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Evening Service Choral Director - St Bartholomew’s, Penn

Role Description

Saint Bartholomew’s, Penn is seeking an enthusiastic and inspirational Evening Service Choral Director from September 2024. We are a church that loves music and sees it as a vital part of our outreach in the parish and beyond. It is therefore an important appointment for St Bart’s, and we look forward to working with the appointed person to further enrich our worship and create beautiful music to the glory of God.

The Evening Choir is robed, with secondary school-age trebles, and adult SATBs and sings fully-Choral Evensong with responses, psalms, canticle settings, and anthems most weeks during term time. 

This challenging, yet stunningly beautiful music from the English choral tradition creates that ‘heavenly’ sound that helps us to pray and know the presence of God at Evensong.

The Evening Choir rehearses on Friday evenings (although this could be negotiable) and sings during the 5-30pm service every Sunday in term time as well as extra evening services during festivals such as Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter. Evening Choir choristers enjoy annual tours to sing at some of the most beautiful cathedrals in the country for a week, recently including York Minster, Bristol, Wells, and Worcester. The 2025 tour is to Worcester and Tewkesbury Abbey, and 2026 is to Truro.

Applicants do not need to be organists as there are two professional organists who play for services and Friday rehearsals can be accompanied by a pianist if required. The PCC is fully committed to the further development of music in our church into the future.

Core Duties

We are looking for an Evening Service Choral Director who will undertake the following core duties:

Rehearse the Choir one evening during the week (currently Friday evening 6-30-8-30pm). 
Rehearse the Choir at 4-30pm and direct the choir for the service at 5-30pm each Sunday in term time (No rehearsal or service during half term).
Recruit to our choirs, making links with local schools, choirs and other musical organisations that might provide useful partnerships.
Meet regularly with the Vicar, Organists and Hoodie Choir (Sunday morning) Choral Director to discuss and plan music and liaise on other relevant matters. This is over Zoom at a mutually convenient time.
Provide a deputy to undertake duties when not available. We have a list of current deputies.
Programme the music and direct the choir at the week-long cathedral choir tour each August.

Current Services involving our Evening Choir include:

• Sunday 5-30pm service with 4-30pm rehearsal: Choral Evensong, unless replaced with Advent Carol Service, Epiphany Carol Service, or termly Bereavement Service.

• Feast days: Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunrise service, Ascension Day, and Christmas Eve.

The Evening Choir is stood down one Sunday during half terms, two weeks after Christmas and Easter, and the summer holiday (apart, of course, for the week-long residential cathedral choir tour). 

Skills and Qualities

We are looking for a Choral Director who displays the following skills and qualities:

• An accomplished, inspirational, and confident church musician with a natural sympathy for the liturgy.

• Skilled in training and rehearsing choirs and able to be firm but also understanding and tolerant.

• Able to work collaboratively with the clergy and other officers of the church in a flexible manner.

• Willing to encourage the talents of our choristers.

• Able to work with children’s choirs or children generally.

• A proactive approach to the challenge of recruiting new choir members in a manner that maintains standards but also broadens participation.

• An enthusiasm for sacred music, and the creativity and vision for developing our musical offering in new ways which enhances our tradition of worship, as well as a keenness to do new things.

• Good administrative, communication and forward-planning abilities.

About St Bartholomew’s (St Bart’s)

We are a lively and growing Church of England Church in the Diocese of Lichfield, situated in an attractive suburb of Wolverhampton. You can find out more about us by looking at our website - www.stbarts.org.uk.

Music at St Bart’s 

We have a long and distinguished tradition of sacred music and are fully committed to maintaining and expanding this into the long term. We have traditional choir stalls with cathedral-style music desks. There is also a choir vestry with an extensive choir library and our church has recently installed new heating and lighting systems. Our church has an organ built, in 1872, by Walkers, remodelled in 1974, and is shortly to be completely refurbished in order to serve our church and choirs for many years to come. There is also a Clavinova piano.

Choirs at St Bart’s 

St Bart’s Church is blessed with a wonderful community of talented individuals from all ages and backgrounds. We have two distinct choirs – the Hoodie Choir (Sunday morning) and the Evening Choir - with their own directors that lead our worship to God. They sing with commitment and passion.

Morning ‘Hoodie’ Choir 

This is led by Choral Director, Carly Birchell, and mainly comprises of younger children (Ages rising 5- 11 years old) who love to sing. There are no auditions and everyone is welcome whether they have been in a choir before or have no experience but would like to ‘give it a go’. Carly recruits to this choir from two school choirs that she leads as well as an infant after school club called ‘Little Cherubs’. The Hoodie Choir sing a mix of traditional and contemporary style hymns and anthems enhancing the worship at our 10am Sunday Eucharist.

The Hoodie Choir is friendly, relatively informal and inviting. The uniform for the young people during the services is purple hoodies (hence the name). The aim is for Hoodie choristers to progress, when ready, to the Evening Service Choir and this provides a rich source of recruitment.

The Hoodie choir meets for rehearsals on Mondays at 4pm. As part of this rehearsal, Carly gives free singing tuition. This develops musical ability and leads to the young people gaining ABRSM singing grades which can be used as UCAS points when applying for university. 

Organists at St Bart’s

We have two professional organists at St Bart’s - Gary Cole and Paul Carr, who cover all the service playing between them. Usually, Gary Cole plays for Sunday morning services and Paul Carr plays for Sunday evening services and the rehearsal immediately before.

Remuneration, Terms and Benefits

The appointed candidate need not necessarily be a Christian, but should be in sympathy with the mission and ministry of the Church of England.

This is a self-employment position using a standard contract and has been specifically designed to 

be achievable alongside other employment.

We would be looking to enter into a contract for the provision of services in which the successful applicant would be self-employed. Rates of remuneration would be negotiable based on the generous rates we are currently paying.

The Choral Director is welcome to use the church facilities for private tuition.

Applications

Applications should be made with a CV and a brief covering letter making reference to the role description above.

The deadline for applications is 16th July 2024. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held on the afternoon of 19th July 2024 - although alternative arrangements might be made in some cases. The interview will include an audition and a short practice with some members of the choir. 

Applications and any other enquiries should be emailed to the Parish Office – stbartspenn@googlemail.com

Informal enquiries may be made to the Vicar – vicar@stbarts.org.uk or 07742020246.

References from two nominated individuals will be requested from shortlisted candidates.

The Evening Service Choral Director will be expected to undertake Basic and Foundation safeguarding training (online) modules as well as apply for and receive an Enhanced DBS for working with children and vulnerable adults. The appointment is dependent upon a clear DBS being received.