Teachers, parents of students, and members of the men’s schola received a letter today announcing that Jennifer Lester will not be returning as director of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School this coming September. She will return as Associate Director, a position she held for nine years before becoming director last year. The announcement took most by complete surprise. There is a widespread consensus that the choral sound and rehearsal organization has improved under her direction. Last week’s BACS spring concert featuring Mozart’s “Requiem” with the Boston Civic Symphony Orchestra was particularly well received.

Those of us who work closely with her, however, know she has had to endure many difficulties this past year, some of which were due simply to bad luck. Three revenue producing Christmas and Epiphany concerts were cancelled due to snow storms, a happening without precedent in the 46 year history of the school. (One third of the school’s operating budget normally comes from ticket and cd sales from these concerts.) The current recession has also crippled contributions and hampered recruitment of new students. Add to that an unexpected months-long leave of absence of the pastor which left a void in the leadership of both parish and school.

There has long been talk of a need to restructure the music director position at the choir school and Jennifer’s decision will undoubtedly bring that to the fore. People who only see the public role as conductor or organist have no inkling of the full range of responsibilities. The director must often help resolve problems of personnel who teach a full range of academic subjects, discipline students who may seem angelic singing Palestrina but can be hellions in the hallways, engage disgruntled parents who sometimes have rather odd notions of what their children should be singing, attend a slew of parish meetings in addition to those related to the school, and audition perspective students steadily throughout the year. Exhaustion is a constant.

When Jennifer informed me of her decision last week, I could literally see the relief on her face as she spoke of being able to devote more time to the Seraphim Singers, the acclaimed ensemble which she founded over a decade ago and now a fixture in the Boston choral scene, and of having more opportunities to enjoy her home in the Berkshires with her husband. I understood her reasoning and sympathized with the decision, but felt nonetheless a deep disappointment.

John Dunn, Headmaster/Music Director Emeritus, has graciously agreed to serve as interim director until a suitable replacement is found. John knows the school’s operational details like no other, so the institution remains in good hands. No one expects a replacement to be found soon since the position requires a person who combines extraordinary music skills with personal charisma. We’re not deluding ourselves; such people are rare.