Category: News

Worcester College is delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Daniel Mathieson as Graduate Organ Assistant for the forthcoming academic year. An Old Member and former organ scholar of Worcester, Dan is currently Assistant Organist at Radley College.

This news comes after several recent announcements of new posts for four more former Worcester organ scholars. Cameron Luke has taken up the post of Director of Music at Grahamstown Cathedral, South Africa; Alex Mason has been appointed Director of Music at Lancing College; Nicholas Freestone (assistant Director of Music at Worcester Cathedral) is currently acting Director; and Alexander Palotai (currently at Salisbury) has recently been appointed Assistant Organist at Chester Cathedral, and will take up the post in the autumn.

Daniel Mathieson said, ‘I am thrilled to be returning to Worcester to work with the Chapel team alongside a Master’s degree in Music.’  Director of Chapel Music, Thomas Allery, added, ‘The diversity of the opportunities available to organ scholars at Worcester means that students can develop a breadth of skills for a musical career.’

Worcester Chapel is always looking to hear from young organists who are interested in the unique opportunities and challenges of the organ scholarship, which involves working with both trebles and mixed adult voices as well as accompanying services and concerts; as well as from singers who are interested in choral scholarships.

A University-wide Open Day for potential Choral and Organ Scholars will be held on 11 May, with Evensong at Worcester at 6.15 pm.

At the beginning of June, Worcester will host its own special Open Day featuring workshops, visits to special places in the College, and Evensong.

Here at Worcester, we’re delighted to take note of a number of new appointments relating to our recent organ scholars.

Edward Turner (2010-2013) has recently become Assistant Director of Music at Derby Cathedral and Alexander Goodwin (2012-2015) is now Director of Music at St Saviour’s, Pimlico, London.

In September, Nicholas Freestone (2011-2014) takes up the post of Assistant Director of Music at Worcester Cathedral, Benjamin Cunningham (2013-2016) will become Assistant Director of Chapel Music at Winchester College, and Daniel Mathieson (2014-2017) will be Assistant Organist at Radley College.

Alexander Palotai (2015-2018) will follow Dan’s footsteps as postgraduate Organ Scholar at Salisbury Cathedral. All are part of a very large group of church musicians who have learned the professional skills required for their career in the unique combination of activities required to be Organ Scholar here in College.

Speaking about his experiences in College, Nick Freestone said, ‘The three years that I spent as Organ Scholar at Worcester College were richly fulfilling, and gave me a huge amount of experience for my future career. I particularly valued the opportunity to work closely with the boy trebles (including regular morning rehearsals at Christ Church Cathedral School). I also learned a huge amount from working with the choral scholars. In my time at Worcester, I was fortunate to be involved with a number of foreign tours, CD recordings and radio broadcasts. As I continued onto posts at Wells Cathedral and St Albans Cathedral, and most recently as Acting Sub Organist at St Paul’s Cathedral, I frequently looked back upon the experience that I gained at Worcester College. I’m now looking forward to the next stage of my career at Worcester’s namesake!’

Assistant Chaplain Dr Matthew Cheung Salisbury said, ‘We are incredibly proud of the professional achievements of our former students. After their hard work with us here at Worcester, these appointments demonstrate how the wide range of skills developed as an organ scholar here can lead to appointments in different musical contexts, be that in a Cathedral, London Church, or school.’

Director of Chapel Music, Thomas Allery added: ‘Opportunities in accompaniment and playing are offered alongside the chance to get hands on experience in working with a mixed voice choir, a boy trebles choir, as well as tuition in continuo accompaniment, singing and conducting and of course involvement in the many and varied projects that take place year to year. These go on to join generations of former organ scholars with high profile positions in the music industry.’

Details of how to apply for Worcester’s organ scholarship are here:
http://www.music.ox.ac.uk/apply/undergraduate/choral-and-organ-awards/organ-awards/

A sell out audience flocked to Worcester’s famous lake for a concert at the culmination of this academic year. Entitled “…And chant it as we go” after lines from a five-voice madrigal by Thomas Tomkins, the concert featured the College Choir alongside the famous ‘Allsorts’, Worcester College’s staff choir. Worcester College is unique in Oxford in running a staff choir, made up of members from across the diverse departments in the college. Audience members sipped Pimm’s to the sounds of sixteenth-century madrigals by Tomkins, Morley, Farmer and Gibbons, alongside two ABBA songs, folk songs and jazz numbers. Now in its fourth year, this concert is a true highlight in the College’s musical year.

