RSCM Ireland
Royal School of Church Music in Ireland ~ Scoil Ríoga Cheol na hEaglaise in Éirinn
News Story ~ Appointment of new Chair for Republic of Ireland Committee
July 12, 2011
After six years at the helm of RSCM Ireland and the Republic of Ireland committee, Peter Barley is stepping down. His tenure as Chair has seen the re-introduction of RSCM activity on the island after a period of inactivity and the formation of a new committee for Northern Ireland in addition to the committee in the Republic. He has encouraged a healthy take up in the RSCM's programmes of education, especially Voice for Life.
During the past six years, RSCM Ireland has promoted a number of varied educational workshops, several Come and Sing events (with another coming up soon) together with festival and award services.
Peter has combined all this with a busy professional and teaching schedule in addition to his post as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Saintt Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin and, for the past year as Organist and Choir Director at St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick. In thanking him for all that he has done and achieved on behalf of the RSCM, we wish him and his wife Catherine all the very best for the future.
We are very lucky that Malcolm Wisener has agreed to take up the post of Chair of the Republic Ireland committee. Malcolm will be no stranger to many of you, having been Director of Music at the famous St Bartholomew's Church, Clyde Road in Dublin for over twenty years until his move, in 2007, to St Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork. There he has already started a feeder group for the cathedral choir "Cathedral Kidz" in order to help secure the future of the choral tradition as well as enlarging the cathedral's outreach into the city of Cork. He is spearheading a major project to rebuild the cathedral organ and work on this should be completed next year. Malcolm has initiated an organist training scheme in the Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross and is committed to the education and training of Church musicians. We offer him a warm welcome and wish him every success in his role.