Striking the Right Chord In Paying the Music Director

Music directors are third in line when it comes to getting paid in some of our congregations. Congregations that struggle to pay the minister and director of religious education at responsible levels often find they have little left for music.

At First UU Church, Nashville, TN (371 members), the music director resigned four years ago to return to college with a warning that a pay increase would be necessary to hire a successor, says Lisa Pasto-Crosby, former music committee chair.

Armed with a careful log of his hours and activities and the UUA Guidelines on Staff Compensation, the search committee asked for more money. The money wasn't available so the committee trimmed duties from the position. Volunteers had to take over some tasks, such as leading the children's choir for a year, but when the duties were given back to the director, they were assigned at the higher hourly rate. The music director is now a half-time employee at a rate within UUA guidelines.

At a 300-member congregation in the southern US, the music director recalls a time a few years ago when the pay was about $50 per week. "The feeling among some people was that I enjoyed what I was doing, and therefore it was not work," the director says, "and that the choir just got up and sang. It took education to get people to realize there was a lot of preparation and rehearsal before we sang."

Six months ago she became full time, at a salary of about $22,000, scheduled to increase next year if the canvass is successful. She credits four factors: one-on-one education, gradual improvement in music quality, a survey of pay rates at area congregations, and the use of UUA compensation guidelines.

At Jefferson Unitarian Church, Golden, CO (475 members), the director of music ministry's salary was raised from $7,000 to $24,000 over three years when the personnel committee, backed by the ministers, adopted the UUA guidelines for all professional staff at Golden. "If we had simply tried to increase the salary in isolation of other staff, I don't think it would have happened," says music director Keith Arnold.

Joyce Gilbert, president of the UU Musicians Network, recommends that a congregation's music program always have its own budget line. If music staffers choose to donate their services, she suggests they take a salary, then write a check back to the church, thus ensuring that the music program remains part of the budget. "Churches and fellowships are businesses with fiscal responsibilities," Gilbert, of Rochester, NY, notes. "Music is a business expense and should be recognized as such."

The music director should be "a little hardheaded," Gilbert says, and insist on necessities like piano tuning. A list of recurring expenses should be kept and budgeted for. Any music fund-raising should be for extras only. "Music ministry should be treated as the essential component of a congregation's worship experience that it is," Gilbert says, "and the music director's contributions be recognized fairly."

RESOURCES

UUA district offices have compensation consultants to help congregations find ways to pay staff fairly. The new compensation chart for professional staff, on the UUA website at http://www.uua.org/programs/ministry/finances/2004salary.html, went into effect July 1, 2000. A report was also mailed to all congregations.

The Unitarian Universalist Musicians' Network (UUMN) helps connect church musicians and music program volunteers from congregations of all sizes. Contact it at (800) 969-UUMN or http://www.uua.org/uumn.