Look out for details of next year’s concert in 2019!

Recent graduate DANIEL MATHIESON, now organ scholar of Salisbury Cathedral, reflects on the unique aspects of being an organ scholar at Worcester.

The organ scholarship at Worcester College is a unique opportunity to spend three years as an organist, director and so much more in a welcoming and supportive community.

I came to Worcester with little experience of choral music, having not been a Cathedral Chorister or had a gap year.  Worcester taught me the importance of throwing myself in at the deep end and not to be afraid of failure.  This ‘can-do’ attitude is a core aspect of the Worcester community, demonstrated by the huge range of opportunities available to organ scholars.  From regular commitments such as rehearsing the boy choristers and accompanying both choirs in services, to special events such as annual tours, recordings and concerts, there is never a dull moment.

The options to tailor your time at Worcester are second to none: conducting the choirs, performing with ensembles and the wider college music scene, and working with contemporary composers in new commissions are just some of the ways I was able to make the most of my time at Worcester.

For me, this gave me a firm footing for a career in church music.  Having been able to do so much in my three years at Worcester has opened up so many opportunities and connections that seemed unreachable to me as an applicant back in 2013.

As part of the Chapel’s Epiphanytide Festival, Worcester College students had the opportunity to take part in an insightful and engaging masterclass given by Professor Terence Charlston, Chair of Historical Keyboard Instruments at the Royal College of Music.

Students presented a selection of works and were able to learn from Professor Charlston’s expert guidance and extensive knowledge of the repertoire, from Rameau to Purcell, from invention to Partita. This is just one of the many ways in which Worcester’s students and musical community are able to benefit from the new and varied musical experiences during the course of a typical term.

Third year music student and composer Adam Turner said:

“The harpsichord masterclass was fascinating. A particular highlight for me was hearing Terry improvise on the instrument; I was struck by the beauty and the variety of the sound he created. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to try out my piano repertoire on the harpsichord, because the experience of playing the older instrument suggested to me several new interpretative directions, which were invisible to me at the piano keyboard. I warmly recommend this class to future generations of budding keyboard players!”

Terence presented the class to an audience of guests, students and even a handful of the chapel choir’s boy choristers, each of whom had a go at playing the harpsichord before getting back to lessons.

For some, the class was their first real experience on the harpsichord, and first year student Tom Wijessinghe remarked: “I really enjoyed taking part in the masterclass. As someone with little to no prior experience at the harpsichord I found Terry welcoming and helpful to answer even the most basic questions. I particularly enjoyed the depth of the teaching, especially in regard to his historical knowledge regarding the original context of the pieces.”

For some, the class provided a thought-provoking set of ideas to apply to their piano playing:

Second year music student David Palmer finds that “as a pianist, the Worcester harpsichord masterclasses are engaging, thought-provoking, and very revealing of pianistic habits that are not necessarily well-matched to the music itself. Terry’s teaching offered new perspectives that I will be able to apply to my piano playing, and certainly motivated me to further explore the harpsichord.”

Postgraduate student Tom Metcalf played in the masterclass last year and presented a sarabande by Rameau:

“It is always a pleasure to play in the harpsichord masterclasses at Worcester. Professor. Charlston’s fantastic insights on the music of Rameau and the courtly Sarabande have encouraged me to engage with the style further and refine my technique. I’m already looking forward to the next one!”

The Chapel community and Director of Chapel Music are grateful to the support of Simon Neal for providing and tuning the harpsichord for the class and other events in the festival.

This year’s competitors, who produced an extraordinarily strong field of submissions, were challenged with the poem Earth grown old, by Christina Rossetti:

Earth grown old, yet still so green,

Deep beneath her crust of cold

Nurses fire unfelt, unseen:

Earth grown old.

 

We who live are quickly told:

Millions more lie hid between

Inner swathings of her fold.

 

When will fire break up her screen?

When will life burst thro’ her mould?

Earth, earth, earth, thy cold is keen,

Earth grown old.

This year’s winner was Zoe Dixon, who studies at New College, Worcester. Her setting was performed at two College carol services at the end of Michaelmas Term, once in the presence of the composer.

Director of Music, Thomas Allery, said: ‘We were really delighted with the quality of all of the submissions, but Zoe’s stands out for its sympathetic and natural setting of the text, and the choir very much enjoyed putting it together.’

The Worcester College Carol Competition is an annual invitation to young composers (under the age of 26); each year, a new text is chosen. Stay tuned for news of next year’s competition!