Society of Saint Gregory Composers Group

The Composers Group welcomes anyone who is interested in composing music or writing texts for the Catholic liturgy.

There are two groups, intermediate and advanced, which provide a friendly and supportive context for composers of all abilities to try out ideas, and receive and give advice on work they are doing.

Composers Group meetings are held online on Zoom.  This is a work of the Society of Saint Gregory for the benefit of its members and as a service to the wider Church.  You do not have to be an SSG member to join.  There is no charge for membership of the Composers Group.

Composers Group meetings are arranged separately for ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ composers/authors, along with occasional teaching sessions.

Inclusion on the Composers Group mailing list confers membership of the Group.  All communication is by email.

Works submitted for discussion and advice must be unpublished or work-in-progress.  Copyright in any submitted works remains yours and will be respected.

No work is discussed whose composer/author is not present at the meeting.

Works should be submitted by email (composers@ssg.org.uk) as a music file (Finale, Sibelius, MuseScore or Dorico) or pdf, or as a Word file if text only.

Anyone who submits work will have at least one piece discussed; maybe more, depending on the time available.  If you submit several items, please prioritise them, in case there is not time to consider all of them.

Pdfs of the music/texts to be considered at a meeting will be emailed to participants in advance.

The online discussion takes the form of peer review, led by Alan Smith, who will ensure a positive and supportive approach.  You are, of course, free to accept or reject the suggestions of your peers!

Composers Group Meetings 2024

All meetings are online on Zoom beginning at 2pm and ending by 4pm

Saturday 20 April – Joint intermediate & advanced groups meeting
Saturday 11 May – Teaching session
Saturday 15 June – Intermediate Group meeting
Saturday 13 July – Advanced Group meeting
Saturday 17 August – Teaching session
Saturday 14 September – Intermediate Group meeting
Saturday 12 October – Advanced Group meeting
Saturday 16 November – Teaching session

If you would like to join the Composers Group, please email Alan Smith, Composers Group coordinator.  Please include your real name in the message as it might not be obvious from your email address.  There is no need to provide other details.