Charlotte Training Course for Boys, Girls, Teens, and Adults
The Royal School of Church Music in America Charlotte Training Course for Boys, Girls, Teens, and Adults, sponsored by St. John's Episcopal Church, is open to young singers ages 10-18 and to adults, especially directors. Singers of all levels of ability are welcome, but all must match pitch and enjoy singing. Formal choir experience is usually expected. The course offers training for Treble Choristers, a complete program for Teen Altos, Tenors, and Basses, as well as Adults. The 2012 course begins on Monday, July 2 at Queens University of Charlotte and Myers Park Baptist Church, and concludes with Evensong at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 8, A.D. 2012.
Mr. Bruce Neswick, FAGO, will be the director of the Charlotte course this year. Previous advertising had listed Dr. Gerre Hancock as our director, but after he died in January, Mr. Neswick was very kind to agree to take his place. Mr. Neswick was a student of Dr. Hancock.
Mr. Neswick is in great demand as an organ recitalist, improvisateur, and choral director. He is now a member of the church music and organ faculty at Indiana University and previously was Director of Music at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. He was formerly the Organist and Choirmaster of St. Philip's Cathedral in Atlanta. Prior to his appointment in Atlanta, he was the Assistant Organist-Choirmaster and founding Director of the Cathedral Girls' Choir at the Washington National Cathedral, as well as the Director of Music at St. Alban’s School for boys and the National Cathedral School for Girls. These appointments followed tenures as Organist and Choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Kentucky; Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Geneva, Switzerland; and St. Paul's Cathedral in Buffalo, New York. He is very active in the field of church music and is in great demand as a choral clinician with the Royal School of Church Music, for whom he has conducted many courses for boy and girl choristers.
Mr. Neswick graduated from the Pacific Lutheran University in his native Washington state and from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music. His teachers have included Robert Baker, David Dahl, Gerre Hancock, Margaret Irwin-Brandon and Lionel Rogg. The Charlotte course featured him as organist in 2006 and as director in 2008. We are honored to have him return in 2012.
Our course organist will be Mr. Aaron Goen, Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Assistant Director for The Choir School at St. Peter’s. Mr. Goen holds a Bachelor's degree in Music from Vanderbilt University and a Master's degree in Music from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Since graduating from college, he has directed a number of children’s choirs for both parishes and schools including serving as Assistant Organist and Choirmaster for the Choirs of Men, Boys and Girls at Old St. Paul’s Church in Baltimore, Maryland. He also worked as Assistant Director of Liturgy and Music at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Mt. Vernon, Virginia, primarily working with the Spanish-speaking community there. As an accompanist, he has performed at Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston; Duke Chapel; and Wells Cathedral, Somerset, UK. As a recitalist, he has performed in the San Diego, Los Angeles, Washington DC metro and Baltimore areas, as well as at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. Mr. Goen will serve as course accompanist and teach our organ scholars.
The beautiful campus of Queens University of Charlotte provides excellent facilities including a gymnasium, tennis courts, swimming pool, dormitories, a dining hall, and a student center. Rehearsal and worship space will be provided by Myers Park Baptist Church, where the course will have daily services of evening worship. Public services will include the 10:00 a.m. Sunday Eucharist at St. John's Episcopal Church and the closing 4:00 p.m. Evensong at Myers Park Baptist church on July 8. The Course Managers are especially pleased that Myers Park Baptist Church has invited the RSCM to use its extensive musical facilities and beautiful worship space. For many years the RSCM Carolina Course for boys and adults concluded their courses there.
Treble, teen, and adult participants rehearse daily with Dr. Hancock and with distinguished housemasters who provide individual attention in small groups. Dormitory supervision and recreational activities are provided by experienced, attentive proctors. Rehearsals, worship, learning, recreation, and fun are a part of every day for the choristers.
A Saturday outing to Extreme Ice Center is planned for all youth participants for ice skating and fun; it's a great place to beat the heat during a hot Charlotte summer! Adults may prefer to rest, visit a museum, or shop; Brodt Music Company is no longer open on Saturday afternoons, but directors may want to visit during the week.
Adult participants rehearse and sing with the trebles at Evensong daily. In addition, adults will have opportunities to observe rehearsals and participate in daily adult seminars. At least one seminar will include information and materials for implementing the RSCM training scheme, Voice for Life. Others will include opportunities to discuss how to address the challenges that arise in music programs and a time to share repertoire ideas with others.
Positions for two organ scholars are included in the course. Two high school or college students interested in learning to play the organ for liturgical services will be chosen to attend the course and study with the course organist at no charge. Cornel Zimmer Organ Builders is providing scholarship funds for the organ scholar again this year. Contact Alan Reed to apply before April 1.
A certified examiner will be available for those who would like to test for an RSCM award. Please complete the forms for the awards found on the RSCM America web site and register with Linda Buzard by June 1, if you would like to be examined for the RSCM Bronze, Silver, or Gold Awards.
The RSCMA Charlotte Course will provide an opportunity for fellowship, worship, learning and fun for boys, girls, teens, and adults. Because the week culminates in the celebration of the Sunday services, all youth participants are asked to commit to the entire week's activities. No registrations for a portion of the week will be accepted, except from adults. Participants are asked to purchase and study the music before the course begins.
The Royal School of Church Music is an international, ecumenical, professional organization which promotes high standards of church music throughout the English-speaking world. It seeks to provide for its 8,000 member choirs, in church, school, and community settings, quality publications and helpful programs to assist in the offering of the worthiest praises to God. The RSCM is not affiliated with any denomination; participants from every creed are welcome to participate in our courses.
Alan Reed and Tracy Reed bring many years of experience working on other RSCM courses. They are offering this course to bring the RSCM experience to even more choristers and choral directors in the Carolinas and across the U.S. Please contact them with any questions at the addresses below.
For information about other courses offered by the RSCM in North America, click here: RSCM Summer Courses. An information brochure on all of the North American courses is available also.
NEW! See an informational video on YouTube about all the courses offered by the Royal School of Church Music in America: Music Courses Video