Hornsey Parish Church is currently looking for an

ORGANIST/MUSIC DIRECTOR

To lead our committed choir, progress our musical tradition and play our 1959 J. W. Walker & Sons organ. Commitments include a choral service each Sunday and weekly choir practice, plus major festivals and occasional offices when required. Remuneration is in line with RSCM recommendations.

For full details of the church please go to our website www.hornseyparishchurch.org. For details of how to apply please contact Fr Bruce Batstone: fr.bruce@hornseyparishchurch.org 020 8883 6846.

DBS clearance required.

Applications by 4^th March

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About the church

Hornsey Parish Church is part of the Church of England in the Edmonton Area of the Diocese of London, which in turn is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. We are a diverse and vibrant church with a congregation representative of the varied community that Hornsey is: young and older; married, single and partnered; straight and gay; British and international. The style of our worship is focused upon the Eucharist. We see our liturgical life as very important: not fussy, and celebrated with attention and care.

Music and the choir

The musical director is a key figure in the leadership team at Hornsey Parish Church. With music at the centre of this liturgically focussed church, the Music Director has the opportunity to shape their own chapter in the musical life of our church.

Music in all its forms is vitally important to our worship here at Hornsey. We have a friendly, inclusive choir, which welcomes anyone who wants to take part in any of our musical activities.

For our weekly Sunday Eucharist (10.30 am service) the choir typically varies between 6-12 singers, mostly women but they are sometimes joined by a few male singers. There is a congregational mass setting and hymns, and the choir sings an anthem and responsorial psalm every week. We have tended over the past years to have a Friday evening rehearsal during term time. For important occasions, such as our carol service, additional singers enable us to have a full complement of SATB voices. We would like the new Music Director to grow the regular choir (particularly men).

Music at Hornsey Parish Church is “traditional” in many ways, and the hymn book we use is Ancient and Modern. We seek a Music Director who will be confident leading in this milieu, but able to bring an openness to music from a variety of other traditions too.

We also have a number of very able instrumentalists who regularly play together in the liturgy, and this is something we would ask a new musical director to nurture and grow.

There are occasional midweek festival services, a full set of Christmas and Easter services, and the Music Director has first refusal on occasional offices.

The organ and piano

The church was built in 1959 and the organ is original to the building, a 1959 J. W. Walker & Sons organ, rebuilt and enlarged in 1984 by Saxon Aldred, electrical action with “solid state” relay, 2 manuals, one pedal board and 1300 pipes. We also have a very good quality grand piano on permanent loan from another church. Both are regularly tuned.

Other opportunities

Hornsey Parish Church has a tradition of using the performing arts as part of its missional strategy. Our most recent musical, ‘Oh! What a Lovely War”, staged in 2018, was the most recent in a series of productions performed in the church, including ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, a passion play ‘The Son’, and ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’,the latter two with original music written for the show by a congregation member who is a theatrical composer.

Whilst we would not assume that the Music Director will be involved in this part of the parish, there is an opportunity to contribute musically if they wished. Also, with a history of regular ‘Come and Sing’ days, occasional Evensong services, as well as musical opportunities in the church schools too, a Music Director could potentially be involved in a whole tapestry of church ministry.

Person specification

 Must be a team-player

 An especial ability to work well with the clergy team

 Organised

 Leadership ability, able to lead and encourage volunteers

 Kind and encouraging

 Sympathetic and empathetic

 Consultative and collaborative

 Treat everyone as individuals and at different level of musical proficiency – challenge them to be the best they can be

 Inclusive and welcoming

 Not competitive but generous, allowing the gifts of others to develop

 Sympathetic and understanding of the religious dimension of church life

 Sense of humour

 DBS clearance (this can be processed by the church if necessary)

Skills and qualifications

 Accomplished organist, pianist and conductor

 Good administration skills

 Good understanding of church music and liturgy

 Ability to plan music ahead, but flexible enough to improvise when things go wrong

Main responsibilities

 In consultation with clergy, to plan music for Sunday services and holy days

 To organise and lead evening choir rehearsals once a week and on Sunday before the service

 equipping the choir with resources and skills they need to participate fully in the music chosen

 To direct and manage the choir, and to seek to recruit new members

Remuneration

Remuneration is in line with RSCM recommendations

How to apply

To apply for the position of Organist/Musical Director at Hornsey Parish Church, please send a CV and letter of application to the Rector, including the names of two referees.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview, and asked to demonstrate both organ playing and choir direction ability.