Join Our Team! UUS is seeking a Choir/Music Director.

The Unitarian Universalist Society (UUS) is a welcoming, spiritually-diverse community committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals feel valued and respected. We are seeking a Choir/Music Director for our vibrant, engaged congregation of about 300 adult members and about 75 children and youth. 

Music programming at UUS enriches and helps develop our spiritual lives. We welcome all people interested in making music. As the Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM) says, “congregational music is created to celebrate the breadth and wealth of the world’s music which expresses and embodies the values of Unitarian Universalists.”

The UUS Music Program includes an adult choir, a children’s choir, string ensemble, flute ensemble, additional instrumentalists, and occasional concerts with musicians from the wider community. Our Staff Pianist and Music Outreach Coordinator works with our instrumental ensembles and coordinates our music outreach program. We hope to continue to deepen our congregational music-making and expand the diversity and reach of our concert program with our new Choir/Music Director.

We are hiring this position at either the Choir or Music Director level, depending on candidate interest and qualifications. Please note in your application materials which level you are interested in. The Essential Functions section below gives additional details for each level of the position.

Work schedule:

Choir Director: Average 8 hours per week August through May, including Sundays. Option to run 4 weeks of musical theater camps full time in July.

Music Director: Average 15 hours per week August through May and 7 hours per week June – July, including Sundays. Option to run 4 weeks of musical theater camps full time in July.

How to Apply:

Our initial review of applications will begin August 12. Please send a letter of interest, resume, and supporting materials including a video clip of you leading others in making music to the Music Director Search Team via admin@uusic.org.

Compensation:

Starting salary range $23.50 – $25 hourly. Benefits include paid time off; a professional expenses budget; and depending on position level may include the ability to enroll in UUA benefits plan including health without subsidy.

The Choir/Music Director will, with our other staff musician, have right of first refusal for rites of passage held at UUS. In addition, the Choir/Music Director may be able to use UUS facilities for rehearsal space (rooms and amount of time to be negotiated).

We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including people with disabilities, people of color, indigenous people, Hispanic/Latinx, and LGBTQ+ candidates. UUS is committed to developing a diverse and talented staff team, and we welcome inquiries and applications from candidates who are excited about this role even if they do not meet all of the requirements listed.

Essential Functions for Choir Director

• Collaborate with the Minister, staff, and volunteers to plan and administer choral music programs that provide inspiration during worship, enrich congregational life, and expand outreach to the community. Recruit, encourage, and coach people of all ages and skill levels into established choirs or new collaborations.
• Direct the choirs at weekly rehearsals and during Sunday worship services. The adult choir usually sings two Sundays per month and the children’s choir one Sunday per month from late August – May.
• Lead choral music planning for all worship services. Through planning and collaboration with the minister, staff, worship associates, guest worship leaders, and other musicians, ensure pieces fit together in a cohesive whole at each worship service. Make musical selections consistent with the mission and vision, and worship culture of UUS, taking care to draw from diverse musical styles and source materials. Ensure we have choral music rights necessary for multi-platform (in-person and online) worship service broadcast. Coordinate with AV Team on video, sound, and recording needs.
• Coordinate members to serve as congregational song leader or personally serve as song leader.
• Maintain and continue to develop the music library, selecting and purchasing music when needed. 
• Work collaboratively with the staff, minister, board, and music and worship teams. Attend worship planning meetings, meetings with the minister, and other meetings as needed. Manage expenses within budget lines. Schedule rehearsals and events on UUS’s calendar. Provide reports as needed. Maintain contact with music colleagues through AUUMM.

Additional Essential Functions for Music Director

• Collaborate with the Minister, staff, and volunteers to plan and administer music performance and participation programs and activities that provide inspiration during worship, enrich congregational life, and expand outreach to the community.
• With other staff musician, recruit, encourage, and coach musicians of all ages and skill levels into various types of established ensembles (e.g., string, wind, piano) or into new collaborations. Develop and collaboratively lead needed volunteer teams. 
• Lead overall music planning for all worship services, ensuring all pieces fit together in a cohesive whole. May occasionally provide piano or other instrumental accompaniment. Schedule and coordinate with guest musicians.
• Provide overall oversight of technology and music rights needed for successful multi-platform (in-person and online) worship services, including coordinating with AV Team on video, sound, and recording needs. 
• Supervise the Staff Accompanist and Music Outreach Coordinator, collaborating with them to integrate the music outreach program with worship services and other programming. Support opportunities for musical performance/participation outside of Sunday morning services, drawing on the resources of a musical congregation and acoustic sanctuary performance space.
• Arrange for the continued maintenance of UUS’s musical instruments and related equipment, including regular tuning of the pianos.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience with choral or ensemble directing.
• Solid understanding of diverse musical styles and resources, and the ability to select music suitable for Unitarian Universalist worship. At music director level, coursework or continuing education in music theory or musical applications/leadership preferred.
• Organizational and planning skills that are needed to promote constructive collaboration and planning with professional staff and volunteers.
• Ability to use email, Google workspace, and other technology needed to communicate with staff and volunteers.
• Ability to provide music in a multiplatform worship environment. Willingness to learn new technology.
• At music director level, piano/accompaniment experience preferred.
• Willingness to submit to and pass a background check.