Choral Director

North

Cappella Novocastriensis

Cappella Novocastriensis, a chamber choir based in Newcastle upon Tyne, is seeking to appoint a new director with experience of choral music from September 2012, since our Musical Director Alexander Woodrow has obtained a position as Director of Music at Bradford Cathedral.

Membership of the choir is by audition. We currently number about 40 and meet weekly on a Thursday from 7 to 9 pm in the Armstrong Building, Newcastle University, for an average of 29 weeks of the year (roughly equivalent to University terms).

The choir currently performs about five concerts and a carol service for the Law Courts every year, as well as singing for an occasional Evensong or wedding service.

We sing mainly sacred music with a sprinkling of secular items. Our repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical genres, but Renaissance and Baroque tend to predominate, with 20th - 21st century additions.

The post will attract a payment, to be decided by agreement.

Please apply by letter, enclosing a CV and two references, to our chairman, Philip Thicknes, 8 Woodside Avenue, Corbridge, Northumberland, NE45 5EL. If you would like further details before doing so, Philip will be happy to supply them by email. It would also be helpful to look at our website, www.cappellanovocastriensis.com

The closing date for applications is Friday 10th February 2012.
We intend to interview between 20th Feb and 5th March 2012 and to audition a short list in mid to late March 2012.

Job Description:

The Director of Music will be required to:

Attend to the needs of the choir in terms of vocal quality, expression, phrasing, pitching and ensemble. Do a regular warm-up at rehearsals and work on voice production in a planned and purposeful way for the long term.
In consultation with the committee, select a musical programme for each concert, and if required engage an organist, instrumental players or solo singers.
Plan and conduct weekly rehearsals during University terms (approx 29 weeks per year) and occasional Saturday workshops. Conduct the choir, with orchestral players if any, in concert performances, weddings and other church services.
Attend committee meetings (approx. monthly after choir practice) for the purposes of planning, strategy, budgeting and agreeing on policies and systems.

The Director should:

be a confident singer with good technique, a good listening ear to detect errors, and good sight-reading skills.
be an all-round musician, with knowledge of relevant composers and their music.
be able to play the piano to assist the choir in rehearsing more challenging passages.
have experience of conducting and voice-training an amateur choir with mixed abilities.
audition prospective members of the choir and periodically re-audition the existing members.
have a good stock of patience and a sense of humour, be a good communicator and enthuse singers.
have good ideas for repertoire and assist the librarian in sourcing sheet music.
have a vision for the future, to stretch the choir and take it in new directions.
be punctual and a good organiser of time.
be able to work co-operatively with the committee.
have two good references from relevant sources.

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Choral Director

North

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