Artistic Director - The Festival Singers

The Festival Singers of Orange County, California, is seeking a new Artistic Director to lead the ensemble in the 2024-25 season beginning in September, 2024. Singing all styles of choral music “From Bach to Broadway,” The Festival Singers presents three major public concerts each season and occasional special programs for various private organizations throughout the area. The Festival Singers is a non-audition choir that generally has 25-40 members. Singers come from all parts of Southern California to participate in this vibrant premiere chorus.

The successful candidate will develop the major choral programs for the year and provide musical leadership, planning and organization of programming, rehearsals and performances, and collaborate with other musicians as necessary to produce an exciting season for all participants and the audience.

• Develop and oversee all programs, including selecting music and, in coordination with the Staff Accompanist and Librarian, ensuring that the music is ordered and organized for distribution to singers and accompanists in a timely manner.
• Acquire and manage parts recordings of the music for each program, making them accessible to singers for individual, at-home preparation. A source for these recordings currently exists.
• Conduct weekly rehearsals, communicate with singers through weekly email updates, and schedule small group rehearsals and solo auditions.
• Supervise others to perform non-music duties, such as creating promotional flyers, maintaining mailing lists, and updating the website.
• Works for/with the Board of Directors and attends their regular meetings.

• A minimum of 3 years of choral conducting experience.
• A degree in choral conducting, vocal performance, or similar preferred
• Highly collaborative, and excellent leadership abilities

This is a 10-month per year paid position that consists of a 90-minute weekly rehearsal (Tuesday 7:30 – 9:00 pm) as well as planning and conducting three major concerts (typically December, March and June) and occasional special concerts.

Pay Range: $800-1,050 monthly across 10 months (September–June); negotiable according to experience.

Should you have any questions about the role, please email fs.conductor@gmail.com.

If interested, you may apply via the application here. You’ll need a Google account in order to apply; should you run into any issues with that, please email fs.conductor@gmail.com. You will be expected to provide at least three references who are familiar with your work. We look forward to receiving all applications by December 31, 2023.