GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL ORGAN SCHOLARSHIP The Dean & Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral annually seek to appoint an organ scholar for each academic year. He/She will play a key role in the Cathedral music department, working closely with Adrian Partington (Director of Music), Jonathan Hope (Assistant Director of Music), Nia Llewelyn Jones (Singing Development Leader) and Helen Sims (Music Department Manager). The organ scholarship is open to recent graduates or to gap-year applicants of exceptional ability. Duties The organ scholar plays for Evensong every Tuesday, and in addition plays the organ or directs the choirs as necessary when the DoM or the ADoM is away. He/She will also play for many of the special services which take place in the Cathedral, for which additional fees are paid (see remuneration details below). The organ scholar is fully involved with the training of choristers and probationers and the teaching of theory and general musicianship. They will also be expected to help with the general administration of the music department, attending a weekly meeting and assisting other members of the department in the music office. Gloucester Cathedral Choir Today’s choir is the successor to the boys and monks of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter, who sang for daily worship nine centuries ago. The choir of today stems from that established by Henry VIII in 1539, consisting of 18 choristers (who receive generous scholarships to attend the neighbouring King’s School), 12 lay clerks and choral scholars. The choir plays a major part in the internationally renowned Three Choirs Festival, the world’s oldest Music Festival, which dates back to 1715. This is held annually in Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford in rotation. The Festivals are held in Gloucester 2016, Hereford and Worcester in rotation – see www.3choirs.org for more details. In addition to the main work of the daily Cathedral services, the choir receives many invitations for outside engagements. Gloucester Cathedral Girl Choristers (7-13 years) The Organ Scholar is accompanist to the cathedral’s Girl Choristers. Rehearsals are Thursdays and Saturdays and the girls sing Evensong on Mondays. The girl choristers were established in April 2016 and will commence their role from September 2016. Gloucester Cathedral Youth Choir Gloucester Cathedral Youth choir was founded in 1999 and consists of girls and boys aged thirteen to nineteen from across Gloucestershire. Directed by the Director of Music and assisted by the Assistant Director of Music and the Singing Development Leader, the choir rehearses on Monday evenings and sings Evensong every Thursday. The Youth Choir also join with the Cathedral Choir for services on the major festivals of the Church Year. As well as singing for weekly Cathedral services, the Youth choir undertakes tours, and has performed on broadcasts for both BBC Radio and Television. They have also taken part in performances by English Touring Opera, Gloucester Choral Society and Three Choirs Festivals. They have an active programme of trips and social events. Gloucester Cathedral Organ Scholarship General information. - 1 - The Organ Scholar accompanies the Youth Choir in the absence of the ADoM. Gloucester Cathedral Junior Choir (7-13 years) The Organ Scholar is accompanist to the cathedral’s flourishing Junior Choir, which is conducted by the Singing Development Leader. The Junior Choir rehearses at 9:30am on Saturday mornings (term-time only) at the King’s School. Junior Voices Project (JVP) The cathedral’s Junior Voices Project involves visiting three local schools per term, to encourage singing. The Singing Development Leader arranges and leads this initiative, and the Organ Scholar is the accompanist for these visits. 6 visits are paid per term to each school and culminate in a concert in the cathedral. Weekly timetable The present timetable of choir rehearsals and services is as follows: Sunday 9.15 am Boys’ rehearsal 9.20 am Full rehearsal 10.15 am Cathedral Eucharist 2.00 pm Boys’ rehearsal 2.20 pm Full rehearsal 3.00 pm Evensong Monday 8.05-9.05am Boys’ rehearsal 4.40-6.00pm Youth Choir rehearsal Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8.05-9.05am Boys’ rehearsal 4.00-4.30pm Choral Scholars’ Rehearsal 4.40 pm Boys’ rehearsal 4.50 pm Full rehearsal 5.30 pm Evensong Thursday 4.45 pm Youth Choir rehearsal 5.30 pm Evensong sung by Cathedral Youth Choir Saturday 9.30-11am Cathedral Junior Choir Rehearsal 2.00-3.00pm Choral Scholars’ Rehearsal 3.15 pm Boys’ rehearsal 3.45 pm Full rehearsal 4.30 pm Evensong 5.20 pm L/C & C/S rehearsal The Organ The four-manual organ is one of the finest and most versatile instruments in the country, located in arguably the most stunning acoustical and architectural environment of any