Today I want to bring you up to date of the search for a Director of Music. The big take away is: It is going very well, and I’m super-confident we will be welcoming a brilliant organist and choir leader in the first half of 2027. In the meantime we will continue to have top-quality organists at the bench Sunday-by-Sunday.
I was very keen to appoint a Search Committee to help in finding the person who is God’s choice for St John’s. I know my limitations, and spotting the difference in quality between excellent organists is not one of them! (They all sound great to me.) So, I was very pleased to gather around me a group of music-buffs in the parish – Raymond Johnson, Lauren Simpson, Betsy Cannon, Chuck Moore, Reggie Hamner, and Jon Dailey.
Last week we began advertising for the position widely around the country. Already we have had applications from extremely gifted musicians from as far away as New York, Virginia, and Maryland. I have no doubt that we will have a wonderful short list of candidates to bring to Montgomery for interviews and auditions.
For several decades St John’s has been in the blessed situation of employing top-class organists for less than the fair rate for people of their talent. This is because our organists have had other careers, which has freed us to pay them half-time salaries with no health benefits. Today, I want to tell you the good news that the Vestry has agreed to fund our new Director of Music as a full-time position, with benefits. This has been essential in order to recruit top talent from around the country.
With the extra hours that a full-time Director of Music will offer we will build a stronger program, especially chorally.
So, this message of good news comes with a challenge also. To provide for our new Director of Music, we will have to increase our staff budget by a considerable amount. As it happens, next week is the start of our annual Stewardship Campaign. If you love St John’s music program and wish to see it grow and flourish, you will want to consider these additional staff costs when you make your pledge.