Aylesbury Choral Society is a well-established and enthusiastic choir of 50+ singers and it is looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic, motivating music director to take over from 1 September 2025 (potentially 7 April 2025). This opportunity has arisen due to the recent resignation of the current MD, Jeff Stewart, who has been with the choir for the past 10 years.
ACS is a long-running (now, over 90 years) and well-known mixed voice choir. It performs 3 major concerts each season, alongside professional orchestras and soloists, and participates in other events in the Aylesbury area on an ad-hoc basis. It has also run workshops from time to time. The choir's repertoire ranges from 16th to 21st century works in a variety of styles and languages. We employ an excellent accompanist /repetiteur for rehearsals which are held on Tuesday evenings in Aylesbury.
Under Jeff's leadership, the choir has performed works ranging from the mainstream to the totally unknown. In 2021-22, to celebrate its 90th birthday, the choir performed Gounod's Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile together with Vaughan Williams's Benedicte and Saint-Saëns's rarely heard Christmas Oratorio plus a concert to celebrate the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The choir has also recorded a CD ("Exceeding Glad", 2012) which included a performance of Thomas Attwood's coronation anthem "I was glad" which was broadcast on Radio 3 as part of their Best of British season. Coming up in the current season, we look forward to performances of Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Mozart's Coronation Mass and, contemporary with Mozart, Marianna Martines's Quarta Messa.
We are looking for an MD to lead the Society and to enable it to continue to flourish. The individual appointed will have proven choral and orchestral experience, have good contacts with professional singers and musicians, be a great dynamic communicator, have an enthusiasm for amateur music and be able to teach and encourage amateur singers, have good organisational skills, and be able to motivate the singers to achieve ever-greater things.
How to apply:
Please go to https://www.aylesburychoral.org.uk/dbpage.php?pg=mdposition to download the application documents and information pack or contact the Chairman, Chris Dalladay, on 0781 477 3919 or acschairman@gmail.com. The closing date for application is 30 November 2024 at 12:00 noon, and initial short-listed candidates will be interviewed online in the week beginning 6 January. Second-stage short-listed candidates will be invited to audition with the choir at a Tuesday rehearsal in late-January/early February.
