ST. NICHOLAS CATHOLIC CHURCH
Job Description and Application
MUSIC DIRECTOR
SUMMARY/PURPOSE OF POSITION: St. Nicholas Catholic Church is a parish with a decades-long tradition of musical excellence. The parish utilizes choral, piano, instrumental, and organ accompaniment and performance to enhance its liturgies and community engagement. The parish seeks a Music Director who will provide skilled leadership that will meet the needs and leverage the talents of our choirs and a vibrant and diverse community of worship. This position sustains and develops the St. Nicholas Family Choir, Folk Group, Children’s Choir, and Schola Chant Choir.
EMPLOYER’S TITLE: Pastor
SUPERVISOR’S TITLE: Pastoral Associate
RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS
- Support the Gospel message through music.
- Serve as the principal choir conductor, organist and pianist.
- Conduct and be familiar with conducting other instruments that accompany the choirs.
- Take responsibility for music at all weekend and holy day Masses, special events, two (2) penance services, Christmas, Holy Week, Confirmation Masses, weddings, funerals, and any other liturgical events that may arise throughout the year.
- Delegate weddings and funerals when necessary, with the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the integrity of the music for those liturgies.
- Conduct and support four (4) parish choirs and Mass cantors
- St. Nicholas Family Choir ( 20 to 25 members) – Weekly choir rehearsal
- Folk Group at 11:00AM on Sundays (15 to 20 members) – Weekly choir rehearsal
- Cantors at 5:00 pm on Saturdays and 8:30am and 11:00am on Sundays
- Children’s Choir (12 to 15 members) – Be-weekly rehearsal
- Schola Chant Choir (10 to 12 members) – Bi-weekly rehearsal
- Conduct weekly rehearsals for Family Choir and Folk group, and bi-weekly rehearsals for Children’s Choir and the Schola Chant Choir.
- Commence the normal choir season with rehearsals in the third week of August, with choirs performing the weekend after Labor Day.
- Train and sustain all cantors.
- Schedule and maintain musicians and singers for summer breaks.
- Plan and supervise the annual Folk Group retreat.
- Plan appropriate music for all choirs during liturgies, ensuring alignment with the service’s theme and accessibility to the congregation.
- Provide instrumental parts for all instruments, occasionally composing or extracting from accompaniment scores using Finale.
- Keep current on the musical guidelines for wedding and funeral liturgies.
- Manage the Music Ministry Library.
- Maintain instruments belonging to SNCC Church, including 2 grand pianos, Chapel piano, organ, and any other church-owned instruments.
- Review and purchase new music as necessary within the music budget.
- Acquire a general working knowledge of the sound system and bell tower.
- Prepare and manage the annual Music Ministry budget, subject to approval by the pastor.
- Post hymn numbers on the hymn boards (may delegate this task).
- Obtain VIRTUS certification (Child Protection Program).
- Prepare worship aids for liturgies including funerals, weddings (by request), holidays, and penance services.
- Collaborate with the pastor on special events and ceremonies.
- Comply with reprint and copyright laws.
- Attend monthly staff meetings and liturgy meetings.
- Related duties as assigned by the Pastor.
Rehearsals:
- Plan and conduct rehearsals for the four choirs with an emphasis on vocal training.
- Build the repertoire of the choirs.
- Repertoire examples include:
- Family Choir: Traditional and classical SATB choral arrangements (“Ave Verum Corpus” – Mozart, “Stay With Us” – Hovland).
- Folk Group: Traditional, folk, gospel, and contemporary SATB arrangements with guitar and percussion (“Jina La Bwana” – Warner, “What Wondrous Love” – Hart, “Alive and Breathing” – Maher).
- Schola Chant Choir: Traditional Gregorian chant.
- Children’s Choir: For ages 7-13, involving SA arrangements (“An Irish Christmas Blessing” – arr. Curry, “Dona Nobis Pacem” – traditional).
QUALIFICATIONS: The director must be a committed Catholic who is in good standing with the Church and who is deepening his/her personal relationship with Jesus Christ and models this to others. Must possess knowledge of traditional and contemporary styles of liturgical music and have the ability to teach these varying styles to the musicians. Possess excellent organ, piano, and conducting skills. Possess effective interpersonal communication skills; possess good organizational skills. Be computer literate with MS Office Suite, parish computer programs, and Finale Print Music. Be proficient at keyboard improvisation. Be familiar with the use and directing of strings and bass as well as percussion instruments.
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Annually at the discretion of the pastor. Can include regular discussions or set meeting times.
DATE: Revised June 2014; January 2024
FLSA Status: Exempt
WORKING CONDITIONS: The position requires 40 hours per week comprised of regular office hours, two evenings of rehearsals, weekend Mass times, and travel with overnight stay for annual Folk Group retreat.
SALARY AND BENEFITS: Per Diocesan guidelines and Called to Work in Harmony. This is a full-time exempt position on a salary basis. The salary is commensurate with experience and the diocesan pay scale.
APPLICATION: Applicants should provide the following:
- Cover letter and resume.
- Written answers (no more than 200 words per question) to the following:
- What are your strongest ministry skills for Director of Music Ministry?
- What led you to become a Director of Music Ministry?
- Describe an effective Music Ministry program and its relationship to Liturgy.
- Three personal and two letters of recommendation from a previous employer or supervisor.
- A completed Diocese of Richmond Employment application https://bit.ly/36ndEsX.
Application materials should be sent to:
Fr. Venancio “Jun” Balarote at [email protected]
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