Musical Director/Vocal Arranger/Keyboardist

Overview: Looking for a Musical Director/Vocal Arranger/Keyboardist for a Motown-based band that performs Classic R&B/Soul and Pop classics of the 60s, 70s, and 80s by artist such as The Supremes, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Jackson Five, Chaka Khan & Rufus, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and many more. Performances are one to two times per month at the minimum between June – September 2024. Performances are outdoors as well as indoors. The band consists of the lead singer, rhythm section, wind and brass instruments, and background singers. Members on stage can be as many as 12-16 members per performance. The Band Leader/Lead Singer makes the songs selections, provides the sheet music/lead sheets, schedules rehearsals and performances, manages the band and its members, and is present for all rehearsals and performances. A Musical Director is needed to facilitate the rehearsals with the background singers by providing expertise in working with singers and vocal arrangements. Lastly, the MD will assist the Band Leader by directing the transitions of songs during rehearsals and live performances.

Job Description (Part-Time/Seasonal Position) .The Musical Director is an accomplished musician and leads the background singers and band. The Musical Director is to ensure the background singers rehearse and have the proper vocal arrangements prepared for performances as their knowledge, skills, and expertise will be an asset in assisting the background singers through the process. The background singers will rehearse once a week starting in April 2024 and will be dependent on all members availability. The full band rehearsals will start in late June 2024; there is scheduled to be a minimum of 2 full band rehearsals, which will also depend on all members availability.

Lastly, the Musical Director is needed to ensure that for live performances the tempos are set correctly, the endings and transitions of each song are rehearsed and executed. Doing so, the MD will direct the stops, starts and transitions between songs.

Qualifications/Requirements:

§  Must have reliable transportation to and from rehearsal and performances.

§  Ability to play piano/keyboard with experience in musical styles such as but not limited to: Jazz, Pop, R&B, Gospel.

§  Proficient in reading sheet music and learning new songs in a timely fashion.

§  Experience in live performances.

§  Ability to work well under pressure.

§  Flexibility to adapt to different performance styles and genres.

§  Facilitate the background singer rehearsals and vocal warmups at the start of the rehearsals.

§  Arrange the vocal parts for the background singers; singers may consist of male and female vocalist with various vocal ranges.

§  Great interpersonal, and communication skills

§  Ability to give clear instructions and make decisions under pressure.

§  Willingness to collaborate with the band leader.

 

Please note: Singers and musicians are not required to have the music memorized, and can have sheet music, lead sheets (paper or electronic), vocal sheets during rehearsals and performances, however, singers/musicians are expected to be prepared for rehearsals and performances.

Rehearsal space Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Compensation:

*Paid Rehearsals

*Paid Performances

*Sheet music provided/and or electronic charts provided (via Google Drive)

*Piano/Keys are provided for rehearsals only

If interested, please contact Laura Lukaszewski at lauralukas89@gmail.com for more information regarding performance dates, compensation rates and any other questions.