Coalville Male Voice Choir has recently celebrated its 80th anniversary. Since rebuilding after the Covid pandemic, the choir has gone from strength to strength and membership currently stands at around 25 singers. The choir sings at a number of concerts and events each year - usually two joint concerts and a main concert in the summer and a Christmas concert and other events in December. Day-to-day management of the choir is handled by a skilled and dedicated committee led by Chairman Ian McCulloch, whilst musical elements are overseen by the Musical Director, Paul Hayward, who has been with the choir since 2020.
Unfortunately for us, our longstanding accompanist has retired after 20 years with the choir and we are looking to recruit a reliable pianist as his successor. The accompanist plays a full part in weekly rehearsals, supporting the Musical Director in teaching music to the choir through the demonstration of vocal lines on the piano and accompanying pieces as required. Rehearsals take place each Thursday evening between 7-9 pm at Whitwick Methodist Church, Hall Lane, Whitwick, Coalville, LE67 5FD, with a short break at Christmas and no commitments in the month of August. The accompanist will also play for the choir in performances and events, accompanying choral pieces and providing solo items for concerts as required. We have a good quality Roland digital piano which we take to venues where there is not a piano of sufficient quality.
Strong sight reading skills are essential and a familiarity in score reading vocal lines would be advantageous. The selection of music is eclectic, from Bach to The Beatles, Sondheim to Sea Shanties and we are currently trying to move our repertoire more towards the modern day. This is an exciting time for the choir and so the accompanist needs to be comfortable playing music of different genres.
This is a paid appointment and an hourly rate will be agreed between the accompanist and the choir's committee and paid in arrears at the end of each month.
There is no closing date for this vacancy (although for this advert, one month is used) and we reserve the right to discontinue the recruitment process when a suitable candidate has been found. We will invite anyone interested in the vacancy to a Thursday evening rehearsal to accompany part of the practice and to meet with a small group of committee members.
A starting date will be agreed with the successful candidate.
To apply, please send a CV and covering letter addressed to the Chairman, Ian McCulloch, to pr@coalvillemvc.co.uk
If you wish to have an informal conversation with the Musical Director, you are welcome to email Paul Hayward at p.hayward@gmail.com
Further information about the choir can be found on its website (www.coalvillemvc.co.uk) and on its Facebook page. We hope that you will consider applying for this exciting position with a friendly and vibrant male voice choir.
Coalville Male Voice Choir, February 2025
