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Director of Music Ministries: Job Description

Effective Date: July 2020  
Reports to: Rector
Primary Responsibilities: Serving as primary Organist and Choir Director for all Services; Supervising contracted singers and instrumentalists; concert series guild; volunteer choristers.
Status: Full-time
Compensation: Commensurate with experience, education, and skills; including health insurance and retirement benefits

Please send resumes to: The Very Reverend Paul J. Kane, Rector, at revpaul@stpaulsdelray.org.

Instruments:

  • Moller, op. 11666, 1984; 4 divisions, 3 manuals, 62 ranks
  • Chamber organ by H.W. de Marse, 1986, 1 manual, 3 ranks (semi-portable) Full details are provided at the end of this document
  • Mason & Hamlin 6’3” grand piano (in the church-rebuilt 2012)
  • Yamaha 6’3” grand piano (in the music suite)
  • Steinway small grand piano (in the parish hall)
  • Malmark handbells (five octaves)
  • Schulmerich handbells (three octaves)
  • Handchimes (two octaves)
  • Miscellaneous percussion instruments and two trap sets.

Job Summary:  Coordination of St. Paul’s varied and dynamic music ministries; direction of all music for parish worship and events; serving as primary organist and choirmaster. The Director of Music Ministries is part of St. Paul’s leadership team, a collaborative ministry where each person is valued and supportive of each other and where all seek to promote God’s mission in this parish.

Essential Functions: 

  • Music is an integral part of the life of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.  Under the leadership of the Rector and the Vestry, the Director of Music Ministries exercises an important ministry that enhances worship, inspires the congregation, and creates community.The Director of Music Ministries must recognize and engage the ministerial dimensions of the position.  
  • Select hymns, service music, organ solos, ensemble and choral music for each liturgy that is appropriate to the liturgical celebration, season of the church year, or parish needs, subject to the Rector’s direction. The current liturgical distribution includes three services:
  • Saturday evening at 5:00, Illuminated Worship, with soloist and volunteer youth musicians, in the parish hall
  • Sunday morning 8:00 (no music, except on Easter), in the sanctuary
  • Sunday morning 10:00, choral Eucharist, Rite II, in the sanctuary
  • Additional Holy Days as observed at St. Paul’s (e.g., Christmas, Thanksgiving, Holy Week, etc.)
  • Serve as organist and/or pianist for all liturgical needs of the parish, and arrange for competent substitutes and/or additional musicians as needed.
  • Direct/Supervise all choral/instrumental ensembles of the parish that include the St. Paul’s Choirs and the Illuminated Worship ensemble on Saturday evenings, from September through May. The Illuminated Worship ensemble, a teen ensemble comprised of guitars, percussion and piano, rehearses before the 5:00 service on Saturday. During the summer, this liturgy consists of a vocalist and piano. A handbell ensemble has been inactive for the past few years, but could readily be revitalized.

St. Paul’s Chorister Program:

  • Direct the Schola Cantorum, which consists of eight paid singers who serve as soloists and section leaders in the Chancel Choir. This core of musicians sings with St. Paul’s adult choir on Sundays from September through May, and on important liturgical feasts: Christmas, Ash Wednesday, the Sacred Triduum, etc. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings from 7-9 pm, and on Sunday mornings at 9:00. During the summer, two singers per Sunday are assigned to guarantee the integrity of the summer volunteer choir, the assignments rotating among available singers.
  • Teach and direct the Cherub Choir, our pre-reading choir, ages 4-6. This choir rehearses at various times throughout the year, in groups of four weekly rehearsals. At the end of the rehearsal cycle, the choir sings for the 5:00 pm Illuminated Service and occasionally sings with the Jubilate and adult choirs at the 10:00 am Sunday service.
  • Teach and direct the Jubilate Youth Choir, ages 6 and up, who rehearse on Thursdays, from 4:30-6:00 pm; followed by a family dinner from 6:00-6:30 pm. This choir sings monthly during the academic year at the 10:00 am Sunday Service.  The Jubilate Choir follows the Royal School of Church Music’s “Voice for Life” curriculum. 
  • In co-ordination with the Director of St. Paul’s Day School, the Director of Music Ministries plays for the Day School’s weekly chapel services, and for special events, i.e., the Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring pageants, and graduation. The Director of Music Ministries also accompanies the children’s music classes following weekly chapel.
  • Select and arrange music for Vacation Bible School each summer, working with the children and leaders to ensure a meaningful experience for all involved.
  • Oversee administrative responsibilities of the Music Office (i.e. prepare and monitor budget for annual needs, oversee maintenance of instruments, and make sure music is catalogued and filed in a timely and efficient manner).
  • Augment music libraries with new music as the budget allows. The Music Library is already quite large, but the church welcomes new additions. Abilities in composition, improvisation and arranging are welcome. Several of the paid musicians in the parish are gifted composers and arrangers as well.
  • Work with clergy, Vestry and special committees to envision and implement parish objectives.
  • Prepare/direct the Music at St. Paul’s concert series, approximately twelve concerts a year, interfacing with local professional musicians as well as professionals from outside the area. This includes procuring and scheduling talent, managing publicity, preparing programs and flyers(graphics design interest and skills are a major plus), and overseeing ticketing and budgets. The Director of Music Ministries is encouraged to perform on the series as often as schedule or interests permit. The St. Paul’s choir annually participates in the concert series by preparing the Christmas Lessons and Carols, and occasional concerts of major choral works. Recent performances have included Haydn’s The Seasons, Karl Jenkins’ The Peacemakers and The Armed Man, the Holocaust Cantata of Donald McCullough, the Requiem Mass of José Mauricio Nuñes-Garcia, Duke Ellington’s Second Sacred Concert, and a concert of Telemann cantatas. (This list is offered as an example of past performances, but not a required list to be duplicated.) In the past decade, the series has added jazz performances as part of its concert offerings.
  • Oversee maintenance of choir vestments.
  • Maintain and grow personal competency through study and continuing education, as well as membership and participation in professional organizations.

Other Responsibilities:

  • Send musical selections, relevant liturgical elements, and other announcements to Communications Director for bulletins and other publicity in a timely manner.  
  • Serving as Artistic and General Director of Music at St. Paul’s, sustain funding relationships, and possibly grants, for the concert series. The series has not shown a deficit in the past ten years.
  • The Director of Music Ministries also monitors the website and ticket sales for the concert series, and works with the Music Guild to ensure smooth operation of concerts. She/He will also serve as a music liaison between St. Paul’s and the greater south Florida music community.

Minimum Qualifications: 

  • Master of Music or equivalent (A college degree in music is required. A graduate degree in music is preferred, although life experience in the church music field will be considered.)
  • Minimum 6-years experience as a church music director
  • Proficiency as a solo organist and accompanist, choral director, and vocal coach.
  • Sense of humor, willingness to be a team player with an exceptional parish staff.
  • Familiarity and/or experience with the use of handbells in liturgy.
  • Familiarity with Anglican hymnody, music, liturgy, and traditions, coupled with an affinity for a broad range of music and worship styles.
  • Orchestral experience as performer or conductor is very helpful; knowledge of orchestration and musical arranging is required.
  • Knowledge of standard music typesetting software, e.g., Finale or Sibelius.
  • Interpersonal and managerial skills.
  • Ability to articulate a theology of worship that demonstrates a solid grasp of historic principles and contemporary issues in Christian worship, particularly in the Episcopal tradition.