CYM Library

A wide shot from up above of the Orchestra and Bach Choir on stage under the dome in St Paul's Cathedral

The Orchestra and Bach choir on stage. The St Paul's quire, lined with lamps, is behind them

John Rutter conducting the Orchestra

John Rutter and the Orchestra standing for applause on stage. John is stretching out his left arm.

Yesterday at St Paul's Cathedral @johnrutter.bsky.social conducted the premiere of his I'll Make Me a World with mezzo-soprano Melanie Marshall, baritone Jonathan Brown and The Bach Choir.

We also performed John's The Gift of Life, as well as Vaughan Williams' Symphony No.5.

📷 Duncan Wood

Mega-niche programming shout-out: early Baroque-ish Christmassy things for not more than SSATB (or SSATTB at a pinch) plus instruments (quartet) which involve, or /could/ involve recorders? I have the Messe de Minuit, obviously...

🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️We’re back at @sinfoniasmithsq.bsky.social on Sunday afternoon for a performance full of girl power

📘 Grab a programme to learn more about the unfairly overlooked 20th-century British composers Doreen Carwithen and Ruth Gipps

A Grand Chorus: The Power of Music - Foundling Museum Looking at the exhilarating experience and enduring impact of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ in the past and present, A Grand Chorus explores the profound effect that music can have on both listeners and per...

This exhibition at Foundling Museum, London looks interesting: "Explore the power of music thru Handel’s ‘Hallelujah’. Musical scores, librettos, musical instruments, paintings, photos, archives. A fresh look at origins & popularity of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’.

foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/a-gran...

‘I’ve played a lot of sneery bastards’: Roger Allam on bad singing, big paydays and Elgar’s level of ‘gitacity’ He launched a thousand memes as the beleaguered Tory MP in The Thick of It, and starred in the original production of Les Misérables. Now the actor is making not-so-sweet music in the Alan Bennett-scr...

Roger Allam talks about his role in The Choral, a Alan Bennett-scripted film, directed by Nicholas Hytner. It shows a choir in 1916 preparing for a performance of the Dream of Gerontius. Simon Russell-Beale has a cameo as a very grumpy Elgar. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...

Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer for the people - Page Turner by medici.tv Jack Pepper’s Portraits series shines a light on Vaughan Williams, revealing the man behind the legendary music.

Ralph Vaughan Williams believed music should belong to everyone.

In this article, Jack Pepper opens his new Pepper’s Portraits series for medici.tv with the story of a composer who lived - and wrote - for humanity.

📖 Read it here:

Black British Composers

Here is a Spotify playlist of music by Black British composers: open.spotify.com/playlist/4BE...

It has 25 tracks and was created by Harrison Knights, Assistant Director of Music at St James Piccadilly (London) for #BlackHistoryMonth. Read more here: www.sjp.org.uk/black-britis...

A young female musician plays the Clarion in an orchestral rehearsal. She is smiling and is a wheelchair user. Blue text in a yellow box reads: "Vote for Open Up Music. Help us win €30,000 to make the Clarion widely available to young disabled people."

Help make the Clarion - our accessible musical instrument that can be played with any body part, including head movement - widely available to young disabled people.

Vote for Open Up Music in the #ArtExplora Audience Choice Award⤵️

bit.ly/ArtExplora2025

#EuropeanAward #AudienceDevelopment

Celebrating Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s 150th anniversary!

Hear the RCM alumnus' spirited Novelleten for string orchestra, performed by talented young musicians of the RCM Junior Department earlier this year.

Read more about his legacy and life at the RCM: bit.ly/3V0UJtT

#FlashbackFriday

Buckland Abbey monk music to be played after almost 500-year gap The music was discovered by a University of Exeter historian inside a 15th Century book.

#EarlyMusic is in the news this morning! But here’s a better article than the one that’s making the rounds, with more context, and input from a musicologist. The rediscovered music is #plainchant - which was the musical foundation of religious life at the time.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Graph showing decrease in UK A-level music entries 2010-2025

Sad to see. ISM’s analysis of this year’s A-level music results "shows there has been a decrease in music entries of 1.8% across the UK in the last year. In England, fewer than 5,000 students took A-level music for the third year running."
www.ism.org/news/music-a...

Newsletter — Alternative Classical Receive concert recommendations, music jobs and opportunities, and news of innovation in the classical music sector.

Sign up to our newsletter to receive our updates twice a month. This includes job and funding opportunities, new articles and upcoming events. www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/newsletter

A lady ballerina dancing in a library

We are delighted to announce that Pontefract Library will be hosting an amazing exhibition about the history of Black British Ballet!

At the library on 1-27 August!

Our libraries are also hosting fun events as part of it!

For more information, visit: experiencewakefield.co.uk/event/black-...

