Description

Position Title: Choir Director ( Job Posting )

Reports to: Senior Minister

Supervises: N/A

Status: 10 hours per week average (during the 40 weeks of the regular church year)

FLSA: Non-Exempt (hourly)

Job Summary

The Choir Director will provide artistic and administrative leadership of the adult choir of the UU Church of Concord.

Essential Functions

• Selects choral music that supports and enhances the theme of the Sunday morning worship service.
• Meets regularly with the ministers and/or other worship leaders to collaborate in creating Sunday morning worship.
• Prepares for and leads adult choir during
• Thursday evening rehearsals (weekly);
• Sunday mornings warmup rehearsals and worship (about three out of four weeks);
• Christmas Eve services (two) and related rehearsals.
• Offers Zoom-based or in-person one-on-one vocal coaching of members of the choir.
• Communicates regularly with the choir and accompanist about the choral schedule and repertoire.
• Invites visitors, friends, and members to join the choir.
• Oversees the maintenance of the music library, purchases new choir music, keeps up subscriptions to music use licenses, and assures that copyright laws are followed.

 Other Responsibilities/Requirements

• Participates in staff meetings at least once a quarter.
• Meets regularly with the senior minister for supervision.
• Manages the music budget line items relevant to choir activities.
• Maintains membership in the Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM) and abides by the AUUMM Code of Professional Practice.
• Designs, coordinates, and co-leads one or more Sunday morning services during the regular church year (Music Sunday).
• Assists with special music on Christmas Eve.
• Updates the congregation about choir activities through the monthly newsletter, the weekly eBulletin, FaceBook, or other electronic or non-electronic means, as needed.
• Collaborates with interfaith choral groups for special community events.
• Maintains a cloud-based index for all items in the music library.
• In case in-person singing is not feasible:  Conduct rehearsals by Zoom, record voice-part specific sound tracks for rehearsing and recording of music sung by the choir (piano track provided by the accompanist), and contribute to vocal recordings of hymns sung during Sunday morning worship.

Minimum Qualifications

• A High School diploma and a degree in Choral Conducting or comparable experience.
• Able to communicate by email, Zoom, and phone, familiarity with the basics of word processing and spreadsheets, and comfortable using music notation software.

 Core Competencies

• Managing Mission and Goals:  Demonstrates understanding and support of the mission and goals (ends) of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord; talks and conceptualizes beyond the here and now to a larger sense of purpose; is optimistic; helps others own the ends policies (goals) of the church.
• Integrity and Trust:  Is widely trusted; practices direct, honest, and transparent communications; maintains confidentiality; admits mistakes; responds to situations with consistency and reliability; is authentic.
• Interpersonal Relationships: Relates well to all kinds of people, inside and outside the congregation; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; considers the impact of their actions on others; uses diplomacy and tact; helps others save face in difficult situations; is easy to approach and talk to; avoids communication triangles.
• Motivating Others:  Creates a climate in which people want to do their best; can motivate non-choir members to give choral singing a try; can identify potential singers and make them feel wanted in the choir; creates a welcoming and respectful atmosphere.
• Composure:  Is cool under pressure; does not become defensive or irritated when times are challenging; is considered mature; can be counted on to hold things together during challenging times; can handle stress; is not knocked off balance by the unexpected; doesn’t show frustration when resisted or blocked; is a settling influence in a crisis.
• Listening:  Practices attentive and active listening; has the patience to hear people out; can accurately restate the opinions of others even when they disagree; encourages the expression of viewpoints from all concerned; respects the views of others.

• Conflict Management:  Deals with problems quickly and directly; steps up to conflicts, seeing them as opportunities; reads situations quickly; good at focused listening; settles disputes collaboratively and equitably; finds common ground and gets cooperation.

• Written Communication: Is able to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles.
• Planning:  Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of learning pieces of music; breaks down the learning process into manageable steps; regularly develops an efficient and effective rehearsal plan; anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks; evaluates results.

• Dealing with Ambiguity:  Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on.

• Team Orientation: Demonstrates interest, skill and success in team environments; promotes group goals ahead of personal ones; is a resource to other members of the team; understands and supports the importance of teamwork and takes responsibility for their part in the success or challenges of the team.

• Anti-racism & Multicultural Leadership: Holds a commitment to anti-racist practices that foster a multicultural environment.  Strives to follow practices of cultural appreciation rather than cultural appropriation especially as it relates to music and worship offerings.  Is open to continual self-reflection, learning, and growth in this area and encourages this attitude in others.

Requirements

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord (NH) seeks a part-time Choir Director to provide artistic and administrative leadership of our adult choir.

Our congregation loves to sing and we love our choir.  Throughout the pandemic our adult chorus continued to thrive adding more than a handful of singers by providing a mix of Zoom-based rehearsals, virtual voice lessons, and regular video and audio recording projects.

The choir is back to singing in-person on Sunday mornings and rehearsals are offered in hybrid mode with most singers choosing to take advantage of the great acoustics of our sanctuary.  Of the 40+ singers on our roster, about 20 to 25 participate each week, with greater numbers showing up for Music Sunday or other special events.  To get a sense of the group, please check out the choir playlist on our YouTube Channel.

We are looking for someone within commuting distance of our campus or someone willing to move to the Concord, NH area.  Concord has an active Music School and a range of other options for getting musically involved.

Hours:  10 hours per week average (during the 40 weeks of the regular church year – 2nd Sunday in September to 2nd Sunday of June).

Compensation and benefits:

• $22.15 per hour
• Generous paid time off

Start Date:  The week of September 5, 2023

Click link for the complete Job Description.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A High School diploma and a degree in Choral Conducting or comparable experience.
• 3-5 years of experience in choral leadership.
• Able to communicate by email, Zoom, and phone, familiarity with Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar, and comfortable using music notation software.

At the UU Church of Concord, our mission is “Connecting in Love & Service, Growing Spiritually, Transforming Ourselves and the World.”  We are an equal opportunity employer.  We value and celebrate diversity and inclusion.  If you bring skills and talents different from the ones listed in the job description that may enhance our music ministry, we encourage you to apply and help us learn and grow.

To apply, please send the following items to Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger, Senior Minister, at michael@concorduu.org:

• Cover letter explaining your motivation to apply, interest in the position, and relevant skills and experience
• Resume
• Three references, including one for choral direction
• 1-2 musical samples (e.g., performance recordings, music videos, etc.)

Open until filled; preferred deadline is August 31, 2023.