Choir Director - Father Dyer UMC, Breckenridge, CO

Father Dyer United Methodist Church in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado seeks a new experienced choir director. This person will be responsible for providing leadership in the area of choral music and overall music worship during services and events in the life of the church. The Chancel Choir consists of 15-25 committed and welcoming members that fluctuate during the high and low seasons. They at minimum sing one choral anthem and two hymns each week. The choir rehearses from 6-7pm on Wednesday evenings, and 8-8:45am Sundays before the 9:00am service. The church utilizes two baby grand pianos and a large two manual organ with pedals. The Choir Director will continue to lead the choir and hired instrumentalists in two large multi-movement works during the Christmas and Easter seasons. This is a year-round salaried position, with flexibility to take weeks off with clear communication with the pastor and accompanist.

Qualifications:

• Preferred Bachelor's degree in music, church music, other related degree, or equivalent experience.
• Experience in choral conducting.
• Demonstrated skill and competency at the piano.
• Knowledge of church music (classical, contemporary, folk, and gospel) and the role of music in worship.
• Knowledge of basic music theory, including simple transpositions or harmonizing a melody.
• Ability to match appropriate keyboard music with the themes of the Church Year.

Duties and Responsibilities:
—Develop a choir capable of singing weekly at the 9am worship service in a variety of musical styles, including traditional and contemporary Christian music.
—Direct the choir during weekly Sunday worship services and lead weekly scheduled rehearsals.
—Develop a choir calendar that includes weekly participation in the 9am worship service.
—Work with the Pastor in planning major musical events (i.e. Christmas Cantata, Christmas Eve, Easter and summer high season special events).
—Work collaboratively with the Pastor in the selection of choral music that reflects a wide variety of musical styles ranging from traditional to contemporary music.
—Work with the Pastor to plan worship services and to select music that will enhance the worship experience.
—Provide to the church Office Manager choral selections for each week.
—Purchase choral music within annual budget and maintain the choral music library.
—Coordinate with the Pastor on Sundays that you are not directing--who will fill in for offering, hymns and other music selections.
—Recruit new choir members from within the overall church body.
—Hire and collaborate with instrumentalists and guest musicians from the community and Front Range for special music services throughout the year.

Working Hours:
Contact time in church 3-4 hours per week, with expected musical preparation and administrative duties time of 5-6 hours per week. This is a "quarter-time" position.

Salary:
Salary range is $14,000-18,000, based on experience and qualifications. There is a 3% salary increase each year employed.