Catholic Musician Organist Keyboardist and Cantor

The successful candidate for this position will be a 1099 contractor with Music Ministry International and be responsible for the following:

1. Background

1.1. The Command Religious Program (CRP) focuses on the provision of worship services for spiritual growth and development for all military personnel and their family members.

2. Scope

2.1. Command Religious Program requires Musician/organist and cantor support for the delivery of musical support as Musician/Organist and Cantor for the Roman Catholic Masses onboard MCINCR-MCBQ at the Marine Memorial Chapel and for special/seasonal Masses, as well as funeral and memorial services.

3. Tasks

3.1. The Musician/organist and cantor, the Musician, shall be responsible for all music associated with worship and provide instrumentation for all music (preludes, postludes, congregational music offertories, anthems, choral music, and service music). The Musician/organist and cantor/Musician shall coordinate with and recommend to the Catholic Priest on all instrumental music and songs for each Mass/service, as well as, the special/seasonal Masses/services. There will be a 10 – 15 minute prelude before the Mass.

3.2. The Contract/Musician shall be responsible for all music and choir rehearsals associated with the Catholic Masses/worship. The Musician/organist and cantor/Musician shall provide instrumentation for weekly scheduled choir rehearsals (times to be determined by the Catholic Priest), soloist rehearsals when they are part of the musical program and seasonal/special rehearsals, as required. For this contract a rehearsal is defined as a period of time no less than one (1) hour during which the Musician/organist and cantor/Musician rehearses that music in preparation for public use in the Catholic Chapel programs (which includes both Masses).

3.3. The Musician/organist and cantor/Musician shall recommend and provide instrumentation for funerals and memorial services for active duty Marines, for active duty Marine Corps Base Quantico personnel, and/or for family members of active duty MCINCR-MCBQ personnel of the Catholic Faith, as needed.

3.4. The Musician/organist and cantor/Musician shall provide recommendations to the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) concerning the proper maintenance of the chapel organ and pianos.

3.5. The Musician/organist and cantor will provide in advance the music plan for all regular and special/seasonal Masses/services, when possible. For Masses/services scheduled on short notice, the plan of instrumental music will be passed to the Musician/organist and cantor/Musician as soon as possible.

3.6. The Musician/organist and cantor shall provide in all instruments, other than the organs and piano in the Marine Memorial Chapel (MMC) or designated worship location on MCINCR-MCBQ Quantico.

The Musician/organist and cantor agrees to provide instrumentation (or appropriate substitute) and soloist accompaniment when required for scheduled Catholic Chapel Wedding Masses. Since weddings and wedding rehearsals are not part of the Chapel Program, fees for the services are not covered within the contract. Fees for these services will be provided by the wedding couple and in accordance with published wedding guidelines.

3.7. The Musician/organist and cantor shall recommend music and provide instrumentation for funerals and memorial services for active duty Marines, for active duty Marine Corps Base Quantico personnel, and/or for family members of active duty MCINCR-MCBQ personnel of the Catholic Faith, as needed. For non-Marine Corps Base Quantico personnel and/or family members, fees for this service will be provided by the family or funeral home. There will be a 15 minute prelude before each funeral/memorial service.

3.8. The Musician/organist and cantor shall show flexibility with regard to musical selection and be willing to include both contemporary and traditional music in the preparation of all worship Masses/services.

3.9. The Musician/organist and cantor shall show flexibility with regard to volunteers who play instruments other than the piano or organ and welcome the accompanists and or instrumentalists.

4. Qualifications

4.1. The Musician/organist and cantor shall have the following qualifications:

4.1.1. Written evidence of at least five (5) years of current experience as an organist in a military chapel or civilian church.

4.1.2. The Musician/organist and cantor shall possess a level of musicianship to include the ability to read and sight-read musical text, shall be able to play the piano or organ, and be able to transpose musical text up and down the scale at sight.

4.1.3. Demonstrated keyboard proficiency in playing hymns and service music and in accompanying choirs and soloists.

4.1.4. Written evidence of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) certification at the basic level.

4.1.5. Written evidence of formal training in organ. This training may have been in the form of college courses.

4.1.6. Proficient in music harmonization and in harmonization and in accompanying Cantors, leaders of song, choirs, and soloists. The Contract shall have, at a minimum, two (2) years’ experience in this area.

5. Musician/organist and cantor Responsibilities

5.1. The Musician/organist and cantor shall provide and pay for a satisfactory substitute when the Musician/organist and cantor is unable to perform services as outlined in the Statement of Work (SOW). The Musician/organist and cantor shall be responsible for training the substitute.

5.2. The Musician/organist and cantor shall provide evidence that they have had a background check completed with no adverse findings.

5.3 The Musician/organist and cantor/Musician shall provide a sub-musician/organist and cantor to be the Cantor for both Masses. The Musician/organist and cantor will be responsible in contracting and paying Sub-musician/organist and cantor/Cantor. Funding will be provided within contract for paying Cantor.

6. Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)

6.1. The Musician/organist and cantor shall have access to the organs and piano at the Marine Memorial Chapel (MMC) and the piano at Diamond Hall.

6.2. The Government shall provide the Musician/organist and cantor access to the Command Religious Program Music Library.

7. Place of Performance

7.1. Services shall be performed at Marine Memorial Chapel, Marine Corps Base (MCB), Quantico, VA, various other locations aboard MCB Quantico and the Semper Fidelis Chapel at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (NMMC) when requested.

8. Period of Performance

8.1. The estimated period of performance is as follows: Five Years

Interested Candidates are requested to forward their resume together with three references from individuals who can attest to the candidate’s good work and steadiness. Candidates who do not possess the specific attributes/qualifications in "4. Qualifications " above need not apply. This is a part-time position with compensation based on budget and the successful candidate’s experience and qualifications..
Apply directly at: (scroll down to “Marine Corps Base Quantico”). Your application must include three (3) references including one priest or pastor who can attest to your abilities as they relate to this job posting. References must include: name, title, organization, relationship to you, email address (necessary field) and phone number. Depending on security software, candidates are requested to monitor spam folders for further application communications from MMI.