English Cathedral. It was redesigned and extensively rebuilt by Hill, Norman & Beard in 1971 under the guidance of Cathedral Organist John Sanders and consultant Ralph Downes, and was overhauled by Nicholson and Co. of Malvern in 1999. In June 2010, following a generous donation, a solo reed was added to the organ, further increasing its versatility both as a solo and accompanimental instrument. Gloucester Cathedral Organ Scholarship General information. - 2 - Amongst the many distinguished former Organists of Gloucester Cathedral are Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Herbert Brewer, Herbert Sumsion, John Sanders, David Briggs and Andrew Nethsingha. The organ scholar is given a key to the Cathedral, and the organ is freely available for practice most evenings, subject to other events taking place in the building. Accommodation and remuneration The organ scholar currently receives a salary (c£3500pa), details on request, payable in arrears in monthly instalments. The organ scholar is provided with a two bedroom house (rent free) near the Cathedral, possibly as shared accommodation. Council Tax and some running costs are paid by the Dean and Chapter. There is also the opportunity to earn a considerable amount from fees for the many special services that take place in the Cathedral (currently £107 per service), and past holders of the scholarship have been able to build up a considerable amount of freelance work in the area playing for concerts and services at other churches and accompanying local choirs and choral societies. Organ lessons are offered, free of charge, with the Assistant Director of Music. The organ scholar will have one day off each week (normally Wednesday). It is recognised that the successful candidate will wish to pursue freelance engagements outside his/her work at the Cathedral. This is encouraged, and flexibility will be given whenever possible with regard to time away. Director of Music Adrian Partington is a musician of rare versatility—a successful conductor, chorus master, pianist and organist. In January 2008, he became Director of Music at Gloucester Cathedral, and joint conductor of the Three Choirs Festival. He is also Artistic Director of the BBC National Chorus of Wales, Conductor of the Bristol Choral Society, Conductor of the Gloucester Choral Society and Director of the new and highly-innovative choral conducting course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Since his arrival at Gloucester’s magnificent Cathedral, he has directed the choir in broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, in the Three Choirs Festival 2009 in Hereford, recorded a CD with the Cathedral choir singing the works of John Joubert and undertaken a highly- successful tour of the U.S.A. in 2008. 2010 was his first year as Festival Director of the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester, www.3choirs.org. Since his BBC appointment in 1999, Adrian has prepared the BBCNCW for over a 100 concerts and recordings for BBC Radio 3, many of which he has conducted himself. He has conducted broadcast concerts in Hoddinott Hall the BBC’s new concert hall in Cardiff. He has also prepared choirs for some of the greatest conductors of our time e.g. Haitink, Abbado, Rattle, Tortelier and Elder. He collaborated with the late Richard Hickox on many CDs, including Stanford’s “Revenge” which won a Gramophone award in 2006. Under Adrian's guidance, Bristol Choral Society remains one of the U.K.’s leading big city choirs, and gives its principal concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted most of the standard large choral-orchestral repertoire in the past decade: Elgar, Gloucester Cathedral Organ Scholarship General information. - 3 - Walton, Tippett, Bruckner, Verdi, Vaughan Williams, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Alongside this he is Director of Music of Gloucester Choral Society who have recently initiated a youth membership section to encourage young adults to take part in choral music making. Adrian has directed many of the country’s principal choruses –The BBC Symphony Chorus (e.g. for the opening night of the Proms in 2005), The London Symphony Chorus, The Philharmonia Chorus and the Bach Choir. He has also worked with many of the UK’s leading orchestras: regularly conducting the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Cardiff, and the Philharmonia; he has directed the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Opera Galas, Summer Proms and in the Vaughan Williams Anniversary celebrations in Gloucester Cathedral in May 2008. He has toured with the Mozart Festival Orchestra in the U.K. and Ireland, and has conducted the Philharmonia, the English Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic at the Three Choirs Festival. Gloucester Cathedral Organ Scholarship General information. - 4 - .