Director of Music (Organist and Choir Director)

Little St Mary's Cambridge is seeking to appoint a Director of Music from 1 May 2010, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The Church: LSM is a thriving city church with an exceptionally fine acoustic, renowned for upholding the English Catholic tradition. Sung Mass is celebrated on Sundays and Feast Days; there are plainsong propers and Psalms, and the Ordinary of the Mass is usually congregational, although the Choir sing settings of Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei from time to time. Evensong (with Benediction) is sung every Sunday. Total Sunday congregations average 135, and there are normally over 100 communicants at the Sunday High Mass. The musical activities of the Church have expanded significantly under the last Director of Music, Christian Rutherford, who has been in the post for over 12 years. A new Kenneth Tickell organ was installed in 2007.

The job: the Director of Music is in charge of both an adult Parish Choir and a young people's Junior Choir. Currently, the Parish Choir sing both on Sunday mornings, and on weekday Feast Days; the Junior Choir join them for High Mass twice a month, and sing once a month at Evensong and Benediction. This pattern, and the separate identity of the two Choirs, is open for assessment by the new Director of Music in consultation with the Vicar. The Choirs have combined to sing Evensong at Ely, Norwich, Peterborough and St Edmundsbury Cathedrals in recent years. The choirs rehearse separately and together on Friday evenings and there is a further rehearsal before Mass on Sundays and Feast Days. The Junior Choir is supported by a number of bursaries for the more advanced singers, and an organ scholarship is also offered annually. There is an Assistant Organist who assists at Sunday High Mass and in particular with the Junior Choir. A Music Fund allows for the purchase of new music and supports other choir activities. A pre-junior choir (directed by a volunteer) meets on Fridays and acts to some extent as a feeder for the Junior Choir. The Director of Music will normally be present at both High Mass and Evensong on Sundays and for Sung Mass on weekday Festivals, but in addition to the Assistant Organist and Organ Scholar there are other duty organists available to deputise when necessary. The Director of Music is also expected to be involved in the musical life of the Church more generally and to be involved in the organisation of an annual concert programme.

The person: The successful candidate will be a talented organist and choir trainer, sympathetic to Anglo-Catholic liturgy, with experience of traditional choir repertory and plainchant, and capable of keyboard improvisation. He or she will be keen to build upon the current foundations and further extend the involvement of children and young people in the choir. He or she will promote LSM as a place where the finest music can be heard both within and outside the context of the liturgy.

Remuneration: The salary will be in the order of £5000 per annum, depending upon experience and qualifications. The salary is reviewed annually. Playing for weddings and funerals is additionally remunerated. The organist receives six weeks paid holiday a year.

Applications (in the form of a covering letter, describing what the applicant would hope to achieve in the post, a curriculum vitae, and the names and contact details of three referees) should be sent as electronic files attached to an e-mail to the Vicar, the Revd. Canon Andrew Greany, by March 8th 2010.