This year (2025) sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of the founder of St Michael’s College, Rev. Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley. Various events are being planned, which we will post on here as we hear of them. One such event is at the Three Choirs Festival, this year in Hereford, which is...
Benjamin Britten wrote a specially commissioned work for the Centenary of the College in 1956. Old Boy David Wells-Cole (1953-1959) writes: Last week (August 2024) I went to the Britten-Pears Archive in Aldeburgh to present my copy of Benjamin Britten’s Antiphon (signed by Britten on the day of the performance) to the Archive. I...
Music at St Michael’s update: On Sunday September 29th it should have been the choir of Emmanuel Church Wyld Green singing the two services. Unfortunately they cannot now come, so the choir now will be: Quindici Chamber Choir Director Suzanne Edwards, organist Tim Mills Sung Eucharist 11am & Choral Evensong 3pm...
This Friday 5th July, Worcester Cathedral Choir are in concert at St Michael’s. It starts at 7pm. Tickets are available from: https://buytickets.at/stmichaelschurchtenburywells/1309773...
The list of Concerts for 2024 is now available and can be found by following the link on the menu bar above....
Our friends at the Archive of Recorded Church Music have posted the only known Choral Evensong recording of Ouseley’s Canticles in B minor. Find out more at recordedchurchmusic.org...
Did you know that Ouseley wrote the Festival Grace that was always sung in full at Commem? This edition was published for the Centenary in 1956, and here it is (complete with gravy stains): SMC Festival Grace 1956...
Details of concerts can be found here Concerts...
Here’s Old Boy Kevin Jacot (SMC 1973-1978) with one of his recent compositions, an anthem for St Michael’s day, “Factum Est Silentium”, which he also performs in this video. https://youtu.be/5Xyl0ZUbFqY...
You will recall our appeal to fund a new set of blowers for the Willis Organ in the Chapel. Members responded magnificently to the appeal, and after a few false sarts (mainly due to the pandemic) the blowers were ordered. The latest news (as of 18th Oct) is that the blowers have arrived at...
Roy Massey has let us know of the following publication, which may well be of interest to members: I don’t know whether it would interest members of SMCS but I have recently written my memoirs entitled An Organist Remembers published by the RSCM (musicdirect@rscm.com}. Chapter 8 is entitled St Michael’s College, Tenbury and is a...
Congratulations to Andrew Nethsingha, currently Director of Music at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, who has been appointed the new Organist and Master of Choristers at Westminster Abbey. More information...
Recorded on site, Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman tells us why St Michael’s College was so important....
UPDATE Sept 21: Memorial Recital recording and tributes It is with great sadness that we report the death on Friday 12th February 2021 of Lucian Nethsingha, a former organist and choir master at St Michael’s. Lucian had been in poor health for a while, and latterly had been in a hospice in Cambridge.Born in Colombo, Ceylon, in...
Michael Anderson writes: Dr James Berrow, has written a fine biography of John Nicholson, 19th Century organ builder of Worcester, containing a lot of interesting references to Ouseley, not only as regards the St Michael’s organ, but also regarding his role as organ adviser in the area. Jim has asked me to bring this...