Lord.

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2010 Country Trip to Bunbury

It has been arranged that a choir from the RSCM will sing at the Anglican Cathedral in Bunbury for
their 9 am Eucharist on October 17th. The proposal is that we go to Bunbury on the Australind
train on October 16th, Saturday morning, leaving the Perth station at 9.30 pm arriving at
Bunbury at 11.55 am.

On Saturday we we’ll present a “Songs of Praise” at St Augustine’s Uniting Church combining with
other local groups. We will return on the train on Sunday afternoon, leaving Bunbury at 2.45 pm and arriving back in Perth at 5.12 pm.

There will be 4 rehearsals:
2pm Sat. August 28, St Edmund’s Anglican Church, 52 Pangbourne Street, Wembley
2pm Sat. September 25, Willetton Uniting Church, Herald Ave, Willetton
2pm Sat. October 2, St Michael and all Angels, George Street, North Beach
2pm Sat. October 9, St Edmund’s Anglican Church, 52 Pangbourne Street, Wembley

If you can join us for this excursion, either as a singer or a “roadie”, please contact Sheila Byfield at 59, Alvaston Drive, Carine, 9447 0824 or sbyfield@three.com.au

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Venite

When: 2pm, 13 November, 2010
Where: St Michaels’s Anglican Church in Mt Pleasant

Gill Burbidge and Ruth Styles will again be joining forces to lead a Venite. These are always casual events suitable for all talents and usually follow a theme. It is a fabulous opportunity to come and explore music that
might be perfect for your choir or church to sing. The normal format will occur with a 2pm start and a music charge of $5.

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Previous Branch Events

Good Friday Performance of The Crucifixion by John Stainer

Wesley Church, Perth, has invited RSCM members to jon the massed choir for their Good Friday service. RSCM members must supply their own music.

Rehearsal times are as follows:
Tuesday March 16, 7-8.30pm
Monday March 22, 7-8.30pm
Friday April 2, 3.30pm

Performance:
Friday April 2, 5.30pm

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Discover the Organ Day

Saturday 24th April 2010, 9.30am - 3.30pm

9.30 Meet and become acquainted at 173 Railway Parade, Mount Lawley. Car parking is available at Maylands/Mt Lawley Uniting Church, 165 Railway Parade, Mount Lawley.
10.00 Break into four groups, try your piece and learn some playing basics.
12.00 Meet at St. Patrick’s Anglican Church hall, cnr 1st Avenue/Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley. Bring a cut lunch. Tea and coffee will be provided.
1.00 Return to the four organs to develop your ability to combine manuals and pedals.
3.00 Converge on 173 Railway Parade Mount Lawley, for a pleasant wind-up and chat.

The charge of $20.00 which can be paid on the day, by cash or cheque, will cover the cost of a music folder and morning and afternoon tea.

Members are asked to bring a cut lunch. Entries close when 20 places are taken. For more details or queries please telephone Dudley on 9371 2441, or email dudley.bastian@bigpond.com

Download this document for further information

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Choral Evensong 2010 at St. George’s Cathedral Perth

When: Sunday, 16 May, 2010
Where: St George’s Cathedral, Perth
Time: Practice 2 - 4pm, Service 5pm
Bring: Music and A Small Plate of Afternoon Tea to share.
Wear: Regular outfit of black bottoms and a white top and remember to bring your RSCM medals to wear if you have them.

St George's Cathedral will welcome members of affiliated choirs from the Royal School of Church Music to Evensong on Sunday 16 May. We want to have a good showing at this event so plan to come and be part of the massed choir for this service. Maybe you can schedule it as a choir excursion from your church. Of course individual members are welcome and we hope to see many of you there. The director for this event will be Philippa Tan and Stewart Smith will play the organ.

Most of the music is available for you to download from the cathedral web site in PDF format. Follow this link to find it www.perthcathedral.org/Worship/rscmevensong-16-may.html
If you cannot download the music you need contact Deirdre Russell on 9457 4010 and she will be able to post you a copy.