What makes Ralph Vaughan Williams special as a composer?

This is a terrific disc. But, more importantly, what a composer Grace Williams was. Such a powerful and utterly distinctive voice. And, as well as this, her masterpiece - the huge, stunning Missa Cambrensis - is at last now on disc too.

🎼✨ Dream of conducting with the best? Here’s your chance!
The Sixteen is offering a prestigious Conducting Scholarship in the UK 🎶
Apply by 27 May 2025 and take your place at the podium! 🧑‍🎼
@The Sixteen
www.chorally.co/c/opportunit...

Frank has turned his IAML UK ASW talk from last month into a blogpost.

Remembering Ronald Corp (1951–2025) | Three Choirs Festival It is with profound sadness that the Three Choirs Festival marks the passing of the esteemed composer and conductor Ronald Corp OBE. His significant contri

It is with profound sadness that the Three Choirs Festival marks the passing of the esteemed composer and conductor Ronald Corp OBE.
We were greatly anticipating Ronald's presence at this year's festival in Hereford.

Read more - 3choirs.org/news/remembe...

We're holding auditions for professional singers based in the UK, who would be interested in joining us for our projects. Successful applicants are likely to have high levels of vocal technique and musicianship, and a strong background in choral and ensemble singing.

Reviving the woolly mammoth isn’t just unethical. It’s impossible | Adam Rutherford At a time when US scientists are under attack from their own government, the illiteracy around these elephantine fantasies is dangerous, says geneticist Adam Rutherford

"The latest on the conveyor belt of mammoth resurrection stories came this week in the form of a slightly hairy mouse. Colossal Biosciences, the US company behind the “woolly mouse” and ensuing media frenzy"

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

#wato

Each week we share a recommended choral track, many by composers who happen to be female. So for #IWD2025 here's a recap of the brilliant women we've discussed in the past year:
Margaret Bonds, Marianna Martines, Ethel Smyth, Lili Boulanger, Fanny Hensel, Caroline Shaw, Maddalena Casulana, (1/3)

Today on #InternationalWomensDay we remember Maria Hackett (1783-1874) without whom choristers today - and consequently the entire world of sacred choral music - might not exist.

1/5

St Cuthbert's Parish Church, Lothian Road, Edinburgh

Our first come-and-sing event of the year was on the Isle of Wight in February and @benenglandbem.bsky.social has since been conducting his way north, bringing Haydn's stunning Nelson Mass to choral singers around the UK. Today is our last UK stop, at the beautiful St Cuthbert's in sunny Edinburgh!

Happy #internationalwomensday from the women of #CEFC! 🎵🎉

This is such an exciting find for #EthelSmyth research! The presumed lost complete manuscript of the Mass in D has been found!!
Congrats on this find, @lisacolton.bsky.social and the archivists @livunilibrary.bsky.social !

A webpage titled 'The Big List' featuring a grid of six images representing different centuries of women composers. Each image has a historical portrait or artistic representation of a composer overlaid on a floral background. The categories listed are '16th Century & Before,' '17th Century,' '18th Century,' '19th Century,' '20th Century,' and '21st Century.' A search button is above the grid, and a 'Join the Big List' button is below. A note at the bottom mentions that the list is regularly updated and invites users to contribute information or suggest names.

A digital banner featuring three circular images of women engaged in music-making, set against a red background with purple and teal circular accents. The left image shows a woman playing a keyboard and singing expressively. The center image features a woman playing the cello with focus. The right image depicts a woman with curly hair, wearing headphones, writing music while playing an acoustic guitar.

If you're looking to include more women composers in your repertoire, check out the databases below from Donne - Women in Music and The F-List for Music.

🎶 donne-uk.org/the-big-list/

🎶 thef-listmusic.uk

#InternationalWomensDay #WomensDay #WomenInMusic

Hornsey Library is celebrating its 60th birthday. We wish them well on their 60th year in this fine building. It's a Grade II listed building, dating back to April 1965. It also provides a home to the CYM Library.

RPS Awards Event

The #RPSAwards take place at 7.15pm on Thursday 6 March at @royalbirmcons.bsky.social. We would love you to join us to celebrate outstanding musicians and achievements in classical music. Tickets from £10: royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/awards/rps_m...

Home - Make Music Day Created locally, shared globally – connecting people to the world’s largest DIY festival of music.

Registrations for this year's Make Music Day UK are now open! To take part in this wonderful annual celebration, simply host a free music event on 21 June. It's a great way to encourage new members or audiences to your group. To find out more and register your event visit makemusicday.co.uk

Online next Saturday – Choral Conducting: An Introductory Guide, with Amy Bebbington
@Association of British Choral Directors
www.musiceducation.global/c/all-course...