- Young people playing the recorder for fun or more seriously, taking part in competitions and attending master-classes and workshops.
- Amateurs who want to play in groups and consorts for fun.
- Serious players looking for networking and opportunities to play.
- Professionals, aspiring professionals, teachers and professors to connect with a world of recorder-playing.
- Recorder orchestras and groups in schools, Colleges of Education, and other institutions wanting to be part of a broader group.
- Businesses associated with the recorder.
Community
A community of over 1300 members right across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the world, with branches you can join from the Orkneys to Cornwall, from Suffolk to Dublin.
A society which cares for the recorder, promoting its interests, commissioning new music, funding young players.
A dynamic website enabling you to make contact with other members, and with consorts, recorder orchestras, youth orchestras, recorder courses, teachers, early music groups, find information and support for learning the recorder and keep up to date with recorder events.
An address list of members, connecting you with fellow players.
Magazine and E-newsletter
A quarterly Recorder Magazine keeping you in touch with the wider recorder world with academic and feature articles, news and information for all age groups plus a centre spread original composition.
A monthly e-newsletter keeping you bang up to date with events, concerts, recitals, and anything else that is going on.
Regular playing near you
Forty nine branches spread across the UK and Ireland offering the opportunity to play regularly in friendly and welcoming groups under the direction of experienced conductors and to meet and make friends with like-minded recorder players.
A panel of visiting conductors, who regularly conduct branch meetings, allowing players to sample different styles of conducting and genres of music.
A programme of workshops on aspects of the recorder and its music.
Festivals
The Society’s annual recorder festival – the great party of the recorder year and the greatest gathering of recorder players in the UK, offering:
- a festival atmosphere,
- eating, drinking and networking,
- a range of conductors to play under,
- newly commissioned music,
- mass playing and consort-playing,
- concerts,
- master-classes,
- competitions,
- recorders and music for sale.
Competitions
Competitions for young composers for the recorder and for composers of any age.
The SRP-Moeck Recorder Competition is held at the Early Music Festival in Blackheath. A challenge for aspiring professionals.
Supporting young players
Through the generous bequest of the great recorder player, composer, and teacher, Walter Bergmann (1902-88), the Society offers grants and bursaries for young players to help with training, purchase of instruments, competitions, and more.
The Society supports the National Youth Recorder Orchestras, which are for talented and keen recorder players.
Music libraries
Every branch of SRP has a library of printed music, with parts for recorder consort playing. If you play in your own consort and you are SRP members, you could arrange to borrow the music you need. Many of the branch music libraries are now catalogued on-line, so that you can see what music is available for loan.
Insurance
Are you put off organising a venue for your recorder consort by the public liability insurance costs? If you and your fellow-players join SRP, that worry is may be behind you! Contact the secretary () for further information.
The SRP year runs from 1st September to 31st August. If you join for the first time after 1st January, your subscription is half the annual subscription.
Branch membership
To play with any branch of the SRP and to become part of that very special community, you need to pay both your main subscription, which gives you membership of the Society with all its benefits; plus the branch subscription. The main subscription (from September 2024) is £30 (or £10 for those under 30 or in full time education). The branch subscription will vary depending on which branch you join but it will give you all the benefits of playing with others under experienced conductors. Why not try out playing at a branch meeting before you decide? All our branches are listed at the bottom of this page.
Personal membership
Wherever you live in the world, you can take out personal membership of the SRP, for an annual subscription of £30.00 in the UK and Ireland or £35.00 elsewhere. You can apply for personal membership online but if you would like to join and play with a branch please DO NOT use this method of joining but instead contact your local branch. You will then be able to make one payment to cover both your main subscription and branch subscription.
If you are already (or have previously been) a personal member, you can renew your membership by logging on and completing the online form.
If you are currently a personal member, you can check or change your personal details by logging on and using the membership management form. Branch members can also update details by logging on in the same way.
Affiliation to the Society for Orchestras and Ensembles
For as little as £60, orchestras can enjoy regular issues of Recorder Magazine, with the possibilities of having concerts to be performed mentioned in it, the Society’s public liability insurance, web space on this site to promote concerts and other activities, and above all becoming part of the recorder community which the SRP represents.
To affiliate, contact . If you are already affiliated, you can edit your details or renew your subscription online.