TWO-THIRDS of church choirs have no members under 18 — a figure that rises to 80 per cent in villages and rural areas, an RSCM survey of church musicians’ fees has found.
An ageing singing population is a big challenge, its deputy financial and operations director, Paul Hedley, acknowledges, but it is not a lost cause.
The RSCM undertook the survey in November 2024 to provide a basis for updated guidance for its members on the rates commonly known as RSCM rates. Only members are privy to the rates themselves, but the UK-wide survey results from the 1161 respondents reveal that 92 per cent of choirs, 50 per cent of piano/keyboard players, 31 per cent of music directors, and 28 per cent of organists are voluntary.
Of the 95 per cent who regularly use the organ in worship, 68 per cent report that their organist is of “Diploma level”, with fees typically 20 to 50 per cent higher than where the usual player has “Satisfactory competence”. For wedding fees, London pays 30 per cent, and south-east England five per cent, above the average: an indicator, the results suggest, of their relatively high gross disposable income.
The survey encompasses worship bands (16 per cent of respondents had a band); instrumentalists (19 per cent); music technologists (16 per cent); cantors or vocal soloists (ten per cent); and organ scholars (eight per cent). Regular use of recorded music was low. It was most commonly used as a backing track for congregational singing in just eight per cent of churches.
Given that 90 per cent of responses came from Anglican places of worship, it was unsurprising, he suggested, that 99 per cent of respondents had congregational singing as part of their worship. Church attendance evidently had a bearing on the statistics, as does population: the reported average attendance at a main or typical service was approximately 62, dropping to 38 in villages or rural places of worship.
The dearth of under-18s remained one of the most significant findings, Mr Hedley said, describing it as “a big potential wake-up call” for the whole sector of youth involvement in church music.
“If it’s not addressed, then the future of singing in church is under threat,” he said on Tuesday of last week. “It’s hard growing church choirs where they have completely disappeared, but it’s not impossible, given what the survey shows in terms of the ability that’s out there in players and music directors, and people who want to be involved. We’re hoping this survey sparks really good conversations about all this.”
Aside from its residential courses, and Voice for Life musical training programme, the RSCM is about to bring in a new initiative to encourage children’s and young people’s participation: what Mr Hedley describes as “a toolkit for material specifically around resources for developing junior choirs and young voices.
“A lot of people, whether they’re experienced directors of music or those with less experience, often either struggle or indeed feel really uncomfortable about the prospect of setting up something fresh starting to work with young people.
“We’re wanting to provide some material that can address some of those tricky questions about what it would take in a particular church or environment — including safeguarding concerns, which we have, of course, to be aware of, but which are not insurmountable.
“We should be able to see significant change, but it’s not going to be within the next 12 months. This is a long, slow burn. To drive it forward, we have to succeed in training the next generation not just of singers, but of music leaders, whether that be an organist and director of music or a young or older worship leader.”
And one critical piece of the jigsaw was partnership with the incumbent, he concluded. “Without that good partnership, nothing happens.”
