Musical Director

Northern Praeclassica, based in Newcastle upon Tyne is looking for a new Director of Music.  Our current director is leaving us after six years in post for new challenges from the end of 2019, so we are looking for someone from January 2020.  We are looking for an enthusiastic person with skills in choral singing, performing and conducting to help the choir continue to enjoy performing to the best of our abilities.

We are a small SATB chamber choir with approximately 22-25 singers (at the moment we are short of tenors). We were established in 1973 to perform Renaissance music, and still very much enjoy early music, but we also sing a great deal of the a cappella repertoire from the Romantic era and twentieth century as well as modern composers such as Arvo Pärt and Lauridsen.  The choir have a range of sight-reading skills and are used to singing from music in up to eight parts. We have high expectations and are looking for a conductor to help us achieve these.  New members have not recently been auditioned, but are given a term's trial. Concerts can be totally a cappella; with organ accompaniment; or occasionally, with a small orchestra when finances permit.

We rehearse on Monday evenings during term time 7.30 - 9.30 with a coffee break, in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne.  Our next concert includes Handel's Dixit Dominus and takes place on Saturday 30 November.

We perform three concerts a year plus an occasional carol service or other local performance or wedding.

If you would like to apply, please send your CV and a covering letter to our secretary Angela Brown at angelakbrown@googlemail.com by 31 October  2019 or earlier if possible.  Interviews will be held in November and short-listed candidates will be invited to lead a short rehearsal with the choir in December.  We may appoint straight away, or we may ask two or three candidates to be our guest director for a term each from Spring 2020.

For more information about remuneration etc please see https://northernpraeclassica.weebly.com/musicdirector.html or feel free to email Angela Brown at angelakbrown@googlemail.com.