Four questions: 1) are you also the music director and, if not, is the music director full-time? 2) Do you have a contract? 3) Are you paid separately for anything diocesan or outside the regular schedule? 4) Are you paid per-service, or salaried?

Based on your description and nothing more, I would not consider that a half-time position. Maybe you could contact NPM or CRCCM (http://crccm.org/) for some support?

The assertion that your practice time isn't part of your hours is absurd. Surely the priest all use their vacation to prepare homilies, at least by that standard.

I'm sorry you're experiencing this, but this is also a reason why many Catholics don't work for the Catholic Church. With friends like these...

For what it's worth, our former quarter-time organist played for one Mass and one rehearsal a week (with usually one other Mass a month thrown in), covered for my vacation times, and was expected to lend a hand on some holy days as needed. The rep wasn't super easy, but to me, that's a quarter time position.

That does sound like too much for a one-half time position, but it also sounds really vague as to what you are required to do. I have a feeling there are no benefits and you will get a 1099 form at year end instead of a W-2. If this is the norm, I can see why previous organists have left.

I get a w-2 from my job. Yes, I am in the US.

With friends like these, you need a good lawyer. If you didn't fill out a withholding form, you will receive a 1099-misc at the end of the year, which will require you to hold the bag for taxes owed. All of this should be reflected in your employment contract. If you are an independent contractor, you shouldn't be required to perform anything not specified in your contract. Take another look at it.  

Doglover1000, to clarify another issue: if you're salaried, that means you're not paid on a per-hour basis. So it doesn't seem to matter much if you count your practice time as hours worked, or not. Am I understanding you right?

It does sound like your position comes with the obligation to play the Sunday and Holy Day Masses (and pay for a substitute when you can't). Organists, is that still standard procedure for the principal organist of a parish (or cathedral)?

Let's see if I can try to figure out what their point of view is.

They are probably thinking that most of the weekend Masses take an hour, so perhaps you are present in the church two hours for every Mass: that's six hours every weekend. The choir rehearsal would be another two hours. So that would add up to eight hours per week for the basic duties.

I get the impression that the weekday demands are making it difficult to combine this job with your other weekday activities (work, study, whatever).

The six Holy Days are all on fixed dates, so they are all predictable. So is Ash Wednesday. The Easter Triduum services are longer, but they are known in advance.

Some diocesan events are known far in advance (e.g., ordinations), while some may not be planned far in advance. Would it help if you could get a commitment from the Cathedral rector to give you advance notice of weekday events: say, four weeks?

How often do call on you to play for some weekday events with little advance notice?

I'm not an organist, so I hope some organists can comment on the duties and expectations that come with this sort of position.

Thanks for all your comments, guys!

Chonak, I am not sure if predictable dates for Holy Day Masses or diocesan events are SUPER important in my questions. Since they are not on fixed days during weekdays, any masses happen on any days during weekdays. For example, I can't open my Mondays all the time throughout the year for Holy Day Masses....or Tuesdays, etc...right? I was expecting a certain number of masses happened in weekdays can be missed, but the Cathedral doesn't allow that because they think they pay good salary for half-time position, and I have to play for all.

The choir is off in summer, but there is another 1- hour rehearsal ALWAYS prior to the 11:00am mass every Sunday during liturgical year. So basically the choir rehearsal is 3- hours every single week during liturgical year. Isn't choir off in summer for most of churches? I mean the choir off in summer is not particularly a huge benefit from the Cathedral only.


matthewj, yes, I think it is my huge mistake to accept the position without all details :( I thought I asked the parish many questions to clarify my job duties, but now I realize that they were not enough to figure out everything. I gotta get stuck with the cathedral due to contract :( I have another question- if I leave the position before the contract expires and return a part of my moving costs to the Cathedral, would it be enough to avoid any troubles in breaking the contract? Or should I stay until it expires?

No wonder why the Cathedral has asked me for the contract :(

hope some organists can comment on the duties and expectations

I am a Parish Organist. Here are my duties:
52 Thu 1930 pm parish choir rehearsal
52 Sat 1700 pm Mass cantor or school choir
52 Sun 0830 am Mass cantor
52 Sun 1000 am rehearsal
52 Sun 1100 am Mass parish choir
10 Thu 1100 am school rehearsal (prep first fri)
10 Fri 0800 am school Mass (first fri)
12 Fri 1115 am Organ Concert (first fri)
12 Fri 1200 nn Benediction (first fri)
4 Christmas (Eve, Midnight, Dawn, Day)
4 Lent (Ash Wed, Holy Thu, Good Fri, Holy Sat Morning Prayer)
4 Holy Days (Jan 1, Aug 15, Nov 1, Dec 8)
2 Penance Services (Advent, Lent)
12 Stations of the Cross (Fri 1115 am, 1900 pm)
2 First Confession (School, Parish)
2 First Communion (School, Parish)
1 School Graduation
---
335 calls

Here is my compensation:
a salary (W-2, 12 hours per week at M-1 midpoint, no benefits);
a pipe organ (three-manual, 17 rank, supplemented with 12 digital stops);
a pastor who permits chant and polyphony.

eft: you're saying that's considered 12 hrs/wk?

I had the impression eft was describing his own workload : an average of 6.4 events / week.

I edited my post to be more clear.

Regarding M-1, those with sleuthing skills can discover its meaning
by clicking my photo and reviewing my Discussions or emailing me. :-)

12 hours == (7 hr Rehearsals and Liturgies) + (5 hr Personal Practice)

Yes I am describing my situation as organist.

music in high levels

Please describe

Eleven.

Hello fellow organists,
I would appreciate reading about your duties
and your hour estimates.

Seems to me that eft describes more than 12 hrs work.

I think a distinction needs to be made between organist and organist/director. Being a director and an organist means more hours than organist alone.

My colleague at our parish serves as organ/ accompanist. He is free to choose organ rep and accompany some rehearsals. And he can sing if he chooses to. He is not directing, or recruiting, or planning choral music, making copies, answering emails, etc. All that stuff takes up lots of time.

What contract? Our bishop and legal office has dissuaded pastors from having any kind of written contracts.

In the US, an exempt part-time employee must be paid at least $455 per week per the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In your situation, I believe this means you must receive at least that amount from the church every week, year-round, not including any extra remuneration from the diocese, additional income from weddings, funerals, etc. With that said, if they are basing your salary on AGO or NPM guidelines, those figures do refer to x number of hours worked each week, which includes your personal practice time on the music to be performed for your work. There are very few positions where an organist will work exactly the same number of hours each and every week, so the number of hours must be interpreted as an average.

I recommend that from Palm Sunday through the Saturday after Corpus Christi, you keep a record of your number of hours worked for those 11 weeks, since this is the busiest season of the year. Write down the times when you arrive and leave. Include your practice time, but do not include diocesan services/rehearsals, weddings, or anything else compensated separately. "Clock out" if you have to tend to anything personal (e.g., telephone calls) lasting longer than 15 minutes. On the other hand, if you have to do any work from home, be sure to include that. You might be surprised at the results. See how many hours you're actually working and how that compares to AGO and NPM guidelines - don't forget to factor in the amount for benefits when considering the salary.

I think most organists underestimate the amount of time they spend on administrative duties such as planning and making copies. As far as your boss and Msgr. telling you never to include your personal practice time in your work hours, they are full of excrement. That's work and should be counted and compensated as such. If you don't have a contract, you're free to quit at any time for a better position, and you owe them nothing more than the customary two weeks' notice.