Position Title: Director of Music Ministry

Position Type: Salaried Non-Exempt

Position Hours: Part-time 15 hrs/wk

Salary Range: $15,000 - $19,000, commensurate with experience

Reports to: Minister

Start Date: August 01, 2026

Our congregation loves music! We have an enthusiastic 15-20-member choir in a congregation of 75 people. We strive to build a musical community, whether that’s congregational or choral singing, sharing a musical offering, or participating in a musical workshop or activity. If you are passionate about music, we want to talk to you!

Please send resume, letter of interest, and, as desired, video or audio recordings as examples of your work: minister@uumiddleboro.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, withan anticipated start date of August 1, 2026.

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Our Church

The First Unitarian Universalist Society has been serving individuals and families in Middleboro and surrounding towns since 1889. We are known for our vibrant music program, meaningful and thought-provoking services, and many opportunities to become involved. We are committed to spiritual growth and lifelong learning with religious exploration that promotes creativity, integrity, and compassion. Our vision is to build a world that is more loving and more just for all people.

Our Music Program

Music is a pillar of our community at UU Middleboro. We invite our members to explore a variety of musical styles, to focus on excellence rather than perfection, to support Sunday Morning worship, and to carry our ministry out into the world.

We are extremely fortunate to have an endowment that supplements our music budget. This fund enables us to offer special musical events such as: public concerts with invited jazz, folk, contemporary, and classical performers; drumming workshops; vocal workshops; an annual Jazz Sunday worship service, and an annual Music Sunday. We also enjoy a quarterly evening Folk Song Circle open to all.

Our Music Makers: Singers and Instrumentalists

The Chalice Choir is open to all and sings every other Sunday, making room for other solos and ensembles to share their musical offerings on alternate Sundays. Currently, choir rehearsals are Tuesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 PM. Sunday morning is set aside for musicians to prepare for worship.

We have many fine instrumentalists in our congregation who share their gifts in worship as well as for fundraising activities. Instruments include guitar, ukulele, mandolin, flute, recorder, crumhorn, percussion, and hammered dulcimer. We are open to more!

The Music Committee

The Music Committee, currently seven members, is focused on supporting our church’s music ministry and music director. It is our intent to help enrich the goals of the Society, including spiritual and personal growth of congregants and outreach to the community at large. We strive to build a program of inclusivity as well as excellence. We wish to promote diversity, creativity, fun, fellowship, and community through music.

Our Instruments

We have a Mason & Hamlin baby grand piano, purchased new in 2019. This piano was hand-made in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and produces state-of-the-art depth and quality of sound.

Installed in the chancel, we have a historic Woodbury & Harris tracker organ, circa 1890. It has two manuals, plus a 27-note pedal board, and the mechanism is fully mechanical. The organ was most recently refurbished by Andover Organ Company in 2014 and is listed in the Organ Historical Society Database.

We also have a versatile digital piano (Yamaha DGX-670) with 88 fully-weighted keys; features such as transposition and on-board recording; rich authentic-sounding grand piano voices and 630 instrument settings; as well as an older Yamaha P-120 on indefinite loan to the church.

Overall Purposes of the Program

• To develop, implement, and oversee a comprehensive, quality music program.

• To guide and spiritually nurture a lively community of those who wish to participate in the musical life of the Congregation.

• To honor the musical diversity of our community.

Responsibilities:

• Worship service: Perform service music for weekly Sunday services and the special evening service on Christmas Eve on piano/organ including prelude, interludes, postlude, hymns, offertory. Every other Sunday direct and accompany the choir. Plan monthly Family Services with the Minister and Director Religious Exploration (DRE).

• Choir: Schedule and direct weekly rehearsals of the choir from late August to June; provide practice materials for choir members; communicate with choir members via email and phone; recruit and train new members; support enjoyment and musical growth of individual members and the group; serve as accompanist. Invite everyone to participate in Family Choir several times throughout the year.

• Planning: Collaborate regularly with the Minister and DRE to select congregational hymns and special music compatible with the service theme, collaborate with Music Committee to obtain publishers’ permissions for the use of copyrighted materials. Work in conjunction with the Music Committee in preparing the annual music program budget.

• Repertoire: Review, select, and purchase instrumental and choral music as needed; organize and maintain a choral library and a personal library of piano/organ literature.

• Special Music: Arrange for guest musicians from within and outside the congregation, as desired.

• Promotion and Communication: advocate for and publicize the music program through the monthly newsletter, website, and social media. Prepare an Annual Report for Annual Meeting.

• Special Events: consult with other church leaders to plan and coordinate music for special programs such as concerts, fundraisers, and social justice gatherings.

• Instrument Care: supervise the care, tuning, maintenance, and repair of the piano and organ including weekly monitoring of the piano humidistat.

• Substitutes: assist in arranging for a substitute musician when not able to be present.

• Professional Development: attend concerts and church music workshops, classes, conferences, and conventions; develop and maintain keyboard and choir direction skills with regular practice.

• Weddings and Funerals: have the right of first refusal to provide music for weddings, funerals, and memorial services as requested, for an additional fee paid by the families.

Critical Competencies:

• highly developed keyboard skills; familiarity with a wide range of keyboard literature; ability to play the organ is encouraged but not required

• ability to function as a collaborative pianist to build a musical community that provides music as ministry versus performance

• choral directing experience and knowledge of a diverse choral repertoire, including classical religious music and folk, jazz, gospel, world, and popular music

• excellent interpersonal, organizational, communication, and leadership skills; the ability to motivate and work well with the choir and coordinate closely with the Minister regarding the music program. Ability to respect the confidentiality of all participants

• ability to manage the administrative aspects of the music program, such as recruitment of choir members and guest musicians, arranging for piano and organ maintenance and repair, and managing the music budget

• willingness to learn about the history, principles, and values of Unitarian Universalism if candidate does not identify as a UU

Music Budget:

A suitable music budget will be set aside by the church for the purchase of music and supplies, the payment of honoraria to guest musicians, the hiring of substitute organists/pianists when necessary, and other music needs.

Our Town: Middleborough, Mass

Middleborough is a scenic, historic town in Plymouth County known for its cranberry production, small-town charm, and natural beauty. It is a close-knit community of 25,000 with a relatively affordable cost of living and easy access by car and regional rail to Boston and other major cities.

Middleborough is situated on the traditional lands of the Wampanoag people, who have lived in the area for over 12,000 years. Many archeological discoveries have been made of artifacts and evidence of an archaic village dating back to at least around 2300 BC.

Please send resume, letter of interest, and, as desired, video or audio recordings as examples of your work: minister@uumiddleboro.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with an anticipated start date of August 1, 2026.