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Congregational Hymn Singing

When: 2.30pm, June 20
Where: St Columba's Anglican Church, Northgate Street, Scarborough

There will be another afternoon of Congregational Singing again this year. Please try to persuade members of your congregation to come - your choir is also welcome of course - but nobody has to sing on their own (unless they volunteer to do so) so just come and enjoy a good sing.

As usual, please forward your requests on this form. Sheila will be adding requests as they come in so get in early!! This has been very popular the last 2 years and loads of fun so if you have never been come and join us. No experience is necessary.

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Choristers' Course

The annual RSCM Choristers' Course is open to young people (8-18 years of age) who love to sing, want to make life-long friends and have a lot of fun.

For over 30 years the RSCM in WA has been running this hugely popular six-day residential course where participants from all over the state enjoy singing in a 100+ member, four-part choir developing skills in musicianship and taking part in activities such as dance, sport, drama, art and much more.

Where: Northam
When: 6 - 12 July 2010
Adminstrator: Brad Wake is the main contact and you may contact him at rscmcamp@amnet.net.au or 9361 3543.

You can download the following items:
Registration Form
Camp Chat
Bursary application form

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OTHER CHURCH MUSIC EVENTS IN WA FOR 2010

Time	Date	Event	Venue	Cost
March
7.30pm	24 Mar	Handel's Messiah Sara Macliver – soprano, Courtney Pitman-Kerr – mezzo sopprano, Stuart Laing – tenor, Robert Hofmann – baritone St George's Cathedral Concert Orchestra lead by Semra Lee Directed by Joseph Nolan	St George's Cathedral	$45/38
2.30pm	21 Mar	Pipe Organ Plus - resurrection Giovanni Consort, David Gething – director, Dominic Perissinotto – organ Pipe Organ Plus and the Giovanni Consort celebrate two impressive milestones, 10 and 15 years of music making. Resurrection, a musical reflection on the Christian journey from Lent to Easter, features Tallis’ Lamentations and the famous Allegri Miserere, two deeply spiritual masterworks. The exquisite de Brossard Stabat Mater, along with moving organ music by Bach, Grigny and Tournemire, echo Christ’s suffering and joyful resurrection. www.pipeorganplus.com/POP_2010_program.pdf	The Basillica of St Patrick	$30/25/15
April
1pm	28 Apr	Concerts at One - Perth College Further information	St George's Cathedral	$10
May
1pm	5 May	Concerts at One - Penrhos College	St George's Cathedral	$10
1pm	12 May	Concerts at One - Presbyterian Ladies College	St George's Cathedral	$10
2.30pm	16 May	Pipe Organ Plus - concerto Arundo Reed Quintet, Dominic Perissinotto – organ As Australia’s premier reed quintet, Arundo draws its players from the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Arundo and Dominic will present selections from Bach’s final work, the monumental Art of Fugue, exuberant works by Debussy and Vivaldi, with Dominic playing the virtuosic Variations de Concert by French composer Joseph Bonnet. An engaging programme to delight the ears and eyes. www.pipeorganplus.com/POP_2010_program.pdf	The Basillica of St Patrick	$30/25/15
1pm	19 May	Concerts at One - Christ Church Grammar School	St George's Cathedral	$10
7.30pm	22 May	Perth Undergraduate Choral Society (PUCS) - Safari Ya Africa Jonathan Paxman - Conductor PUCS will perform a concert of songs from across the African Continent, accompanied by traditional drumming from African Music Circles. This music is wonderfuly rhythmic and exciting, and is sure to delight all music fans, truly an experience not to be missed. Pieces include Gabi Gabi (Praise the Father), Siyahamba (We are Marching) and Kayra Sillo (The Way of Peace). www.pucs.org.au	Wesley Church, Perth	$25/20
1pm	26 May	Concerts at One - All Saint’s College	St George's Cathedral	$10
June

