Michael:  You don't mention what denomination you are, or what kind of music your choir does.  This is a real problem in the Episcopal church, in which the large churches with a strong commitment to music typically have both an organist and choirmaster.  That, of course, is the best arrangement, since the two jobs are both pretty specialzed.  And you seem to be well awre of that.

 

But in smaller churches the job is more often describd as "organist-choirmaster," with one person covering both jobs.  And there are people who DO have both skills, and I don't mean to suggests that there aren't!.  But it's still a problem because it's very difficul to "conduct" from the keyboard and do justice to both jobs.

 

So it largely depends on what kind of music you're doing (or what kind you WANT to do).  And the fact that you are using some MIDI accompaniment already suggests that you may be doing music that needs a "leader," but not necessarily a "conductor."

All the best,

John

I've worked as a director in churches for some years.  During job searches during the last few years, I've found that there are fewer and fewer positions which hire a separate accompanist. As a result I have improved my keyboard skills and am now working as an accompanist/director.  You're right, it does have it's own problems, (the biggest among them my lack of four arms) but it's not at all unusual these days, unfortunately.  My advice would be find an individual who can do both but primarily is a good leader, and prioritize finding an accompanist as you grow.

Does your church not currently have a keyboardist (pianist or organist) leading worship?

My concern is the way that you describe the financial constraints.  If you are going to ask a person to do both jobs, then he or she needs to be compensated appropriately for both jobs.  In my position I am both the director and the accompanist, and both tasks require different skills and different preparation.  if I spend an hour preparing a piece in order to teach it to the choir, i still need to spend a separate hour practicing the accompaniment, and working out how I am going to conduct it at the same time.

Additionally, you may need to be a little flexible in the way that you approach this; for instance you may want to list them as separate positions but add the line "may be filled by one person" or something like that.  You may find it more difficult to fill two very small part-time positions and easier to fill one more substantial position; or vice versa you might find the opposite to be true.  This is really going to be dependant on your geographical location.

 

Julie

I, too, serve in a growing Episcopal church.  I and our accompanist are part-time; she is choral director in a local middle school, and I'm an old semi-retired band director/music teacher/Baptist minister of music.  The biggest problem is simply planning.  As you can imagine, it is often difficult to find a time when we can meet with our pastor.  Between all-region choir, concerts, and so on, "regularly scheduled meetings" only seem to happen once in a while.  Other advice would be to clearly define your responsibilities for the full year.  I knew going in that Advent/Christmas and Holy Week would be busier, but other times of the year we 'ramp down' a bit; you can expect to see us only on Sunday mornings in July.  Still, I know that if we didn't have clear job descriptions, I could be working 60 hours a week, year-round.

 

A couple of other comments:  We do what most people call 'blended' worship, using music of all genres from many sources, which seems to actually require more planning.  And I really think we ought to have a full-time director, but it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Alright, I know that I will probably get a lot of harsh comments about this but here it goes. I attend a baptist church, and have all of my life. Our church has in the past always had a choir director and an accompanist - both of which have been volunteer. It is our service to the church and it's members. We are called to serve, and I don't think it is necessary for me to be paid to serve in my own church. Now we have a much more contemporary service, with no choir, but I still serve as a vocalist and pianist on our worship team, again without pay.

 

It is nice to be paid for what I have trained hard for, but my regular teaching job, and my private teaching do that for me. I love that I can use my God given gifts to serve the Lord in my church. That is what we are called to do - be servants. That doesn't require me to get paid, and frankly, our small church could NEVER afford to pay me. We do have a part-time worship pastor, who also is our youth minister. We probably wouldn't have just a worship pastor, or leader who was paid, again both for financial reasons as well as philosophical reasons. We just believe that members are to use their gifts for the Lord's service out of joy, not because they are paid.

 

However, saying all of that, as a teacher, I often do both roles - direct and accompany, and it can be done. A good accompanist won't have to spend very much time "preparing" extra from what time they spend as a director, so it could definitely work with the right person.

 

Good luck on finding what you need. I would pray that God brings the right person to you, and leave it in His hands.

 

Geneva

As a church music director, I do not agree with the above, however that's OK , everyone is entitled to an opinion. I lead a Music Ministry, and approach this job as a professional, just like our trained pastoral leaders. Who have full-time paid jobs as ministers.

 

Anyway, what works in our church, is- I play for all hymns, and service music, but I direct the choir. We are accompanied by a volunteer, which can be more than one person, who does receive a small stipend. I try to use her judiciously, so she does not feel over-worked, so I do not require her to come to practise if we are just learning notes, and I try to have some weeks where we do a cappella music, use someone different accompanying, or you could use the recorded accompaniments if desperate.Also, some congregation members lend their talents on violin and flute from time to time.

The previous director did both jobs, and I can't tell you how much better our choir is since I always stand in front directing. And this has a spin-off- as the choir has improved, more people want to sing with us, which has attracted new members, and new people have come to church because they say the music is so wonderful.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Connie

Michael,

It's good you're starting now, and that you came to this community.  You've received good responses.

For a person who will do your job satisfactorily, you need an accurate job description.  For an accuracte job description, you need discussion among your choir, pastor, and some savvy congregants (young , middle and old) about how music feeds into, and out of, your church's ministry.   It might also be helpful to involve a person in your community who is a music professional, but is definitely not interested in the job.

Personally, having been everything from a volunteer youth choir director,  to a full-time Minister of music with 7 choirs, youth directorship  and a puppet team (this positoin was curtailed significantly several yrs. ago) to a Staff Soprano in a widely-respected music ministry, I have seen many and varied situations, and ways of dealing with this situation.  (As one who has been in job search, I would suggest that your advertising not include an extensive list of every detail of your expectations; that can scare off a busy musician.  Simply summarize the basic responsibilities, and go over the details during the interviews.  I'm behaving a bit hypocritically, perhaps, ;) because this response is lengthy.  However, I do think the points are important.

