No matter how many different parish music director positions we have had, or will have, we can count on one thing: We will once again be the “new kid on the block.” It will matter not how many degrees we have, how old we are, how large or small a parish we have served, how many associations we belong to, what professional honors we have achieved, or where we grew up. We will once again be new, and will have to start all over again.
We can count on a learning curve, whether it’s remembering names of parishioners, adjusting to a new parish routine, staff structure, Mass schedule, accompanist, music resource, and repertoire, or learning that the light switch is not in the same place it was at the last church!
Over the years I’ve been new a few times myself and, in different positions in dioceses and in my work at OCP, I’ve heard many newcomer stories. What follows are some of my observations and reflections. Perhaps these will help a new crop of directors “ease on down the road” just a bit better.
I believe that “respect” is perhaps the most important word, characteristic, and attitude one can have. Allow me to make a list of who and what ought to receive respect:
- Respect this assembly, this group of people who will deepen your knowledge and love of the people of God.
- Respect the history of this assembly.
- Respect their repertoire, the music and songs that have become a part of their flesh and bone.
- Respect the space for the liturgy, the customs that surround that space, the people and instruments that have served in it.
- Respect the ethnic culture of the parish, and learn about it, particularly if it is a different culture from your own.
- Respect your predecessor.
- Respect your co-workers, pastor, staff, and volunteers.
Usually, a new music director will come to a position that is 1) an entirely new position in a parish, whether full-time or part-time; 2) as a successor to a very successful director who has retired or moved to a new position; or 3) a successor to someone who simply did not succeed at the position and left a disappointed parish behind. No matter what the circumstances, challenges will exist.
An attitude of respect does not mean that you are concerned only with the continuation of the status quo. Indeed, you may have been hired to improve upon or expand the musical growth of this assembly. Perhaps you are the music director who has been invited to create a thirst for a new organ, or to help the parish expand their limited repertoire, or to help move the parish to recognize the need for a new music resource. All of these purposes are laudable and should be carried out, but with respect for what has been.
All worthy professionals enter into new positions with great enthusiasm for the work, especially the work of worship. This enthusiasm takes many different shapes and one of the hardest tasks is to control that enthusiasm just enough to energize us and not alienate others.
So, what should we do in the first weeks in the new place?
- Meet the people, especially those who will become your colleagues in the work of music. Go to the Sunday morning coffee and doughnuts or any other parish social events that will help you meet the people. If meeting strangers is not your best thing, cultivate some strategies that will convince others that meeting new people and being comfortable with them are things that truly interest you.
- If possible, try to spend some time “in the pew” for a few Sundays. Sit in different places, listen to the song of the assembly, observe the assembly’s attentiveness (or lack of). Spending time in the pew is a great luxury for many of us, but I am convinced that we who lead the work of the assembly have much to learn there.
- Become acquainted with the repertoire. Pore over the records of what has been sung and find out how often and how long it has been sung. If there are no records, find a choir member or other volunteer who will help you build a repertoire sheet.
- Find out how your predecessor planned the music to be sung each week. If there is a person or group that helped with this task, invite those persons into your exploration.
- Study the music library. Find out what is there, what has been used, what has not been used.
- Practice your own instrument.
- Host a party or dinner and invite the music volunteers. Invite others too. Open the doors to include more music-makers.
- Proceed gently (perhaps this advice should be #1!)
The first weeks are crucial and how we move into these weeks is very important. You may be looking forward to a choir rehearsal with 40 members who are as enthusiastic as you are. Or you may be starting a choir and it may be disappointing that only a few people turn out. Whatever the case, be welcoming and positive. Introduce yourself, not by bragging on your accomplishments but by being prepared for the rehearsal and letting your musical ability and devotion to the work of the liturgy speak for itself. In the case of a beginning choir, if it takes a few weeks of rehearsal to be able to lead the music on a given Sunday, so be it; others will want to join a group that is confident in its leadership.
At the first rehearsal, invite choir members to introduce themselves, share perhaps why they are participating and what their hopes are for your work together. Ask choir members to share with you their favorite songs. Take notes on these and try to include them in your planning soon. Don’t present your own agenda in such a way that you diminish whatever has already been done in the parish. Gradually, as you build trust, begin to include new pieces alongside the “tried and true.”
You may have the gift of an accomplished accompanist who has been a part of the musical life of the parish for a long time. Make that person your partner and friend as you become acquainted with the choir members. Rely on that person to help you find your footing and shape the repertoire that you will add to the already existing one.
Become acquainted with the other music directors and leaders in your area. Become a member of the professional associations that are available to you: NPM (National Association of Pastoral Musicians), Cathedral Musicians, Pueri Cantores (association for young choral singers), AGO (American Guild of Organists), etc.
Finally, whether you are working with choir or assembly, treat them with respect. Although the people with whom we serve and share the task and joy of ministry are not our peers in our professional fields, they are our peers in our Church; their baptism, like ours, has given them the right and duty to participate in the ministry of the Church. It is our privilege to be companions with them, aiding their service and enabling their full, conscious, and active participation in the table of the Eucharist. They deserve the best that we can give them.
Originally published in Today’s Liturgy © 2011 OCP. All rights reserved.