Director of Music and Sacred Arts
CHAPEL MUSIC PROFILE:
The Royal Poinciana Chapel was built in 1898 of Victorian Gothic style often referred to as Colonial. First called a “Meeting House” the Chapel was constructed by Henry Morrison Flagler from plans from J.W. Ingle with intent to blend the Chapel with and to serve Flagler’s northern guests at The Royal Poinciana Hotel. Henry Flagler’s charter for the Chapel at its inception carries to the present supported by the RELGAF foundation established by George Matthews, Henry Flagler’s great-grandson. That musical charter continues to assure that magnificent and inspiring sacred music will grace and fill the Chapel every Sunday morning for the singular purpose of assisting and uplifting all in the corporate worship of Almighty God. The Chapel’s grand Austin Opus 2685 organ (see attached description) and a Baldwin Concert Grand Piano along with a nine member professional chorale assist greatly to that end. The Chapel boasts of having served by the finest of organists and music directors from across America. The Chapel is benefited by its widely acclaimed and appreciated reformed worship history and its traditional repertoire of choral and instrumental music, its variety of classical, choral and instrumental concert series, its energetic congregational singing and its pastor who concurs that both great music and proclamation are integral to a vital worship experience. In addition the Chapel’s recently refurbished historic Seagull Cottage now houses a music conservatory with a new Steinway Grand for smaller venue piano, chamber concerts and voice recitals. Outstanding church music has and will always be a hallmark of the Royal Poinciana Chapel.
OBJECTIVE:
To select, play, teach, conduct sacred music and to offer one’s musical leadership to Chapel worship services with energy, intelligence, imagination and musical inspiration all to Glory of God and to foster a collegial working relationship with Chapel staff, leaders and congregation
REPORTS TO:
Pastor as Head of Staff
QUALIFICATIONS:
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts is a pastoral musician who is a believer of the Christian tradition with a professed and strong commitment to living out the Gospel. He/She is a minister who shares faith, serves the community, and expresses the love of God and neighbor through music.
Ministerial skills should include:
- The ability to interact with congregation, staff, and other chapel musicians.
- The ability to make cultural and ethnic adaptations appropriate to the congregation
- The ability to empower the people to sing
- The ability to engage the congregation in the musical celebrations of faith at worhip.
- The ability to train and direct music staff, congregational volunteers, and young people.
- The ability to provide musical ministry to persons planning weddings and funerals.
Musical skills should include:
- Significant ability as a performing artist at the organ console
- Creative and energetic leadership of hymn singing from the console.
- Innovative improvisational skills for appropriate service playing.
- Proficiency at sight-reading and performing accompaniments of standard choral anthem and traditional sacred solos.
- Proficiency at sight-reading accompaniments and improvisation of more contemporary sacred musical expressions, including some skills of transposition.
- Significant experience and ability to conduct choral ensembles both from the keyboard and, when needed, from the podium.
- Appropriate experience and ability to work with a wide variety of professional and student instrumentalists.
Organizational skills should include:
- The coordination of all music ministries
- Budget planning and administration
- Scheduling of all staff musicians and guest musicians, including the timely distribution of schedules
- The maintenance of the music library
- The care and maintenance of all instruments including the long-range planning for the care of the chapel’s pipe organ
FUNCTION:
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts will plan, prepare, rehearse and execute all music and arts for worship and special occasions in the life of the Chapel so that the total fellowship of the congregation and community through musical outreach is enriched and enlivened.
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts will serve as principal organist, pianist and music director, choral and instrumental conductor for all services of worship, weddings, funerals and memorial services and is responsible for provision of a suitable substitute in one’s absence.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY:
Responsible for scheduling and directing the chapel’s professional chorale, occasional youth and children vocal groups and seasonal instrumental ensembles and for leadership given to initiatives related to sacred drama and the arts
Responsible liaison for the recruitment, coordinating the scheduling and professional conduct including contracts with all musical and artistic groups using the Chapel and Seagull Cottage
Responsible for the purchase and maintenance of the Chapel’s music library and liturgical and artistic enhancements to the worship life of the Royal Poinciana Chapel
Responsible for monitoring, seasonal tuning, upkeep and all maintenance of Chapel musical instruments; organ, pianos, harpsichord, and tower chimes
Responsible for the development, communication, review and fiscal accounting for the Chapel’s working annual budget, and particularly the worship, music and sacred arts component of it
COMPETENCIES:
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts position anticipates a highly educated, classically trained, extremely competent, performing and church musician who will serve as principle organist, pianist, and choral director. This requires one who is well-rehearsed, organized, and whose style is one of grace, improvisation and ease when inspiring and directing others, especially other gifted music professionals. Glorifying God with the use of his/her musical gifts, talents and leadership while fostering strong and supportive congregational and community relationships is key among the listed competencies as well as knowledgeable of the appropriate sacred choral and organ repertoire for the traditional worship services.
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts will work collegially with the pastor to coordinate the music played and sung in worship in a manner supportive to and coinciding with the preaching and seasonal liturgical themes.
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts should be professionally engaged and connected to the AGO or other musical professional organizations for inspiration and continuing education.
As Director of Music and Sacred Arts he/she should be able to orchestrate and plan a season of music at a time, he/she should be an initiator, adapter and personal administrator operating without additional layer of professional and ministry area administrative support and one who is not afraid to nurture, develop and ask for occasional volunteer assistance.
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts must be able to commit to a full-time annual position and to accommodate the “natural” seasonal flux in Palm Beach of high/low worship attendance, congregational availability and participation.
The Director of Music and Sacred Arts is a highly visible, audible and respected position of leadership at the Chapel and the person holding this position is to have the internal character and musical competency and spiritual integrity that befits the position of spiritual leadership.
Applicants should address the following material to:
Dr. Robert S. Norris, Pastor
Royal Poinciana Chapel
60 Cocoanut Row
Palm Beach, FL 33480
1. Letter of Application that succinctly addresses the specific published qualifications for the position
2. Current Resume or CV
3. List of 5 references and contact information (no letters needed)
4. Only one CD/DVD or a listing of URLs of YouTube files of any relevant performances from the past three years.