1. What are the hopes/dreams of your church?

  a - Do you wish to involve more people from your community?  Who?  For disadvantaged "street kids", you might need a committee/person to create positive Christian rap, gradually adding music refrains, possibly developing that into a youth choir.  Academically-gifted young people might join a church instrumental ensemble.  And vice versa; we are not stereotyping!  :)  (A local small church has an instrumental ensemble - they play along with the hymns each week.)

  b - How might the Music Minister go about re-inviting choir members who have left, and involving new members?  How much time would this take?  Would the members support that effort by making calls, inviting folks to dinner, etc.  If they will do that consistently, then a main task [ that can be quite time-consuming and possibly stressful] is lifted from the Music Minister - (henceforth called "M.M.") thus potentially shaving off a few salary dollars.

  c - Does your church wish to be involved in community events, such as a Saturday  Earth Day Celebration in a local park, or a Thursday evening rally to prevent childhood trafficking?  Music usually makes these events more effective.  Would your M.M. be asked to do this as a volunteer? (In response to Geneva's post re: "serving simply from the heart", I would say that these events might fall into that category.  But there might be priority issues...see below.)

 d - Are you all committed to a blended service, or down the road, might this person be expected to do a "traditional" and "contemporary" service.  (I agree that, unless there are certain routines in place, and even then, the Contemporary can require more planning time. ) However, a good worship-planning team will infuse classic and recent elements into any service, and weave the patchwork skillfully, so that there is music, litrugy, etc. that many can relate to.  (That 's what I personally recommend, and strive for.)

2. One of the main factors is the structure of your church, and the placement of the organ in relation to the choir.   (Generally, looking about your sanctuary, and pondering what the designers had in mind, will give you a good part of your answer. )

   a- Can the Music Minister  have direct eye contact toward the choir, without turning?

   b- Can the choir see him/her easily, without turning?

   c- Is the organ built into a hidden corner, lowered "box", or more in the open where all can hear the balance of music - organ, choir, congregation, and any other instruments used?  (Often thse "covered/cloistered" organs cause the organist to not realize how loudly s/he is playing.)

  d - Would a one-time fund-campaign, toward slightly re-structuring the sanctuary,  save $ in the long run - enabling one musician to do the tasks competently for decades to come?

 

3. As a choir, what are your needs?

 a -  If most of the singer-'readers" you refer to will sing confidently/immediately on their entrances, then perhaps all you need is a competent "keyboard artist" [perhaps a more respectful term than simply "accompanist"], who can give cues with her/his face.  (This is actually fairly common, works well, and is sometimes part of our training as conductors.)  You might consider hiring one or two local music students who are voice majors and/or fine singers - college juniors or seniors - as staff singers to help boost confidence at entrances and to round out the sound.  What voice part tends to have the fewest?  A little pocket cash, lots of love from the choir, and  4 to 6 solos a year, a good job to list on the resume can motivate a tired university student to get up on Sunday and make it to church - voila - ministry!  And encourage them to bring their friends...  :)

 b - Do you need the type of director who will list pieces on the board, or fill folders with octavos, or send out emails reminding folks what's going on, telling them they sang well, leading announcements/prayers about who is sick, in distress, etc..and calling/visiting same?   Or do you have members who are willing and competent at this?  Here again, the fewer the tasks, the more time the musician has for teaching, performing, etc., and you might not have to pay so much.  But whose ultimate responsibility are these tasks?  If a volunteer forgets/gets sick/has family issues - will the Music Minister be chastised for not doing it?

  e - Would it work to have a director regularly, and hire an organist for certain occasions, such as Advent or Lent cantatas?  Or vice versa?

4. What will motivate and support meaningful congregational singing?

   a - Overly-loud organ playing that bolsters confidence, but generally obliterates the words..and possibly the meaning?

   b - Little 5-minute pre-service rehearsals to familiarize the congregants with a new hymn-song?  (Or do this at Wed/Thurs. night supper..as the program...)

   c - Sensitive organ playing that is stong/forte when the text calls for it, light on the more pensive verses, and fades altogether on a verse (usually the 3rd) so that all can enjoy the inspiration [and confidence-building] of voices alone (or with a trumpet..or handbells..or African drum...)

  d - A strong singer, who can also play piano at the same time, to lead hymns - using the organ and/or other instruments only occasionally.

5. The part-time factor:

  a - If there is a schedule conflict, (Sat. morn cantata practice and All-State tryouts with school students) or if the M.M. finds themself in a bind for preparation time, who will get the priority?  (This is where Geneva's theory - and Geneva, I sincerely have great respect and admiration for the way your church does it; just some practical concerns - raises some questions.)  But respect, understanding,  and supportive cooperation should alleviate any serious concerns.

 

Whether your M.M. is largely keyboard-trained, or vocal/choral-trained, matters less than the real question: How will they approach the job?  As "I will do the task I'm paid for."  ......Or "I will do all I can, based on the time available from my other job, to foster the ministry of this great church."

Please keep us posted as to how it all works for you - that adds to our learning experience!  :)

Best Wishes,

-Lucy

 

 

 

 

I'm a choral conductor and organist, and I've always done both, so I know it can be done!  If your budget is small you might have to get someone young and inexperienced, but you might find someone good.  I'd suggest looking on the American Guild of Organists website at other people's ads so you can see what other folks have been doing.  Good luck!