WHITBY, ONTARIO-SICM’s Board of Directors have named Rupert Lang, Founder of the Vancouver Children’s Choir and Director of Music to that city’s Christ Church Cathedral, its Seventh Honorary Fellow, entitling the use of the post-nominal letters F.SICM.
To mark the conferring of this honour, composer and organist Dr. Matthew Larkin has written a new anthem, Psalm 84 for Choir and Organ, which was given a “virtual choral premiere” by choristers from across Canada on Thursday July 8, 2021, when the Fellowship was conferred online.
Founded in 1970, the Summer Institute of Church Music has met annually at Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, excepting 2020 and 2021, which have been held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In each odd numbered year since 2009, it has conferred the title “Fellow” upon a prominent Canadian church musician who “has pursued training, employment and ministry in church music in a deep and personally-transformative way, and made a significant impact on the study, practice or condition of church music in Canada.“Past recipients of the honour are the late Dr. Kenneth W Inkster, Dr. Fred K Graham, Ruth Watson Henderson, Winnifred Sim, Dr. Patricia Wright and SICM founder Dr. Stanley L Osborne (conferred posthumously in SICM’s 50th anniversary year, 2019).
Rupert Lang, Bmus, MA (Cantab), hails from Red Deer, Alberta. He took his B.Mus. in organ performance at the University of Manitoba and went on to study at The Royal School of Church Music, and to receive his MA in music from the University of Cambridge, St. John’s College, studying with George Guest, Gillian Weir and John Scott. Returning to Canada, he became Director of Music at West Vancouver United Church, where he founded the Vancouver Children’s Choir, and since 1986, he has been Organist and Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver. Mr Lang is also a prolific composer of choral and liturgical music known and performed around the globe.
SICM’s 2021 Honorary Fellowship was presented to Mr Lang, and the new anthem by Dr. Larkin given its virtual world premiere, as part of the virtual closing Gala Choir & Organ Concert of its 52nd Session, Thursday July 8 2021, 7pm EDT.
Visit http://sicm.cato view the Virtual Concert on or after July 8, or for further information email publicity@sicm.ca.