The Society of Recorder Players

President: Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CBE
Registered Charity No. 282751
Scottish Registered Charity No. SC038422
Since 1937 The Society of Recorder Players has been
stimulating interest and enjoyment in the art of recorder playing

Introduction to the Society of Recorder Players

The principal objective of the Society of Recorder Players is to promote the education of the public in the study, practice and appreciation of the recorder. The Society is a charity registered in England, Wales and Scotland.

The Society, which has around 1500 members, is governed by a National Committee and operates through a number (currently 53) of Branches spread throughout England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland. Branches typically have 10-40 members and meet monthly to play music, usually at the weekend, although some Branches meet more often and some meet during the week. A map of Branch locations can be seen here.

There are two types of ordinary member, namely Branch Members and Country and Overseas Members. Ordinary members pay a national annual subscription (see table) and an additional annual contribution towards the running of their Branch. There is also one type of Corporate Membership open to any business associated with the Recorder.

Recorder groups in schools, Colleges of Education and other institutions may affiliate themselves to a Branch. A recorder orchestra may affiliate itself to the Society with the agreement of the Committee.

The benefits of membership include a subscription to The Recorder Magazine (4 issues a year), being conducted by a Visiting Conductor to each Branch once a year, paid for by the Society, subsidised Training Courses on a variety of relevant subjects, an Address List of members, the possibility to attend meetings of other Branches, often at no charge, and attendance at the annual weekend Festival and Conference (AGM) hosted by a different Branch each year.

The Society may also undertake various activities, many of which are organised by Branches, but some by the National Committee:

Sponsor or promote concerts, other musical events, broadcasts, and recordings.
Provide facilities for rehearsals and performances and for the teaching of the recorder.
Commission musical works employing the recorder.
Acquire, and make available for study and reference purposes, a library of music for recorder and of recordings of the instrument and its players.
Print, publish, and distribute, to members and others, literature, music and recordings relating to the recorder and its music.
Organise and conduct examinations or competitions for recorder players and award certificates and prizes to candidates in any of such examinations or competitions.

As examples, the Committee runs a biennial competition, currently sponsored by Moeck, for young recorder players with professional aspirations, it operates a fund (the Walter Bergmann Fund) that is used to support promising, mainly younger players and, in 2002, it launched the National Youth Recorder Orchestra (NYRO) followed in 2005 by the National Youth Training Recorder Orchestra (NYTRO).

Annual subscriptions to the Society (2009-10)

These are payable by branches for each member to the National Committee, in addition to any Branch Subscription that is charged.

Ordinary Member	Household Member	Student Member
£18.50	£28.50	£14.00