Minneapolis: Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy, Good Shepherd Catholic Church and School [FT]

Musica Sacra; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Good Shepherd Catholic Church seeks a Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy to build a vibrant program for liturgical music. The candidate will coordinate choirs, play organ, and enhance the worship experience through diverse musical styles, rooted in Catholic traditions. This role offers an opportunity to shape the church's musical vision and engage the congregation effectively.

Benefits

Professional development opportunities

Support for hiring professional musicians

Qualifications

• Minimum of a college music degree.
• Excellent skills as either a vocalist or an organist.
• Experience directing a choir.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and direct parish choral ensembles and instrumentalists.
• Maintain a program of sacred liturgical music.
• Educate the faithful on the role of liturgical music.

Skills

Vocal skills

Organ performance

Choral directing

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Education

College music degree

Master’s degree in Choral Conducting or Organ Performance (preferred)

Job description

Minneapolis: Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy, Good Shepherd Catholic Church and School [FT]

This is my current job. Leaving on good terms. Feel free to email me at [e-mail] with any questions.

Original post: https://careers.archspm.org/job/director-of-sacred-music-liturgy-2/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Good Shepherd Catholic Church and School is seeking a talented and faith filled individual to join our parish staff as our next Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy. This is an exciting time to join our team as we enter into our first year with our soon to be appointed pastor (as of July 1, 2024). The primary duty of the Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy is to build and maintain a program of sacred liturgical music for the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful, in collaboration with the Pastor.

The Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy shall coordinate and direct the parish choral ensembles, cantors and instrumentalists, and shall regularly serve as either principal organist or principal cantor (depending on whether he/she is a trained vocalist (with strong piano skills) or a trained organist or, ideally, both). The Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy shall seek to furnish the liturgy with music that possesses holiness, beauty of form, and universality, in accordance with the liturgical law and traditions of the Roman Rite. The Director of Sacred Music and Liturgy shall seek to educate the faithful on the role and nature of liturgical music.

A competitive salary will reflect a candidate’s abilities, training, and experience. While it is preferred this person is a practicing Roman Catholic, it is not required.

In Advent 2021, Good Shepherd moved to the St. Michael Hymnal and utilizes this in combination with resources from the Source and Summit online database. The congregational repertoire includes the Richard Proulx Missa Simplex and Lee Congregational Mass during Ordinary Time, Mass XVII (Kyrie, Agnus) during Lent and Advent, and the Mass of St. Philip Neri for Christmas, Easter and solemnities. At the 10:30am principal Mass, the choir regularly chants the Introit from Samuel Weber’s Propers of the Mass and communion antiphons from the Gregorian Missal. Psalm tone antiphons, sung by cantor, are employed at other weekend Masses.

The 10:30am Mass is typically furnished with two motets, at the offertory and communion. The small-but-mighty choir (currently 10-12 singers) sings for most weekends from early September through Corpus Christi, as well as all major feast days and holidays. The parish Youth Choir (currently 18 members) draws students from both the parish and school and rehearses weekly, singing for 7-8 Sunday Masses per year, often in combination with the adult choir. Both choirs put on an annual Advent Lessons and Carols, and this year mounted Mozart’s Missa Brevis in G for the parish festival Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

The parish supports a robust budget for hiring professional musicians, the core of which is a paid quartet of section leaders who fill out the volunteer choir, sing for seasonal 8:30am liturgies as an ensemble, and cantor other weekend Masses throughout the year.

The pastor’s vision for music includes continuing to grow the existing program, drawing from traditional hymnody while introducing a wider variety of modern genres and utilizing the piano more in addition to the organ. The Director of Sacred Music & Liturgy will work with the pastor to continue to form a comprehensive vision for liturgical sacred music. Together they will continue to grow a music program that is deeply rooted in the tradition of the Catholic Church.

QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum of a college music degree (Preferred: master’s degree in Choral Conducting or Organ Performance or equivalent)
Excellent skills as either a vocalist or an organist (Preferred: both)
Experience directing a choir
Working knowledge of the human voice and an aptitude for giving instruction to choristers with varied degrees of ability and experience
Stylistic understanding of a broad range of choral repertoire, including Gregorian Chant, Polyphony, Romantic choral repertoire, and modern-era compositions
Working knowledge of the Catholic Church’s teachings, history, liturgy and traditions
Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to relate to people of all demographics
Strong administrative, organizational, computer, and communication skills
Well-rounded professionalism, including ability to provide and receive constructive feedback, work well without supervision, exhibit patience in stressful situations, etc.
Successful completion of required background checks and safety trainings
Preferred:
1-3 years’ experience as a professional church musician
Visual design computer skills for producing worship aids

To participate in the discussions on Catholic church music, sign in or register as a forum member, The forum is a project of the Church Music Association of America.