ADULT CHORAL COURSE: London
Thursday 11th April - Sunday 14th April 2024
Fee: £395*
Join us for our second ever Adult Choral Course! Following the success of our inaugural course in 2023, we can’t wait to keep singing with you all. We’ll be rehearsing at Holy Sepulchre, The National Musicians' Church in Holborn and singing services at Southwark Cathedral and Old Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich. There are no auditions - all voices and abilities are more than welcome! Music will be sent out before the course.
Old Royal Naval College
The National Musicians' Church
Southwark Cathedral
THE TEAM
Ralph Allwood MBE DMus was for 26 years Director of Music at Eton College and is now a freelance choral director, teacher and conductor. He is the Director of the Rodolfus (ex-Eton) Choral Courses, which he founded in 1980. He co-founded the Junior Choral Courses in 2012. Ten thousand 8 to 20 year-olds have since been students on courses. In recent years he has launched courses in Texas, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The Rodolfus choir has produced over 20 CDs since he founded it in 1982.
Ralph is co-founder and conductor of Inner Voices, made up of singers from state schools in London. He was until recently a Supervisor for harmony at Jesus College and Queens’ College, Cambridge, Director of the only conservatoire chapel choir in the world, the Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir and an Honorary Fellow of University College, Durham.
Ralph has conducted choirs for over 40 broadcasts for BBC Radio 3. He has composed much music for Extreme Music Ltd, heard worldwide on radio, films and television. He teaches at his old grammar school, Tiffin and is a co-founder of the National Youth Music Theatre.
In 2015 he co-founded the Pimlico Musical Foundation to enable children from Pimlico Primary Schools to sing in choirs, particularly at St Gabriel's Church.
In 2017, the Archbishop of Canterbury presented him with the Thomas Cranmer Award for Music and Worship. He is Chair of the Choral Evensong Trust.
RALPH ALLWOOD
COURSE DIRECTOR
Dan combines a busy schedule conducting professional choirs, choral societies and chamber choirs in London with his post as Head of Vocal Studies at Dulwich College. He is the Director of Music of Lewisham Choral Society, Musical Director of the Hackney Singers, the Musical Director of the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain and the Principal Conductor of Vox Urbane. In 2015, with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, he enjoyed success as the co-producer and Musical Director for the Choir’s 2015 Christmas Number One Bridge Over You. Dan enjoys a long association as a singing teacher on the Rodolfus Choral Courses.
DAN LUDFORD-THOMAS
SINGING TEACHER
John Rutter was born in London and studied music at Clare College, Cambridge. He first came to notice as a composer during his student years; much of his early work consisted of church music and other choral pieces including Christmas carols. From 1975–79 he was Director of Music at his alma mater, Clare College, and directed the college chapel choir in various recordings and broadcasts. Since 1979 he has divided his time between composition and conducting. Today his compositions, including such concert-length works as Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, The Gift of Life, and Visions are performed around the world. His music has featured in a number of British royal occasions, including the two most recent royal weddings. He edits the Oxford Choral Classics series, and, with Sir David Willcocks, co-edited four volumes of Carols for Choirs. In 1983 he formed his own choir the Cambridge Singers, with whom he has made numerous recordings, and he appears regularly in several countries as guest conductor and choral ambassador. He holds a Lambeth Doctorate in Music, and in 2007 was awarded a CBE for services to music. In September 2023, he received the Ivors Academy Fellowship, joining a prestigious list of 24 Fellows including John Adams, Pierre Boulez CBE, Kate Bush CBE and Sir Elton John.
JOHN RUTTER
MASTERCLASS
Ben is a London-based freelance pianist, organist, and teacher. He holds the post of Director of Music and Organist at St Mary’s, Barnes. He is also Organ Scholar at St Stephen’s, Walbrook with St Martin-in-the-Fields, where he accompanies the renowned Choral Scholars, Emerging Artists, and Chamber Choir in services and concerts. Active as an accompanist, he has performed across London and beyond with ensembles including the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the St Martin’s Chamber Orchestra, Canticum Chamber Choir, and London Choral Sinfonia.
A recent graduate from the University of Cambridge, Ben read music at Queens’ College, holding the Aliki Vatikioti Organ Scholarship and both the Beament Prize and Michael Williamson Instrumental Scholarship. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and holds a Licentiateship from Trinity College London (in piano performance), passing with distinction. He has given recitals at venues including St John’s College, Cambridge; Trinity College, Cambridge; St Edmundsbury Cathedral; Birmingham Cathedral and Worcester Cathedral, and was a finalist in the 2023 Northern Ireland International Organ Competition.
BEN MARKOVIC
PRINCIPAL ACCOMPANIST
AGE RANGE
This course is for any age and experience as long as you are aged 22 or over and therefore not eligible for one of our Junior or Senior Choral Courses.
SCHEDULE
THE SCHEDULE WILL BE POSTED HERE AND EMAILED DIRECTLY TO YOU ONCE EACH DAY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED.
The course will include rehearsals at Holy Sepulchre, the National Musicians’ Church, a day at Southwark Cathedral with Evensong, Eucharist at Old Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich with a tour of the Painted Hall, a masterclass with John Rutter and a group Alexander Technique session.
Singing lessons will be available on request and for an extra charge.
APPLICATIONS FOR THIS COURSE ARE NOW CLOSED
*INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: We can only take payments for international applicants through Stripe this year. Course fees will have an extra approximately 3% card processing fee.