The death last September of Mark Mangini, who had been the music director of the Choral Society of the Hamptons for more than 20 years, left the organization's members with a deep sense of loss and a massive void to fill.
"We knew it was on the horizon," said Maria Fumai Dietrich, the society's administrative director and a chorus member. "We knew as a chorus, and as the board of the chorus, that we weren't going to just jump forward in trying to find the next music director. We would take our time and be intentional about it."
Ms. Dietrich and Marcia Previti, a board member and singer, discussed the position and the search process during a recent meeting at Ms. Previti's home in Springs.
While there have been many guest conductors over the years, Mangini was only the second music director in the choral society's 76-year history. Though he typically conducted two of the three concerts the society performs each year, the music director's position involves not only conducting, but auditioning new singers, establishing schedules and budgets, setting objectives, and selecting programming repertoire.
"It’s very different conducting and teaching music to a chorus like ours," said Ms. Dietrich. "With a high school or college-level chorus, or a professional chorus, you have a baseline. But with us, due to our ages, our professional experience, and our experience with music, it’s an incredible diversity. Some of us come in with a lot of experience, some with very little."
In addition to its late spring, early summer, and winter holiday concerts, the choral society has other performance opportunities. It recently sang the national anthem for the Hampton Classic, and in October it will collaborate with Divaria Productions on "The Shakespeare Riots! An Opera" at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.
"As a chorus, we decided to have some conversations about who we are, why we exist, what are our values, what do we bring to this community, what makes us unique as far as community choruses or choral organizations go," said Ms. Dietrich.
"We did a thorough survey with our members and our stakeholders, we had open forum conversations. We really took our time with this process. Eventually, all of that came together and we built the job description."
The search committee consists of nine singers, several of whom are also board members. The process began with spreading the word about the open position, not only through personal contacts but also by posting with organizations such as the American Choral Director Association and Chorus America; tapping into Facebook communities, and posting with Chorus Connection, through which the society sells tickets.
The application period is underway, with a deadline set for Sept. 30. After conferring with some other choruses that have hired recently, including the Greenwich Village Chamber Singers, the society's sister chorus, the committee expects about a dozen candidates to meet the organization's criteria.
The first screening interviews will take place via Zoom, so that applicants won't be required to travel. After the candidates have been narrowed to two or three, personal interviews and conducting auditions will follow.
"Those auditions are when you see what their sense of humor is like, what their rapport with singers at very different levels is like," said Ms. Previti. "Without the conducting audition you really don't have a sense of how somebody leads in that space."
While Ms. Dietrich said it might take two years to ascertain how the pandemic impacted choruses and the job market for choral professionals, she feels there is a body of qualified people for the position.
Ms. Previti raised the locational issue. "There's a lot of talent out there, and certainly a lot of talent in the city, but to get it out here on a weekly basis is potentially an issue." While Mr. Mangini was based in Manhattan, he would drive out every week for rehearsal and then drive home the same evening. "Not everybody is willing to do that," she said. The cost of living on the East End is also a challenge.
Reflecting on emerging from the pandemic, Ms. Dietrich noted that singing, which had always brought her health and wellness, became the "very act that was so dangerous because of the way Covid is spread. But we are really motivated for the future. There is a future of people we want to sing for, and I think the music director we hire will take us there."
