Also, what is the vision for the future? Some parishes might want to maintain status quo (i.e. find someone just like the last DM), others might want to incorporate more sacred music and slowly weed out drivel (i.e. a reformer), and still others might want to revisit the 70's where they can find their sentimental happy place (???).

Earl-our Deacon has said Father wants to take music ministry to the next level-but has not been specific yet. Also our choir director was very much into the sappy, contemporay "Untitled Hymn", and Voices 2. Congregation wants hymns they can sing from what I am hearing.

We are locatd in the diocese of Evansville, IN. Our church is St. John's the Evangelist in Daylight, IN. JPike I do plan on posting on here but as I said not sure they have put anything out public yet so do need to talk to Father. and yes I planned on posting on here.
My e-mail is: eritzert@sbcglobal.net

Thank you so much for your suggestions. :)

Does the Director also have to be an organist? Or are all of the Masses covered by someone else?

Also the best auditions/interviews include a choir rehearsal that the potential-director should have to run. That way you can see how they interact with the choir. Perhaps you could also have certain savvy choir members "have problems singing" certain passages and see how the potential director is able to assist those choir members (or if he/she even notices)!

Haha!

Plus it makes it more fun after someone is hired and they find out that the person was a plant making mistakes on purpose. It can foster a great friendship (this happened to me) and gives you an interesting story to tell people whenever you're at the pub with that person.

francis-yes with all the muddy waters-would be really nice
Kathy-A MUST-yes, yes and yes. thanks for the suggestions. This is 90% of the battle in music ministry.
and Yes Father has said he would like them to do a weekend or mass with the choir.
and OHHHH you guys are bad (but good)-but I know when I interview for positions as music therapist they do that very thing -imitate what your clients are going to be doing and seeing how you handle it.
matthewj-No does not have to be an organist. This would be icing on the cake if the director and I could switch off at times and it we would not have to be looking for subs when I need time off.

Gavin-I understand what you are saying. You only do one purposeful mistake and only one person.
Adam-agree.

Questions, musically/liturgically oriented-
1. What benchmarks would you consider important towards determining the growth, improvement and vitality of any and all music leadership personnel in the parish? Please prioritize in a taxonomy of most important to foundational.
2. What time table would you consider a fair and reasonable period to accomplish three of those benchmarks of your choosing?
3. Besides the pastor, who on staff and/or involved directly with liturgy and music ministry would you consider viable assessors of those musical benchmarks or goals?
4. If the pastor requested your assistance in re-orienting the musical styles of any multi-cultural musical ensembles that he considers ill-equipped to serve that vernacular worship sufficiently, could you describe a brief outline of steps you would take to mitigate that task?
5. According to the liturgical documents of the Second Vatican Council, please prioritize which portions of the Mass you believe to be of higher congregational "active participation" than others?

That's just a few in ten minutes before rehearsal. We're singing Rice/Giffen/Allen/Mueller and Jones tonight! Oh yeah.

Carl D-Amen.
Gavin-yes I believe just be in tune to what is naturally happening don't think we really have to planned any mistakes, etc.

The intentional mistake will only work if the choir is good enough to do it! Some people might accidentally hit the right note if they try to get it wrong.

I do believe that the church should be SPECIFIC about what duties will be and who will do exactly what. While it's nice for it to seem there will be flexibility or that two employees can work together on something, this can cause a lot of problems down the road if the pastor (or the person put in charge of hiring) isn't clear. I've been in that situation in which both I and the other employee thought the pastor meant something different and we both were trying to do the same job. In my defense, I knew what I was doing, and he didn't... but still, that wouldn't have been a problem in the first place if pastor had made duties 100% clear in the first place. So avoid that problem if you can.

The bogus problem is to show that the candidate can locate an issue within the choir, fix the problem, and do so in a way that is truly helpful. It also shows a lot about a person's management style, temperament, etc. Just having them find the error in a recording isn't enough - it's about how they fix it / deal with it and potentially follow up on it.

The best interview/audition I ever went through used this trick. I was offered the job because I was the only one who was able to fix the problem in a way that wasn't seen as "overly harsh," or "confusing," - and many either ignored the problem or didn't notice it. One of the candidates made a rather sarcastic comment about the problem, a few tried to fix the problem but it went way over the heads of the volunteer singers in the choir (though the one making the error was a near professional voice), and a large group ignored it/didn't attempt to fix it/didn't hear it. Talking to and getting to know the hiring committee after the interview process really showed me the brilliance of this technique- they were able to see so much more about how a person actually operated than by asking them questions. They were able to see their leadership qualities, their pastoral sensitivity, their musical knowledge, etc, all on display.

I have to agree with Kathy and Gavin on the issue of planting a "ringer" for the purpose of detecting a particular mistake and observing whether the candidate detects the mistake and, if so, how that candidate handles the mistake. Moreover, unless the Search Committee has at least one very musically competent member with considerable choir directing experience (not a given), such an exercise is probably pointless.

There are so many other dimensions to finding the right person and subtleties or nuances that would probably be swept under the door by a committee zealously pursuing what it little more than a litmus test that focuses so narrowly on one aspect of a candidate's qualifications. The candidate that would be weeded out by such a test would be just as likely to fail on other reasons ... or, even failing the litmus test, might be excellently qualified in all other aspects.

Leading rehearsals with the choir, especially with one familiar piece and another piece new to the choir, and observing the outcome and gauging feedback from the choir members will reveal much more than a deviously planted problem. While some candidates, if offered and accepting the job, might think, upon being told of the subterfuge, it was a cool thing as has been reported here, there are surely others that would feel offended in some way and might fear for their continued employment, lest other booby traps be laid in their paths.

In the non-sacred choral world, the planted mistake is almost par for the course. I have mixed feelings about it - which I guess depend on the situation - the requirements of the position, the abilities of the choir and the committee - but regardless of your opinion of it, you should always expect it in an audition.

Ask the following questions:

- what do you think of microphone use in church?
- What is the most important aspect of Mass?
- Father asks you to violate Church law. What is your response?
- After you have finished singing (having the choir sing) what you had planned, there is quiet time. What do you do about it?

what do you think of microphone use in church?

"They should always be set to the correct volume."

(Off.)

I think the hiring process depends entirely on the parish. A large parish within a large city that often does major liturgies, has a large choir (many of whom are musicians, as well as volunteer singers and can read music and easily follow direction), and has more than one organist/pianist would interview based on purely professional standards as outlined above, and would benefit from a "practice" rehearsal. On the other hand, a smaller parish outside the borders of a large city with a choir of all volunteer singers, all of which do not read music, nor have a desire to learn, but have a deep desire to praise God through song and are dedicated and responsibility (with or without musical talent), would need a director that is more people oriented, than a true musical professional with a Masters Degree in music. In some cases, the less musically educated candidate in this setting would be a more ideal candidate than one that comes in, wants to "fix" all the problems and speaks above the heads of his/her singers.

Richard M. -I have not started another thread-not sure where that came from. Do like your question "Are you ready to be these peopl's friends?" So true.
I see the above person musicteacher did.