The Rodolfus Choral Foundation is a community of people whose lives have been inspired and changed by Choral Singing, Choral Music and great Choral Directors. It is our aim to share the transformational power of choral singing with children and young people from all backgrounds, offering financial support where it is needed. We are a registered Charity no. 1033702 founded by Ralph Allwood MBE in 1994.
At Rodolfus our aim is to…
1.
To INSPIRE children and young people from every walk of life, offering transformative experiences through the joy of singing on our distinguished choral courses.
2.
To NUTURE and promote the rich and timeless choral tradition of the British Isles, and promote high-quality music education in schools and beyond.
3.
To run our flagship ensemble – The Rodolfus Choir – which embodies the HIGHEST STANDARDS of choral excellence and serves as a beacon of inspiration for all our choral course participants.
“Outstanding by any standards… Sheer pleasure.”
— BBC Music Magazine
We are guided by a set of core values:
- Excellence....which underpins everything we do.
- Education....which honours and shares the very best of our collective wisdom and experience.
- Creativity....which builds on the past, engages with the present and shapes the future.
- Inclusivity....which ensures that our vision is open to all and experienced by many.
- Collaboration....which ensures that our vision is always lived out in partnership with others.
- Transparency....which ensures that we behave in an open, fair and accountable manner.
Our Vision
We engage with young people aged 8 to 23 from all backgrounds, offering them opportunities to be part of our residential choral courses and our renowned Rodolfus Choir offering generous financial support where needed.
We believe in the power of excellent choral music and musical teamwork to inspire and change lives and our passion is to share this experience with as many young people as possible, with a heart for those on the margins of our society.
Access & Education
A key part of our mission is to inspire and enable children and young people to sing great choral music, regardless of their social or economic background. Working in partnership with a range of community choirs and school music departments across the UK who are working with children in more deprived areas of the UK, we encourage participation on our choral courses with the help of generous financial support.
Through partnership, we share knowledge and support one another, get to know young aspiring singers, and help them in their choral singing journeys. In particular, we help young singers access our courses with the support of our Bursary Fund.
5 Year Plan
Over the next 5 years, we have an ambitious plan to grow our choral activities by at least 50% to reach 500 singers through our choral courses. In addition, we want to extend our reach amongst children and young people from diverse backgrounds by offering up to half of all participants financial support.
To realise our ambitions, we are developing multi-income streams including Trusts & Foundations, private donors, friends & supporters, our Choral Weekends for adult singers and ticketed concerts given by the Rodolfus Choir.
The Rodolfus Impact
Over 10,000 young people have attended a choral course over the years and around 1500 have sung as part of the Rodolfus Choir.
We have helped further the careers of professional opera singers, consort singers, composers, organists, directors of music, conductors and music teachers.
We are equally proud of those who have gone on to specialise in other worthwhile careers, while continuing to enjoy singing throughout their lives.
The skills and team-work which are learnt on a Rodolfus courses are equally useful in any number of other career choices.
Impact
We are proud of the many Rodolfus students who have gone on to have an amazing career in music.
Alumni include Roderick Williams, OBE, world renowned Baritone, and Edward Gardner, OBE, principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Sarah Macdonald, Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge.
Impact
We are proud of the many Rodolfus students who have gone on to have amazing careers in music.
Alumni include Roderick Williams, OBE, world renowned baritone, and Edward Gardner, OBE, principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Sarah Macdonald, Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge.
We have helped further the careers of professional opera singers, consort singers, composers, organists, directors of music, conductors and music teachers.
We are equally proud of those who have gone on to specialize in other worthwhile careers, while continuing to enjoy singing throughout their lives.
The skills and team-work which are learnt on a Rodolfus Courses are equally useful in any number of other career choices.