Are you an experienced organist looking for an opportunity to promote an environment in which a breadth of musical styles and genres can flourish, reflecting the interests of both the Catholic heritage on which the Chapel was founded and the diverse College community?
If so, St Edmund’s College is recruiting a Director of Chapel Music and Organist to start in the new year.
Due to the nature of the role, the incumbent must be able to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, to allow for the variation in the level of duties across a full academic year.
Job Responsibilities
* To play the organ (including private practice & preparation):
* for the weekly Sunday Mass during term-time and the Sundays immediately before and after;
* for all major College occasions involving the Chapel, such as the Feast of St Edmund, the Advent Carol Service, the Commemoration of Benefactors, and Matriculation & Inauguration Ceremonies;
* To provide and direct a choir to contribute to worship on occasional Sunday mornings throughout the year;
* To recruit singers for the Chapel Schola, via the annual Intercollegiate Choral Awards Scheme and auditions throughout the academic year;
* To rehearse and train the Chapel Schola and to direct them on major College occasions;
* To represent the College at Directors of Music meetings;
* To plan appropriate repertoire/music lists for all Chapel services, with due sensitivity to the nature and liturgical requirements of the different services and their congregations, the technical abilities of the singers, and time available for rehearsal, while maintaining a balance of eras and styles of music, and nurturing the personal, spiritual, and musical development of each individual singer;
* To plan the music, in consultation with the Dean, for major College occasions, Holy Week and Easter Day services, to organise (visiting) choirs for each service, and to play the organ and direct the music for each service;
* To produce congregational liturgies for special services, such as the Feast of St Edmund, the Advent Carol Service, the Commemoration of Benefactors, and various one-off Complines and Vespers, as they arise; preparing and printing service sheets and booklets.
* To establish and maintain the choir library, including:
* The acquisition of music sets, either by negotiation of available budget in consultation with the Dean, or creation of sets from one’s own editions of out-of-copyright music;
* Cataloguing and organising the library;
* Mending and maintaining copies where necessary;
* To be responsible for ordering stationery for the use of the Chapel;
* To negotiate the budget from the CR, and to then deliver singing lessons to members of the Chapel Choir and Schola, where appropriate, either personally or by delegating to an appropriate person;
* To arrange deputy organists for the University vacations;
* To liaise with tutorial and other staff for the use of Teaching Room 2 as a choir vestry;
* To maintain a database of Chapel Choir & Schola alumni, and to keep them up-to-date with choir-related happenings;
* To nurture good relations with other ‘St Edmund’ foundations, i.e. St Edmund Hall, Oxford; St Edmund’s College, Ware; and St Edmund’s School, Canterbury;
* To be responsible for all Chapel bookings (both internal and external) being entered on the College system;
* To curate the Chapel organ in terms of access and maintenance;
* To be available to provide music for any weddings, funerals, and baptisms etc. which may take place throughout the year, for which finance to be negotiated with the party concerned.
* Work with colleagues to share best practice and ensure policies are adhered to.
* Ensure the upkeep of the College, report any problems as necessary and help to keep the College litter-free.
* Suggest and implement new ways of working and ideas, be an advocate for Continuous Improvement.
* Adhere to Health and Safety policies and procedures.
* Complete ad hoc tasks as required.
Person Specification
Experience
* A good organist
* Experience creating and producing documents
* Experience in performing and directing choral music, including sacred choral music.
* Understanding of budget responsibility, support funding requests to college committees. (desirable)
* Experience recruiting singers for Chapel (desirable)
Skills
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
* Excellent organisation and planning skills.
* Excellent knowledge of liturgical and other music
* Proven ability to work independently and co-operatively with others.
* Sympathetic to the central academic mission of St Edmund’s College, its pastoral responsibility and its commitment to diversity and equality, with an ability to relate positively to people from a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities and of all faiths or none.
If you feel that you fit most but not all of the above criteria, we would still love to hear from you.
Benefits
* Working daily allowance for food and drinks*
* Free car parking (where available)
* 25 days holiday plus bank holidays (increasing with length of service)
* Generous pension contributions
* Discounts at restaurants, shops & more
* Outdoor gym
* Death in service
* Access to LinkedIn Learning & Business Disability Forum
About St Edmund’s College
St Edmund’s College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. Our vibrant student body is made up of around 420 post-graduates and 130 mature undergraduates. With over 260 senior members – academics working at the cutting edge of their field or eminent members of their profession – and around 70 staff, you will be joining a dynamic and growing College with an ambitious vision for our role in shaping the future of higher education and collaborative research.
The maturity of our community means that we have earned a reputation as the friendly college. Relaxed, non-hierarchical and diverse, we pride ourselves on being a place in Cambridge where people of all backgrounds are welcomed, will feel at home and can flourish. Therefore, we welcome all candidates regardless of their demographic characteristics such as gender, race, disability, neurodiversity, religion, age, sex & sexual identity to apply for our opportunities.
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: £6,077.00 per year
Expected hours: 12 per week
Application deadline: 05/01/2025
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