News

Our new Examination Masterclass Series is now available on the RCCO YouTube channel! This series is comprised of 11 videos, in which esteemed Canadian organists help examination candidates prepare and succeed in the skills needed for the practical section of the College and Associate examinations, and for the Service Playing and Worship Accompanist Certificates.

Subscribe to the RCCO's YouTube channel to keep up to date on our latest video releases!

For more information on this year's National Organ Playing Competition and its winners, Click Here

From her studio (photo) Lead Instructor Valerie L. Hall has been instructing students who are seeking professional development that aims at the playing level of the Service Playing Examination.

Engaging topics include:

1. Session on body mechanics at the organ and why practicing at the piano might be better for your general health.

2. Universally hated exercises for playing legato involving two moving parts in one hand.

3. Learning to avoid the crescendo pedal and what happens to organists who accidentally use it!

4. What happens in the audience while the organist searches for the next registration.

5. Upcoming session on The Digital Church with Steve Millar and Chellan Hoffman.

More information at https://www.rcco.ca/Summer-Organ-Academy

The 2021 ARCCO Examination Preparation program (Summer Organ Academy) is off to a wonderful start!

So far this year’s 13 students, studying under lead instructor Aaron James, have discussed general organ technique and improvisation skills, the study of pipe organ anatomy, and baroque repertoire and improvisation techniques.

The ARCCO program runs until August 5th, check out this year's curriculum! https://rcco.ca/resources/PDFs/Summer...

Thank you to Aaron who has kindly provided us with a brilliant performance of one of the possible List C pieces for the 2022 ARCCO examination. Please enjoy Duruflé's Fugue sur le carillon des heures dans le cathédrale de Soissons, op. 12!

Congratulations to all the young organists who participated in this year’s Summer Organ Academy for Youth Organists!

Creativity was front and center at this year’s Academy as students ages 12-17 were involved in a week-long series of virtual collaborative projects and masterclasses. Thank you to lead instructor Sarah Svendsen and to this year’s star-studded group of guest artists/instructors Katelyn Emerson, Kim Farris-Manning, Wesley Hall, Mark McDonald, Jeff McLeod, Jonathan Oldengarm, and Patricia Wright.

We hope that you will join us or recommend a young organist that you know to next year’s 2022 Summer Organ Academy. For more Information on the Academy and other educational resources, please visit ‘Education’ at www.rcco.ca.

Lastly, thank you to academy participant Cadence Brassard for sharing with us her performance and arrangement of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga!

Congratulations to the successful exam candidates of 2021:

    Elizabeth Booker, Service Playing
    Charlie Eaton, Service Playing
    Maximilian Wilczynski, Service Playing

These candidates will be recognized at Convocation, to be held over Zoom on August 12 during Organ Festival Canada 2021 (not August 1, as was originally stated in the July edition of Continuo).

We are also pleased to present the successful exam candidates of 2020 at this year's Convocation, as there was no Convocation last year due to COVID. They are:

    Ryan Baxter, ARCCO
    George Langley, CRCCO
    Krisitana Renée Nikkel, CRCCO

Prizes and Awards:

Maximilian Wilczynski will be awarded the Kathleen William's Prize for the highest mark in the Service Playing examination, and Ryan Baxter will be awarded the Willan Prize, the Wayne C. Vance Prize, the Rollinson Prize and the Ruth and Ralph Barker Prize for his outstanding results in the ARCCO examination.

Thank you to all of the candidates and their teachers for their hard work and dedication in 2020 and 2021!

We hope you will join us at Convocation on August 12, 2021 to help us recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of all of our exam candidates and prize winners.

We are pleased to announce Amiel Elfert as the winner of the 2021 Lorna and Murray Holmes Scholarship! He will begin a Bachelor of Music (Organ) at the University of Victoria this September, studying with Donald Hunt and Mark McDonald.

This scholarship, established in memory of Lorna and Murray Holmes, provides $1,000 to a student entering a program of organ or church music studies at a Canadian university.

Congratulations, Amiel!

We are pleased to announce that on May 25 the Board of Directors approved the following statements:

Diversity and Inclusion Statement:

The RCCO is firmly committed to inclusion, diversity, and equity at all levels of the organization. We believe our work is enhanced by engaging a diverse community of individuals with different backgrounds, skills, opinions, and perspectives, thereby cultivating a welcoming environment of open communication, inclusion, and respect and we will strive to seek representation from Black, Indigenous and People of Colour and other underrepresented and equity-seeking communities in leadership roles and throughout our organization.

Non-Discrimination Statement:

It is the policy of the RCCO not to discriminate on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status or disability. The RCCO has implemented a written Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policy and all RCCO directors, employees and volunteers must comply with that policy in the course of their duties on behalf of the RCCO.

To provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment, the Board of Directors also implemented a written Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policy. To read the full document, please click here.

It is with much excitement that we announce Martin Jones as the 2021 winner of both the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Prize and the Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship!

Martin Jones graduated in 2021 from Rice University with a BMus in organ, studying with Professor Ken Cowan. He also studied harpsichord with Mario Aschauer. In the fall of 2021, he is enrolling in the Leipzig Hochschule für Musik und Theater for a Masters of organ performance where he will study with Martin Schmeding. Click here for a full biography of Martin Jones.

Funded by the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation and administered by the RCCO, the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Prize is a prestigious award of $7,500 given in memory of Canada’s preeminent musician from the 1920s through the 1950s.

The Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship was established to honour the late Godfrey Hewitt and is administered by the RCCO's Ottawa Centre. The $5,000 scholarship is awarded annually to an advanced organ student to support further courses of study.

Congratulations, Martin!

Dear Friends,

We are saddened to share news of the death of Past President, Mark Toews. Mark was diagnosed with cancer last fall. He remained positive through treatment regimens but succumbed to his illness on Saturday, May 22, 2021 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Aaron James, President of the Toronto Centre sums up Mark's contributions to the RCCO and the organist community in Canada as follows:

"Mark has been a leading figure in the RCCO for many decades, serving in numerous roles in the organization including President of the Toronto Centre, President of the College (2002-2004) and Chair of the 2009 Centennial Organ Festival. A distinguished performer, he earned the DMA degree at the University of Michigan and was heard widely in concert in Canada, the United States, and England. Many of us are familiar with his CD Variations Plus recorded on his instrument at Lawrence Park Community Church, featuring the music of Bach, Bonnet, and Dupré along with a number of Canadian compositions including Eleanor Daley's trinitas, commissioned for the inauguration of the Lawrence Park organ. Mark was especially well known as an outstanding organ teacher, mentoring numerous young students many of whom have gone on to have prominent careers as performers in Toronto and elsewhere. All of us in the Toronto Centre are the beneficiaries of his leadership, wisdom, and generosity of spirit."

Our condolences go Mark's family, friends and the congregation of Lawrence Park Community Church in Toronto.

Sincerely,

Dr. Peter Nikiforuk
President, The Royal Canadian College of Organists