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I. POSITION OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of this position is to maintain and grow a high-quality sacred music program at Our Lady of Good Counsel parish. This program is to be rooted in the sacred music tradition of the Church, most especially through Gregorian chant, polyphony, and to a lesser degree, hymnody. 

II. GENERAL PARISH BACKGROUND

Our Lady of Good Counsel is a parish of the Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph located in the Westport District in the heart of Kansas City, MO. Built in 1907, it is a beautiful church of traditional sacred architecture that seats roughly 330 people and is home to a total weekend Mass attendance of 600-650 people. 

Over the past 20 years, Our Lady of Good Counsel has become a place known for liturgical beauty and reverence. We have over 20 boys regularly serving as altar servers at our Sunday Masses, make use of a communion rail for the distribution of Holy Communion, celebrate all of our liturgies exclusively ad orientem from a high altar, chant Latin ordinaries when Mass is sung, and utilize incense throughout the entire calendar year at our principal Sunday Mass.

Additionally, our parish was erected in 2006 as the Diocesan Shrine to Divine Mercy & St. Faustina, and there is a thriving Chesterton Academy located on the parish premises.

III. PARISH MUSIC BACKGROUND

Our Lady of Good Counsel boasts a solid sacred music tradition stretching back 25+ years, with a choir that has consistently sung polyphony and, more recently, easy to moderate Gregorian chant propers (both English and Latin). Our congregation currently sings Mass VIII on most Sundays of the year, Mass XVII during Advent and Lent, and, at the principal Mass, Credo III. 

Currently there are two choirs, one at each Sunday Mass. The early Mass is a lower-commitment parish choir which sings simple motets and simple English chant propers. The later Sunday Mass is an auditioned choir, including four paid section leaders, which practices for ~2 hours per week and sings more complex polyphonic pieces, including most of the Gregorian Propers from the Graduale Romanum (except the Gradual and Alleluia). That being said, starting with the new choral season in August, the two choirs will be combined into a single choir due to a change in our Sunday Mass schedule.

Finally, I (the pastor) have a deep love and appreciation for sacred music, so my plan is to be as involved and supportive as possible in the development of the sacred music program here at Good Counsel.

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I. ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Choral conducting

·  Conducting the parish choir (Assumption thru Corpus Christi) for the principal Sunday Mass (9:30am), Holy Days of Obligation, Holy Week, and other select feasts.

·  Conducting a small schola/choir for Sung Vespers on Sunday evenings in Advent, Lent, and a select number of feasts throughout the year.

·  N.B. – With some frequency, engaged couples opt to have a paid quartet or even octet of singers for their weddings here. The choir director will have first right of refusal for conducting such a quartet or octet, and will be paid via stipend by the couple. 

Rehearsals

·  Rehearse with the parish choir for roughly 8 hours per month. This includes a 1-hour rehearsal on Sunday mornings prior to the 9:30am Mass (8:15-9:15am), as well as two 2-hour rehearsals on Wednesday nights during the month (most likely the 2nd and 4thWednesdays of the month).

·  Conduct additional rehearsals as needed for more saturated musical seasons (e.g. Holy Week).

Building up the parish choir

·  Regularly recruit and train new members for the parish choir.

·  Recruit and hire section leaders for the parish choir.

·  Recruit and hire instrumentalists for select feasts.

·  Facilitate the communal spirit of the choir through periodic social gatherings.

Administration

·  Schedule organists and cantors as needed for the early Sunday Mass (8:00am), weddings (12-15 per year), and funerals (2-4 per year).

·  Communicate effectively via e-mail and phone with choir members, musicians, and pastor.

·  Compile and maintain a list of approved music and musical guidelines for weddings and funerals.

·  Compile, edit, and print any leaflets or booklets that may be needed to assist the congregation with music.

Organ accompaniment

·  I am open to the choir director position being separate from the organist position OR for the choir director to also be the organist at the principal Mass. 

·  Due to the fact that the 9:30am choir will need to rehearse during the 8:00am Mass, it is not logistically possible for the choir director to be the organist at both Masses. The 8:00am Mass will have its own organist and cantor.

·  If the choir director ends up doubling as the organist for the 9:30am Mass, he or she would be expected to have excellent organ abilities.

Other

·  Fostering an atmosphere of reverence and decorum among choir members, primarily through one’s own example of proper worship of God during Mass.

II. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES

Choral conducting

·  Strong conducting skills, both in the areas of polyphony and Gregorian chant.

Individual Vocal Training

·  Ability to teach individuals how to sing Gregorian chant and polyphony, including those with no previous background. 

·  Ability to teach individuals how to chant the various tones for singing of the readings (prophecy tone, epistle tone, Gospel tone), and how to improve their general vocal ability.

Personal Vocal Ability

·  High proficiency in sightreading of Gregorian chant and polyphony, and ability to produce high-quality singing with one’s own voice.

Knowledge of the Church Documents on Music

·  Accurate and extensive knowledge of all Church documents pertaining to sacred music within the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite liturgy, and a working knowledge of other liturgical documents as well. This includes a good grasp of the principles found within, at minimum, the following:

o  Tra Le Sollecitudini (1903)

o  Musicae Sacrae (1955)

o  De Musica Sacra et Sacra Liturgia (1958)

o  Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963)

o  Musicam Sacram (1967)

Knowledge of the Church’s Music Tradition

·  Gregorian Chant: Solid knowledge of the history and development of Gregorian chant, robust familiarity with the Graduale Romanum and other current liturgical books connected to the singing of chant.

·  Polyphony: Solid knowledge of the history and development of polyphonic music, and the ability to easily research and select pieces of music most fitting for liturgical seasons/feasts and which correspond to the skill level of the singers at hand.

·  Extraordinary Form of the Mass: Familiarity with the musical structure of the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, or the willingness to learn. Currently Our Lady of Good Counsel celebrates Sung Masses in the extraordinary form on a select number of feast days throughout the year (around four times per year).

III. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Undergraduate degree in music, musicology, vocal performance, organ performance, or another related field is required.
• At least two years of experience leading and conducting sacred music is preferred.
• Practicing Catholic with ethical standards, personal integrity, and conduct consistent with the morals and teachings of the Catholic Church; includes faithful obedience to the Magisterium. 

Note: All employees are required to consent to a background check, commit to our Code of Conduct policy, and complete online and in-person trainings prior to hire.