Musical Director

London & South East

Organisation: Music Makers Choir of Harpenden

Music Makers Choir of Harpenden is a well-respected, amateur local musical society established in 1964. We currently have 42 adult members and our ethos is to enjoy making music. We are based in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, a commuter town, with a direct rail connection through Central London to St Pancras/Kings Cross and near to junction 9 of the M1. With the help of excellent professional Musical Directors over the past 56 years, we have developed into a popular large chamber choir with a considerable following at our concerts. Our current popular and highly regarded Musical Director, Christopher Hann, has been with us for nine successful years and leaves in May 2021. This is an exciting opportunity to build on, and develop, Chris' excellent work.

We are a friendly SATB chamber choir, without an audition process, but a simple voice test by the Musical Director [to check that new members' voices will blend in with the choir's overall sound]. 

Our members are of differing levels of musical ability and experience. Our musical tastes cover many genres and styles: from the old to the new (Lauridsen, Whitacre, Chilcott, Rutter), part songs to oratorios, sacred and secular. We perform alone and with other choirs, unaccompanied or with professional soloists, orchestras and actors. Audiences comment on how they like the variety of our programmes which differentiates us from other local choirs. A number of new members have made the move from audience to choir member. We rehearse on Wednesday evenings 8.00pm - 9.45pm with a regular professional accompanist in the Harpenden High Street Methodist Church, AL5 2RU. We have breaks from rehearsals for the main holidays including a long break over the summer. The Choir is a Registered Charity and is managed by an experienced, competent and active committee of Trustees.

We are seeking a Musical Director from May 2021 after Chris leaves us. For this appointment there would need to be a commitment to direct 37 rehearsals and deliver around 3 public concerts (at weekends) each year; and also, where possible, to direct one Come and Sing event which takes place over an afternoon in a local venue with a short informal performance. We are also planning to introduce a mentoring scheme for young singers.

The successful candidate should be a competent musician and an experienced and versatile conductor with a broad knowledge of a full range of choral repertoire, capable of coaching and encouraging members to bring out the very best in themselves and the choir. Patience, a sense of fun and a commitment to our ethos of inclusivity are important. The person appointed will work collaboratively with the committee, show strong leadership and have excellent communication skills.

The appointment is remunerated dependent on experience, and would be subject to an annual review, on a fee per rehearsal/performance basis plus reasonable travel expenses and as such will therefore be a self-employed position.

Please see our website <www. https://musicmakerschoir.wordpress.com/> for more details about us.

To express your interest and for further details please contact our chair Irene Leach ichristie66@live.com. Applications should be made to Irene enclosing a CV and letter of application, maximum of two sides of A4, setting why you are interested in this position, how you would put together an annual programme and what you can bring to the choir should you be successful with your application. Longlisted candidates will be invited to an interview (possibly by Zoom) and then a shortlist of candidates invited, on a separate date, to be auditioned by running part of a choir rehearsal.

Applications should be received by 28th November 2020. 

Back to vacancies