Contact:
Samuel Dennis
Email:
fr.sam.dennis@gmail.com
Phone:
07940576397
Address:
St. Luke's Church
Portland Road
Locality:
London
Postcode/Zip:
SE25 4RB
Musical Requirements:
We are looking for a choir director at St Luke's Woodside to build up our children's and adult choirs.
The post does not need to be filled by an organist; but organists are very welcome to apply.
More information here:
https://www.stlukeswoodside.org.uk/about-us/choir-director-vacancy/
Other details:
St Luke, Woodside is a lively Church of England parish church, with a diverse congregation, worshipping in the modern catholic tradition. We value a mix of traditional hymns and more contemporary worship songs. We have a strong vision for how music can be part of our mission, enriching our worship, reaching our wider community, and providing access to musical education. As part of this we want to establish a Choir Church.
On most Sundays we now have 70-100 in church, drawn from a worshipping community roughly double that size. Our congregation is local, and reflects the ethnic and social diversity of our neighbourhood. We regularly have over 20 children in church.
St. Luke has a small adult choir consisting of volunteers from the congregation with varying musical abilities. In the past the choir usually practiced once a week, and in the last year they have been practising on Sunday morning before the Eucharist.
Our previous director of music set up a children’s choir after Easter in 2022, that joined the adult choir for special services. It is still in its early days, but thanks to the excellent start he made, there is a lot of enthusiasm for this choir to continue and grow. We often had 10 children at the rehearsal.
The rehearsals were happening after the Sunday Eucharist, and the majority of the children have been drawn from the existing worshipping community.
At St Luke’s we are keen to establish a Choir Church, and move the rehearsal time to an after school session – to reach families who are not already part of the St Luke’s congregation, and build on our strong links with local schools.
We have both an electric organ, and a piano in church.
The Role
St Luke’s, Woodside is looking for an ambitious choir director. The role involves running St Luke’s Adult Choir, all of whom are volunteer singers, towards weekly services where they lead the worship with hymns and occasional anthems. It also involves developing the new St Luke’s Choir Church, who will also sing sporadically (at major services), establishing them as a choral foundation within the local area.
The role will suit someone with strong choral rehearsal skills, who has experience working with children. They will also require a solid understanding of the liturgy and how the music reflects the time of year. They do not need to be an organist.
The post is for 1 day (7 hours) a week (split between Sunday morning, and another half day a week for rehearsals, planning or assemblies).
The salary will be £7,000 per year. There is scope for this to increase, as the role grows - and if more hours are required.
The regular duties include:
Directing the choir at the 10am Parish Eucharist on Sunday morning.
Encouraging and planning the growth of our choirs, from within the congregation and the wider community.
Building on existing relationships with local schools, including Oasis Academy Ryelands, Oasis Academy Shirley Park and the Woodside Academy, working with staff at the schools to develop a collaborative approach to supporting choristers, ensuring streams of recruitment and mechanisms for referring pupils to the choirs.
Leading a regular midweek practice with the adult choir.
Developing a junior choir practice, after school one day a week.
Working closely with the parish priest to pick hymns, worship songs, Mass settings and anthems.
Working closely with the parish priest to develop a strategy for the growth of music and engagement in the parish.
Work alongside organists in leading music in the parish.
Following the diocesan safeguarding policies regarding working with children and vulnerable adults, and undertaking suitable training.
Working with the parish priest and Parish Safeguarding Officer to risk assess choir activities and special events.
Directing the choir for Christmas, Lent and Holy Week, and occasional evening services.
Work closely with pare...