Opening: Seeking Director of Music (1-year maternity leave cover)

Job Opening:  Director of Music Ministries (1-year maternity leave cover)

Cloverdale United Church, Surrey BC, is seeking a Director of Music Ministries, to serve as an educator and principal musician of this congregation, for a 1-year maternity leave cover.

We are a congregation that greatly appreciates music and singing, and the successful applicant will likewise have the opportunity to work collaboratively with a Lead Minister who brings extensive knowledge, experience, and passion regarding traditional sacred music and the creative integration of music and liturgy.

It is understood that a variety of traditions and styles in piano, organ, and choral music is appropriate for our services, and we welcome the use of a variety of instruments.

We are blessed with a highly engaged non-auditioned voice choir of around a dozen singers. Their repertoire spans from the medieval to the modern, currently centred in a core of accessible, melodic pieces from the later 20th & early 21st centuries in classical, folk, and spiritual/gospel styles.

We have also a culture of active congregational singing accompanied by either piano or organ, at the musician's discretion (according to the musician's abilities and preferences, as well as stylistic appropriateness to a particular piece). The available instruments are a well-maintained heritage C. Bechstein grand piano and a 1987 Allen ADC 420 two-manual electronic organ.

The successful applicant will be responsible for piano and/or organ accompaniment of the congregation’s regularly scheduled worship services (a single weekly Sunday worship service and other liturgical observances such as Christmas Eve, Holy Week, etc.). They will also musically and administratively direct the Choir (September through June), including a weekly choir rehearsal. 

Solid keyboard skills are required, as is knowledge of how to run a choral rehearsal.  Familiarity with hymnody, choral repertoire, and other diverse music in The United Church or other mainline/liturgical Christian traditions (i.e. Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian) is preferred, but not required.  Familiarity with conducting a choir or other ensemble from the keyboard/console (i.e., while also accompanying) will be an asset.  We are especially interested in applicants who have a vision for music as contributing to and complementing the wider mission and ministry of a community of faith.

Cloverdale United Church is a congregation of The United Church of Canada and is a welcoming, historic, and progressive Christian community that spans the generations and enjoys an active intercultural ministry.  The ability to work and minister within an environment that is open-minded, progressive, and inclusive (including unequivocally LGBTQ+-affirming and interculturally sensitive), while also being unapologetically Christian, is required.

As a musician, the Director of Music Ministries will be diligent in preparation and performance, and will liaise with others to provide and enable the highest possible standard of worship through music in this congregation. We anticipate this salaried position requiring 6 to 10 hours per week.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide piano and/or organ music at weekly Sunday Worship services commencing at 10:30 am. Pre-service rehearsal with the choir on Sunday mornings is expected; therefore, the time commitment on most Sundays will be 9:45 am to noon.
• Choose a weekly anthem and/or other choral repertoire for the choir, appropriate for the liturgical season of the Church, and direct the choir in this performance.
• Prepare the choir to participate in the congregational hymns during the Worship service.
• Lead a choir practice one evening per week (Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm) in preparation for anthems and hymns.
• Have the right of first refusal for all weddings and funerals held within the sanctuary at Cloverdale United Church (typically for additional compensation over-and-above the stipend for the position).
• Provide choral direction and keyboard accompaniment for worship services on other non-Sunday holy days and observances, which shall include Christmas Eve and may include Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and other observances as may be determined by the Minister and the congregation’s lay leadership.
• Attend workshops and music reading events as necessary to prepare.
• Arrange for appropriate tuning and/or maintenance or repair of the piano and organ.
• Encourage others in the congregation to offer gifts of music in the course of worship (vocal or instrumental, solo or ensemble), coordinating their participation and coaching and supporting them as needed, both musically and as regards the suitability and integration of music choices with the rest of worship.
• Seek continual growth in education and understanding of the theology, traditions, and practices of The United Church of Canada and of Cloverdale United Church, and engage in ongoing growth in the Employee’s sensibilities of themselves as a liturgical musician, facilitator of Christian worship, and steward of beloved community.

This posting is for a 12-month contract, as the incumbent intends to return to the position after her maternity leave.

Please submit applications as soon as possible, and no later than December 18, 2024.  We anticipate a start date in January 2025.

To apply, please submit a cover letter expressing your reasons for interest in the position and a resume or similar document detailing your experience, education, and/or other relevant background, to: Rev. Matthew Emery, lead minister, matt@cloverdaleunitedchurch.ca.