Lay Clerk (Paid Singer) Openings
The Cathedral Choirs
Lay Clerk Positions 2026/27
Music is an integral part of the Cathedral’s rich liturgical life, and is expressed in a variety of ways each Sunday throughout the year.
Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver invites applications for Lay Clerk positions for the 2026/27 season. Appointments are made annually for one season (September to June) in an open application and audition process. Previous position holders may reapply in subsequent years.
The duty schedule is divided into streams. Applicants may apply to any one, or any combination of the following:
A: Sunday: 10.30am Sung Eucharist and monthly Sunday Choral Evensong.
Schedule: Thursday evenings weekly from 7.30-9.30pm (rehearsal); Sundays weekly at 9.30am (rehearsal) for 10.30am (ending c. 11.50am); monthly on Sundays at 2.30pm (rehearsal) for 4pm Choral Evensong.
Additional rehearsals and services will be scheduled according to the Church calendar - including for Advent and Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. A full projected schedule for the season from September 2026 to June 2027 will be provided in letters of appointment.
B: Sundays@4: Cantors and Soloists for Sung Evening Prayer.
Music is presented in various styles, including Holden Evening Prayer, Taizé, and Broadway Vespers.
Schedule: Sunday - three or four times a month at 2.45pm for 4pm (ending by 5pm). There is no mid-week rehearsal for Sundays@4.
One Sunday each month is sung by Schedule A above for Choral Evensong, hence the reason Schedule B is not a weekly commitment.
C: Sunday: 8pm Compline.
The full SATB ensemble sings once or twice a month; on other weeks, upper- or lower-voice groups perform. Each voice type is scheduled for two or three services per month.
Schedule: 7pm (rehearsal) for 8pm Compline (ending by 8.30pm).
D: Wednesday Choral Evensong/Sung Evening Prayer (starting Fall 2026, date tbc).
A new week-night service of Choral Evensong or Sung Evening Prayer. We aim to start this in September or October 2026, date tbc.
Schedule: 5pm brief warm-up; 5.30pm Choral Evensong; [break c. 6.15-6.45pm]; 6.45-8pm rehearsal for the following week.
Skills, qualifications, and experience:
- A degree in music (not necessarily in voice), or demonstrable equivalent training and experience.
- Superior sight-reading skills.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, and to learn quickly a large repertoire of music that changes weekly.
- The ability to blend chorally in a group with a traditional (pure) Anglican sound.
Remuneration (quoted per schedule stream as shown above):
- Standard call fees for Thursday rehearsal: $70; Sunday 10.30am Services, and Choral Evensong: $87.50. Some longer services will be paid at a higher rate.
- Sundays@4: Standard call fee: $87.50.
- Compline: $70.
- Wednesday Evensong/Evening Prayer: $87.50 for the warm-up and service only; $105 including the following rehearsal.
Lay Clerks will be offered opportunities to sing at weddings and funerals in the Cathedral for additional fees, as the need arises.
Applications:
Applicants should send a musical resumé and cover letter, stating their voice part and the schedule streams (A, B, C, D) for which they would like to be considered. Candidates may include links to recordings of solo performances if they wish.
Please send all materials via email to:
The Music Administrative Assistant
Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, BC
The initial review of applications will begin on July 15, 2026. Applications will remain open until the positions are filled. Auditions and interviews will be scheduled during July and August according to candidate availability.