I have a sense that clergy, including myself, when tired, disillusioned, or ill at ease tend towards one, maybe two of the following roles. The words walking on eggshells appear in the report and they confirm my impression that we are dealing with broken relationships caused by obsessive behaviour of some kind. May 10, 2022 Jeremy Cole, Director of Music at Wells Cathedral, has resigned after just over two years. There will be many churches with larger congregations than most cathedrals who will only have one priest providing consistent pastoral provision. All rights reserved. and yet, I can read like everybody else. List of organists and assistant organists of Wells Cathedral, "Somerset, Wells Cathedral of St. Andrew, Dean & Chapter Of Wells N0 6890", "Somerset, Wells Cathedral of St. Andrew, Dean & Chapter Of Wells N06890", "Somerset, Wells Cathedral of St. Andrew, Dean & Chapter Of Wells N06891", "Somerset, Wells Cathedral of St. Andrew, Dean & Chapter Of Wells N06892", "Somerset, Wells Cathedral of St. Andrew, Dean & Chapter Of Wells N06893", Wells Cathedral, Jeremy Cole - Director of Music, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_organists_and_assistant_organists_of_Wells_Cathedral&oldid=1139354696, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 20202022 Jeremy Cole (acting Organist and Master of the Choristers since 2019), Christopher Brayne 1983 1990 (later organist of Bristol Cathedral), David Bednall 2002 2007 (Senior Organ Scholar 2002 2004), This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 18:16. Just one matter is troubling him - he's lost for a title. It now consists of 67 stops - five divisions spread across four manuals. The organ now stands as an eclectic instrument, properly equipped not only for the accompaniment of the choral services in the Quire, which is its chief function, but also for the interpretation of all periods and styles of organ music. Please consider if you should come into the Cathedral if you have a serious health condition and should be avoiding social contact, are yourself unwell or anyone in your household has a persistent cough or fever, or have recently returned to this country from somewhere where Covid-19 is prevalent. The official statement from Wells Cathedral is reproduced below. Thirdly, most cathedrals have their own congregations and some cathedrals have parishes. While in London he was assistant conductor and accompanist of the Holst Singers, and worked regularly with leading choirs, and as a repetiteur for solo singers and instrumentalists. You can move people around, tweak the odd job description, blame the usual suspects, but the patient is in poor condition. (You will need to register. Jeremy is a trusted colleague and a superb musician. The 70 employees and 400 volunteers who are affected by the state of tension and unhappiness, because of the bullying behaviour, are nowhere accused of improper or immoral behaviour. It was built by the Scottish organ-builders Lammermuir and comprise the stops Gedackt 8 Oak, Nason Flute 4 Oak and Maple and Fifteenth 2 25% Tin. The tone of the SCIE report suggests that the victims of the Deans verbal lashings and the toxic environment around him are not being pursued for serious failings. There may be a fifth rarer group, possibly the innovator or radical, motivated as a disrupter, measuring success in the breaking of new ground, regardless of whatever, whoever else is broken in the process. Over the years of writing this blog, I have reflected on dysfunction at various cathedral establishments in Britain. . This means that Evensong, Eucharists and other public services (including the healing service) will not happen. The Cathedral Choir has an enviable and richly deserved reputation for excellence which we will maintain and strive to enhance. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Do not sell or share my personal information. The sound of the great Cathedral organ will be returned to its original character. Together, they are not just integral to the music-making, but also the very life of the Cathedral and its service to the community. The Cathedral Choristers and the Vicars Choral (including choral scholars) will not be singing services. Human nature will often have a tendency to seek advantage and power when there is opportunity to do so. Non-subscribers canreadfour articles for free each month. The auditors consistently heard of the high degree of respect for the current Chief Operating Officer (COO), who is also the Administrator and Chapter Clerk. The next question we have to ask is whether the report tells us the actual nature of the bullying. St Nicholas, Rotherfield Greys near Henley on Thames, seeks an enthusiastic and able organist to play the recently restored and enlarged Walker organ. During the 1980s, Dr Carr and Dr Moses worked together at Chelmsford Cathedral, Essex. Adam Wilson is Acting Assistant Director of Music, a position he took up in December 2022 having been Assistant Organist of Wells Cathedral since 2021. The