The Roman Catholic parish of St. John the Evangelist Horsham West Sussex wishes to appoint a Director of Music. The parish currently has no paid musicians or formal choir, as such the appointee will benefit from the opportunity to develop, initially, an entirely new junior choir (8-18) and in due course one or more adult choirs recruited from the parish which is a thriving community with large numbers of youth and two primary schools which already have choirs, and the wider community. The purpose of the choir(s) will be to sing Chant and motets at the 0915 Sung Mass on Sundays and on major feast days including Christmas and the Easter Triduum throughout the year. The post represents an exciting opportunity to establish and develop a choral tradition which it is hoped will last for generations
The appointee will be expected to oversee attainment of RSCM affiliation for the junior choir and to implement its "Voice for Life" training scheme for choristers. The appointee will benefit from the full support of the Parish Priest and that of the congregation. The parish is keen in due course to recruit a paid organist/organ scholar to assist the Director of Music.
Salary will be in line with current RCSM rates and will be determined on the basis of qualifications, experience, level of availability and negotiation with the successful applicant. It can be based on hourly rate of salary depending on the amount of time the applicant has available and the parish will demonstrate flexibility in the event that the workload increases over time.
The successful applicant must have experience as a choral director and be sympathetic to traditional style Roman Catholic liturgy, with a working knowledge of Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony. A competent organist would be preferred. Applicants will be dynamic, energetic and innovative and able to establish a rapport with young singers: a full DBS check and references will be required. The parish is open to considering younger candidates with a choral/organ scholar background keen to gain experience of building and directing a choir.
Please apply by email to stjohnshorshamchoir@gmail.com with full CV attached.
