Workshop on Organ Maintenance

Sylvain Brisson will talk about the organ, its construction and maitenance. After many years of serviceing the organs in Ottawa and beyond, Sylvain is now retired and will use his vast experience to explaing maintenance issues of organs.

RCCO Organist-Clergy Dinner

This is our first big dinner since the pandemic and it offers a good opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and friends. Invite your clergy to join you. This social dinner can give you a chance to chat with your clergy in a social environment. Or invite someone else or come alone.

KS on the Keys prepares excellent food. The RCCO Ottawa Centre is subsidizing the cost of the $60 meal by charging $40 which includes the meal, tax and tip.

Our guest speaker is Wesley Warren, recently retired organist and choir director of St. Barnabas Anglican Church.

REGISTRATION:

Please click here to register online before Wednesday October 15, 2025.

If you prefer to send your registration by mail, please print out this form and ensure it will reach us no later than October 15, 2025.

Click here to add this event to your smartphone calendar. We look forward to seeing everyone.

Come and enjoy an afternoon of music by J.S. Bach. The organists will include (listed alphabetically):

  Thomas Annand
  Nick Busch
  Robert Jones
  Aleesha Katary
  Matthew Larkin
  Samuel Lee
  Shawn Potter
  Wesley Warren
  Yi Zhou

Donations will be accepted for the RCCO Scholarship Fund.

Here is an English poster for the event, and a French poster for the event. Please post for others to see.

Repertoire Workshop

The United Church has put out a new hymnal, in print and on a digital platform, called Then Let Us Sing! At first glance the songs in this new hymnary look like they are meant to be accompanied by piano or guitar, but many of the accompaniments can, in fact, work well on the organ. Alison Kranias and Donna Hawkes have been exploring this new repertoire with their congregations and will be leading a workshop for organists at Trinity United Church on Sunday, February 1st at 2 pm with a reception to follow. Alison and Donna will demonstrate playing from lead sheets as well as fully written-out accompaniments, and there will be lots of singing as we try out some of these new hymn tunes. Trinity is at 1099 Maitland, near the Queensway, with plenty of parking. By transit, you can take the #53 bus from Tunney’s Pasture. See you there!

An Introduction to Gregorian Chant

From its origin in the post-Apostolic era, we trace the history of Gregorian chant (“plainsong”) through two millennia, to the present day. What is this musical form? What makes it unique? Who propagated this artistic legacy? Why does it endure? What is its relevance today? We will delve into the theoretical subjects of chant, its diverse melodic and rhythmic elements, including: modal theory, neumes, the four-line staff, Latin or English text, etc. The modern sciences of paleography and semiology have added much to the study of chant, we will touch on these subjects as well, to see how the chant remains a living, breathing part of our musical and liturgical heritage. This short (two-hour) “Introduction to Gregorian Chant” will illumine one of the greatest treasures of Christianity, and will provide an apologia for the chant’s continued use in the Western church today. A musical repertoire of extraordinary beauty and purity, the chant remains a significant part of our spiritual inheritance.

The Kiwanis Music Festival Organ Classes

Although this is not one of our programmes, it does involve many of our organ student members and we are providing $500 in scholarship money to the participants. Come and support our students in recital. Further informationn can be found on the Kiwanis Music Festival website.