photo of the beautiful Vicars Close in Wells beneath the article brings out another aspect of this unhappy story. Please give as generously as you can, and thank you for your support. We've only been married for ten years.' If cathedrals are now largely run by laity, why not take it to its logical conclusion and have laity run them tout court (absent liturgy)? As a first step we encourage you to take membership at US$79/59 a year, or $165/125 for three years. Independent Safeguarding in the CofE. There are people around who can do this kind of work but there has to be an initial agreement to submit to, or at least be open to accept this outside advice. This tradition is central to todays worship, community events, great civic services and the many concerts performed annually. He has studied the organ with Henry Fairs, Ann Elise Smoot, Colin Walsh and Stephen Farr. Wells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. Bach, recorded live in Wells Cathedral on 19 March 2020. The Dean might well take this as his or her own brief, but it will involve attendance at a number of events and meetings away from the cathedral, as well as hosting them at the cathedral. If there is no actual wrongdoing apart from not meeting whatever is meant by unattainable standards, then we are left to conclude that this situation is ripe for successful professional mediation. Despite losing his job at Bristol, Mr Archer, a father of two, continued in the music world, moving to Clifton College, the boys' school. (a) an alteration of the ordering of services in the cathedral; I did think the Cathedrals measure cut the Deans power, partly by changing the phrase Dean and chapter to Chapter. Organ seen from the crossing. But the high number of written concerns revealed an underlying but very evident message that things must be completed in a certain way. They become more apparent when we face tiredness or opposition. Vicars Close, where the majority of lay staff live, and where there is noted to be little privacy, was seen by the auditors to raise several issues in terms of culture, and to sound uncomfortably close to being a closed community. Jeremy Cole (organ), Director of Music of Wells Cathedral. The Cathedral will remainopen as a place of prayer, but all who enter will be asked to observe recommendations about physical (also known as social) distancing recommendations. And as Janet says, the time taken in organisation. This is specialist work and requires a consistent approach. We want to listen and learn, and we take these concerns extremely seriously. The Head Master of Wells Cathedral School, Mr Alastair Tighe said: I am delighted that Jeremy has been appointed. Congregation and parish need looking after, as do Sunday school, Bible study groups, youth activities and so on. The first two can defend a drop in numbers by claiming a rightness in what they do, the latter two find a drop in numbers to be their own failing so try even harder, either to produce more attractive entertainment to bring (back) the punters, or to seek ever new groups they can feel good about helping. Frequent maintenance visits from organ builders Harrison & Harrison were just about keeping it going but finally in 2021 a fairly major overhaul of the air supply had to be undertaken, generously funded by The Friends of Wells Cathedral. and this has been maintained by the same company since.[5]. A copy of the Archbishops letter is availablehere. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. One thing is really clear. This takes the form of loss of temper, shouting and a reported embodiment of the very power imbalance reflected as potentially abusive in the Leadership Training undertaken., A self-assessment of safeguarding submitted to auditors in advance of this audit showed a definite sense that safeguarding is a priority in all that is done within the cathedral and this was reflected in conversations and the survey carried out prior to the audit. (3) None of the following may be done without the consent of the dean THE Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, the Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy, is to face another internal tribunal. 2020 Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust. Archer was formerly Organist and Director of Music at Bristol Cathedral, Wells Cathedral and at St Paul's Cathedral [3] and Director of Chapel Music at Winchester College. A native of Northern Ireland and lifelong Anglican, Penny received her education at Wells Cathedral School and Clare College, Cambridge. Every institution is faced with failures caused by human frailty. In this case we are given one key word culture. Similar comments were also tangible through the conversations held with individuals during the audits and were so prevalent as to be the dominant view of culture within the cathedral.. Far greater attention needs to be paid to training in team-building and group dynamics, and there needs to be somewhere besides the bishop that unhappy canons and cathedral workers