• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

The Economics of Jobs in Sacred Music

Richard J. Clark · January 24, 2014

EFFREY TUCKER IS PASSIONATE about many things. In addition to his signature bowtie, he also wears many hats. Among them, he is a champion of Gregorian Chant, a conductor, economist, author, and publisher. He recently penned an article “How to Apply for a Job.” While not directed towards musicians, this is a must read for every church musician, whether looking for a job or holding on to one.

Tucker distills his point with an economy of words:

“In case you read no more of this article, please read the following sentence. The reason a company hires you is because it expects to obtain more value from you than it pays out to you in the form of wages and salary. If you understand that one point, you are well positioned to apply for a job and capture the right tone in your application.” (emphasis added)

Since those in the sacred music profession are generally underpaid (See this post on CNNMoney: “Stressful Jobs that pay badly”) how can we not contribute more value than we are paid in wages? However true, the economics of sacred music is relative. Supply and demand rules the day. (Never make the mistake that supply and demand doesn’t apply in religious institutions. Never.)

Demand within the Church for beautiful sacred music is low leaving a surplus of highly qualified musicians quite capable of offering such beauty. (How many Catholic musicians do you know work for other denominations because that is where their skills are valued?) See a job advertised with a good pipe organ and a full-time salary? Expect to be competing with seventy-five to one hundred other musicians from around the country. Trying to hold onto a full-time position? Take a look behind you at the line of people more than willing to relieve you of your duties.

O HOW DOES ONE SEPARATE oneself from the pack? Remember, the politics of sacred music go hand in hand with the economics of sacred music. One may even survive political turmoil simply because one brings a lot more to the table relative to compensation. Therefore, whether looking for a job, or trying to keep one, one must do more than one is paid for. Why? This is an investment in your future. Most importantly, it is an investment in your reputation, your most valuable asset.

What is doing more than you are paid for? Musically, that’s usually easy to answer since church musicians tend to be overworked to begin with. Therefore, the answer often lies elsewhere in the form of pastoral and personal interactions—things we didn’t study in music school. One can do “more” by being more than just a musician—by being a leader. This is quite different from being a boss.

All leadership is essentially a personal and emotional process. This kind of leadership combines treating people respectfully and decently while being firm and clearly communicating your expectations. It also means admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for them. Being supremely talented or having authority doesn’t give one license to be a jerk.

Knowing how to conduct or play better than most is easy. Getting a large number of diverse volunteers to respect your leadership is not. Conducting from the organ console or learning Gregorian semiology is easy compared to convincing a pastor, finance council and parishioners to invest money in sacred music. Beauty in liturgy, an intangible commodity, is an investment that pays itself back spiritually and financially. This truth is happily discovered by parishes who make this investment. Beauty brings inestimable value.

INALLY, YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL REPUTATION is your most valuable asset. Treat people decently, be very good at what you do, and assuredly decent people will want to hire you and keep you even if you don’t agree on every point. Do this and the value you bring to your boss will be seen as very difficult to replace.

If not, then you will earn the respect of those who matter.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The following few hints on the selection of voices may be useful: (1) Reject all boys who speak roughly, or sing coarsely; (2) Choose bright, intelligent-looking boys, provided they have a good ear; they will much more readily respond to the choirmaster’s efforts than boys who possess a voice and nothing more; therefore, (3) Reject dull, sulky, or scatter-brained boys, since it is hard to say which of the three has the most demoralizing effect on his more willing companions.”

— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • Symposium Kyrie Revealed
  • Did Pope Francis Just Publicly Rebuke the Prefect of Divine Worship?
  • Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Normal Syllabic Value” (6 Feb 2023)
  • Hymn by Cardinal Newman
  • Church Music Shouldn’t Be “Headache-Inducing”

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.