Director of Music and Organist Job at The Riverside Church in New York

Job Title: Director of Music and Organist

Reports to: Executive Minister

Department: Worship

Salary: $95,000 - $120,000

Who is Riverside Church?

We are an interdenominational, interracial, international, open, welcoming, and affirming church and congregation. The history of The Riverside Church reflects a transformation from a predominantly white Protestant congregation to a multiracial and multicultural church that has been at the vanguard of social justice advocacy, liberation theologies, LGBTQ+ ministries, and a witness that effects the full flourishing of all people. The music at Riverside Church must reflect the diversity of our congregation, city, and world.

Love and justice are at the heart of Riverside Church and ever present in our work, witness, and worship. In worship at Riverside, God is the God of the oppressed who stands with the poor and the outcast. We believe that music is a ministry that has the power to transform individuals, communities, and systems. We want to work collaboratively with a director of music to offer something musically amazing.

Who are you?

Riverside seeks a faithful, collaborative, and joyful director of music with expansive ideas and a vision for what is possible in this new era of church – someone who can take God’s call to the church and set it to music.

• God is calling Riverside to affirm and assert itself as a beacon of hope and light.
• God is calling Riverside to capture the hearts and imagination of people and to speak truth to power in solidarity with those excluded on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.
• God is calling Riverside to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit in the fulfillment of its mission and calling.
• God is calling Riverside’s acts of love and kindness to outweigh all the traditions and factions that no longer serve the church.
• God is demanding that Riverside lead with integrity and missional relevance.

In this role, you will have the freedom to imagine what is musically possible and to stretch the boundaries of the tradition. Your vision of music will inspire and enhance congregational worship and fellowship, engage all age levels in a variety of music experiences and expressions, and promote music as an important part of meaningful corporate and personal worship and spiritual growth. Your vision will invite people into the Riverside Church community and help take the Riverside Church message of love and justice outside the history-making walls of the church.

Job Summary:

To work collaboratively and creatively with the Riverside Church worship and music team to tell good news stories with music. To provide administrative, musical, and theological leadership, direction, vision, and expression for the entire music program of The Riverside Church. To stretch the community and expand the use of the creative arts in the fulfillment of the church’s mission and commitment to diverse musical expressions. To be committed to intergenerational worship and music.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

• Manages Music Department – staff, volunteers, resources, programs, and budget.
• Serves as staff liaison to the Worship Commission and the Music Committee.
• Attends senior staff meetings and communicates the music vision to clergy, staff, and lay leaders.

Administrative Responsibilities:

• Collaborates with the Senior Minister and worship team in the development of Sunday morning worship, occasional, and special services.
• Selects choral and organ music for Sunday morning worship services.
• Selects hymns and other music for Sunday morning worship services, in collaboration with the Senior Minister and the Executive Minister.
• Serves as administrator of The Riverside Choir
  1. Auditions/hires prospective members as regular choir members and substitutes.
  2. Oversees management of choir calendar.
  3. Oversees choir administration.
• Provides and coordinates musical and administrative support (e.g., instruments, instrumentalists, vocalists, rehearsal space, etc.) for the musical ensembles of the church
  1. The Inspirational Choir
  2. The Cherub Choir
  3. The Rising Voices
  4. The Youth Choir
  5. The Riverside Ringers
  6. The Youth String Ensemble
  7. The Praise Team for Space for Grace
  8. Guest artists/groups
• Supervises the Annual Summer Series of Organ Recitals, including contracting of guest artists and supervising the budget and administration of the series.
• Maintains portfolios of guest musicians (bios, headshots, resumes, etc.).
• Explores opportunities for partnerships with music institutions, instrumentalists, and choirs.
• Attends regularly scheduled meetings (weekly worship, monthly worship commission, bi-monthly leadership team, and annual (October) retreat).

Artistic Responsibilities:

• Provides musical leadership for Sunday morning worship services.
• Provides musical leadership for all other worship services, in collaboration with the worship team.
• Serves as music director of The Riverside Choir
  1. Directs a choir composed of professional and semi-professional singers.
  2. Conducts rehearsals.
• With the assistant organist, coordinates and provides musical leadership (as organist and/or conductor) for occasional services (e.g., weddings, funerals, memorials, ordinations), special services (e.g., Candlelight Carol Service, Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and Carols, New Year’s Eve Watchnight Service, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving Day), and other special services as required.
• Offers two or three organ recitals per year (e.g., New Year’s Eve, Annual English Handbell Festival, Annual Summer Series of Organ Recitals) performed by either the Director of Music, the Associate Organist, or a combination of the two (decided by the Director of Music).
• Programs and performs in two or more choral concerts per year.
• Provides music for high school and college graduations in the nave and special worship services contracted by outside groups.

Experience and Education Requirements:

• Masters degree or equivalent in church music or a related field that includes training in choral conducting.
• Experienced organist, accompanist, and choral director.
• Knowledge of and appreciation for a broad range of music for worship (i.e. global, traditional, contemporary, gospel, etc.) that reflects The Riverside Church, is inclusive of various cultures and ethnicities and reflects the church’s international, interdenominational, interracial character.
• Knowledge of the liturgical year.
• Understanding of worship as participatory and music as a medium of Christian faith formation.
• Demonstrable commitment to music as ministry.
• Proven ability to offer innovative musical leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to interact in a collaborative manner and be a partner to and with other ministries and staff.
• Proven understanding of the dynamics of staff relationships, implementing change, strategic planning, and conflict resolution.
• Experience with administration, developing budgets, controlling expenditures, and supervising staff.
• Excellent verbal and communication skills.

Candidate must have an articulable spiritual practice and grounded faith.

Our organization offers a wide range of comprehensive benefits, including generous time off and a strong emphasis on achieving a great work-life balance.

TRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. No employee or applicant for employment shall be discriminated against in any term or condition of employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are constantly striving to make our organization anti-racist. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values. As an employee, you become part of that mission.

No relocation or sponsorship provided.