Worcester Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
founded 1949

Job Placements/Advertising for Churches & Musicians

The Worcester Chapter AGO maintains a database of current job openings in the greater Worcester and Central Mass. area.

For religious and music-related institutions, this provides a source of advertising for the openings. For a small fee, the organization's opening(s) will be posted in the chapter newsletter (typically monthly). In addition, for a small fee, the booklet Musicians in Religious Institutions is available to help guide the hiring committee through the recommended process and resources for attaining and retaining quality staff musicians.

For organists and directors, the service is free to guild members for viewing current openings. From time to time, the guild updates its recommended compensation chart which details salary, benefits, and service fees for various degree and experience levels of musicians.

Worcester & Central Mass.: Contact Joan Venincasa, Placements Chairperson.
email: jnvncasa@aol.com

Recommended steps/resources for churches seeking musicians:

1. Request booklet A Hiring Guide for Religious Institutions Seeking Musicians by Joyce Hokans, revised 2001. Available for $5 plus postage from the Worcester AGO. This attractive 20-page booklet takes you through the process of sorting out your needs, explaining a fair and effective hiring process, and provides appendix inserts which show tables of current salary ranges, contracts, and contacts for our geographical area. Web pointers are also available for sample/skeleton contracts for you to download and edit to adapt your own forms.
2. Contact your local chapter(s) to get your opening listed. Most publish openings monthly in chapter newsletters, a few list them on the web. In rare cases, for prominent positions, an ad is taken in the national magazine, The American Organist
3. Select your hiring advisory committee carefully, with a wide range of perspectives and skills. Many of the members should be musically conversant and able to judge musical performance and conducting.
4. Determine your church music ministry mission, scope, needs, job description, salary ranges, etc.
5. Determine your interviewing process, including thorough auditions and discussion interviews.
6. We recommend that you list your openings not only with Worcester, but also other local chapters:

Merrimack Valley
http://www.geocities.com/merrimackago/
Chapter Dean dbaker@lawyers.com David G. Baker, 617.241.8500
Norma Reich, Placement Coordinator

Boston
http://www.bostonago.com/    Glenn Goda, chapter dean
http://www.bostonago.com/placement/placemen.htm
617-353-9339 or rmgabler@aol.com Rose Mary Gabler, placements coordinator

Springfield
http://www.springfieldago.org/   Chapter dean Dr. Larry Schipull
Becky Isaacson, bealda@juno.com home 413 567-7659, church 413 734-1623

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