can go when they are feeling persecuted. Location. All four have good qualities if in proportion. I guess behind it all is amnesia for the two great commandments: no particular evidence of time spent with God, and an indifference to His people. Sticking notes, hissing sounds, mechanical malfunctions on particular stops and delays in the reaction to the keyboards are all regular occurrences which they try their best to disguise. It is now available to purchase here.. David Bednall's Requiem for Upper Voices, Solo Viola and Organ has recently been released on Regent Records to great critical acclaim and is available for . Living the Questions: Facing Christian doubt and uncertainty. These included comments such as a feeling of heaviness when entering the cathedral; a culture of fear; being at the cathedral as the most unhappy time of my life; power imbalance; misuse of power; treading on eggshells. "When the report is finalised, it will be made available on our website with the action plan we are undertaking to create a healthy culture of care." I suspect that, in some cases at least, the pandemic has been an aggravating factor. We look forward to watching the Music Foundation continue to flourish with Jeremy at the helm. The Chapter commissioned the audit, believing that Wells Cathedral will benefit from external scrutiny by measuring ourselves against current best practice in this vital area: so we understand what we do well, and where we need to focus attention and resource to improve and develop what we do.. Given that, in my experience, capitular clergy are not always the best clergy, that difference has to stop. Since its arrival in November 1996, this delightful small organ is regularly used for authentic accompaniment of Tudor and baroque music, and is ideal for continuo work. A situation where they answer to a different canon every week is going to be ineffective and stressful. 'She never tells me what she is doing,' an exasperated Sir Peter, 53, told me when I ran into him at publisher Lord Weidenfeld's flat. It sounds from the report as though the situation at the Cathedral has congealed into a state of immovable despair and unhappiness. The Cathedral Organ will soon be restored to its former-sounding glory! Read more here. If fussiness goes beyond a certain point, it becomes a neurosis and is potentially disruptive to everyone. (as well as Oxford and Llandaff, which are outwith the Measures) suggests that there is something intrinsically flawed with the present finance and management of cathedrals. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/03/23/lady-howe-idlicote-progressive-campaigner-dubbed-powerful-woman/. He has taken a special interest in the issues around health and healing in the Church but also when the Church is a place of harm and abuse. The overall experience was probably forgotten quickly by many, but not her, nor those suffering from extreme anxiety. A few more additions are being planned to ensure that the refurbished organ will be a Grand Organ that will be truly appropriate for our reputation as a centre of excellence for English choral music. I had referred to Elspeth Howe, but by some uncanny happenstance, her passing has just been announced: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/03/23/lady-howe-idlicote-progressive-campaigner-dubbed-powerful-woman/. 'I suppose I should really, shouldn't I? Alexander Hamilton is Acting Director of Music at Wells Cathedral, a position he took up in December 2022, having been Assistant Director of Music since 2020. . There will be concerts, celebrations, fundraisers and many different ways you can support the appeal. View all posts by Stephen Parsons . This piece has been written without knowledge of the full facts. Evangelicals probably are more likely to suffer from the second, and maybe traditionalists and cathedral leaders from the first. As with clergy, living in tied accommodation carries with it an element of uncertainty, particularly if there is ever a power confrontation with an employer. At the top of the two large towers on the Quire front will be seen four carved medallion profiles outlined in red, which are portraits of the great English church composers S. S. Wesley, C. V. Stanford, Byrd and Purcell. Others will probably offer a better model, but I see myself in some of these and sense some colleagues are more driven by others. (g) take all decisions necessary to deal with an emergency affecting the cathedral, pending consideration of the matter by the Chapter. No reason has been given but the Cathedral is ridden with. 4) the social-worker / doctor whose task is to make things better, to solve the problems others bring, whether the individual or the group. The massive organ, with one hundred and five stops and a total of six thousand nineteen pipes, includes vintage pipes from the organ in the Cathedral of St. Vibiana. However, even the skills of our amazing musicians are no longer enough to keep standards up. 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