July
2.30pm	4 Jul	Pipe Organ Plus - exhibition Dominic Perissinotto – organ Dominic’s solo programmes have long been a highlight of the Pipe Organ Plus series. Here he explores the full dynamic of the Basilica Grand Organ with two of the most loved and celebrated organ works of all time, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Widor’s Toccata from his Fifth Symphony. Mussorgsky’s wonderfully creative Pictures at an Exhibition, as heard on Dominic’s first solo recording, rounds off this glorious programme of classics. www.pipeorganplus.com/POP_2010_program.pdf	The Basillica of St Patrick	$30/25/15
August
2.00pm	15 Aug	A Choral Bouquet for our Lady A unique programme featuring Mozart’s rarely performed ‘Litanie Lauretanie’ as a special tribute to Our Lady on the Solemnity of the Assumption. Together with Vivaldi’s glittering ‘Gloria’ and Handel’s famous ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks’; intertwined with excerpts of chant taken from the Vespers of the Assumption and sung from various positions in the Cathedral, this makes for an unique event.	St Mary’s Cathedral	$45/35
1.00 - 1.45pm	25 Aug	Concerts at One - Elijah Lim, The Dr Geoffrey Gates AM Organ Scholar, St George's Cathedral	St George’s Cathedral	$10
September
1.00 - 1.45pm	1 Sept	Concerts at One - Classical Vocal Students from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts	St George’s Cathedral	$10
1.00 - 1.45pm	8 Sept	Concerts at One - Pianists from Yoon Sen Lee Music School	St George’s Cathedral	$10
5.00pm	10 Sept	St Edmunds, Wembley, Celebration of Spring Gloria Lygne has issued an invitation to anyone who is interested to join the St Edmund’s Choir and sing at their annual Celebration of Spring Evensong. Please plan to attend rehearsals. For more information please contact Gloria Lygne on 93874507.	St Edmunds, Wembley
1.00 - 1.45pm	15 Sept	Concerts at One - Latin Quartet: Saxophone, Accordion, Cello, Percussion	St George’s Cathedral	$10
	18 Sept	PUCS and WA Brass present a 50th Anniversary Concert www.pucs.org.au	St Joseph's Church, Subiaco
2.30pm	19 Sept	Pipe Organ Plus - carnival Julia Moody – narrator, Stewart Smith – organ, Dominic Perissinotto – organ Four hands – four feet – one organ! Dominic and Stewart vie for space in an arrangement of Saint-Saëns’s children’s classic: Carnival of the Animals. The concert opens with a Clementi Sonata, using both organs independently at either end of the Basilica. Scintillating solo works by Bach and Guilmant contrast with the duo version of Mozart’s Fantasia in F Minor, originally composed for mechanical clock. A performing partnership not to be missed! www.pipeorganplus.com/POP_2010_program.pdf	The Basillica of St Patrick	$30/25/15
1.00 - 1.45pm	22 Sept	Concerts at One - Duncan Gardiner, Guitar	St George’s Cathedral	$10
1.00 - 1.45pm	29 Sept	Concerts at One - West Australian Opera Young Artists with Pianist Francis Greep, Head of Music	St George’s Cathedral	$10
October

November
2.30pm	14 Nov	Pipe Organ Plus - fireworks Brass and Percussion Ensemble led by WASO Principal Trumpet David Elton Dominic Perissinotto – organ Fireworks, a thrilling finale to 2010, will feature the premiere of a new work by Brenton Broadstock, composed for 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, field drum and organ, commissioned especially for the 10th Anniversary Season. The performers will also shine in Dupré’s magnificent Poème Héroïque, as well as an inspiring arrangement of Händel’s Royal Fireworks Music. Join us for a concert of beloved favourites and emerging classics to round off the year. www.pipeorganplus.com/POP_2010_program.pdf	The Basillica of St Patrick	$30/25/15
December