[MusicTlk] Looking to Network with Church Music Directors

Tue Feb 3 17:43:35 UTC 2026

Hi Julie,

Years ago I used to be a church musician. In my first job I played the organ and directed the choir. It was challenging because I didn't know much about conducting or directing a choir while playing. In subsequent jobs I just played the organ. All the blind church musicians I have met over the years conducted and accompanied choral anthems, solos, and congregational singing.

You might tell us more about the job. Will you just be conducting or will you be playing an instrument at the same time. Typically if you are playing it would be a keyboard instrument. At this point I will assume you are just conducting. I would suggest several things. Have a basic understanding of conducting. This includes beat patterns, dynamics, and queuing particular musicians to start or stop. You might practice conducting gestures with another experienced musician. I don't think it matters whether the person is blind or sighted. In the case of the sighted person, they can stand a few feet away from you to see if you are communicating correctly. In the case of the blind person, they can feel your hand and arm motions. I'm glad you will be using Braille music. This will be helpful for you to prepare rehearsals and church services. Keep in mind that you will be communicating with volunteer singers with a wide variety of music skills. Some singers can't read music at all and follow what they hear. Other singers are fluent music readers so the music score you have should match that the choir is using. Communicate with choir members in a way they can understand. You would probably benefit from an introductory voice class where you learn how to help choir members correctly use their voices. You should probably have your own singing experience so you can provide demonstrations of good vocal techniques.

Get your Braille music scores well in advance of when you will be teaching the choir. I suggest memorizing the score as much as possible so your hands will be free to conduct. In my case I played the piano or the organ and conducted with my head. The situation isn't ideal but it's typical of how church organists work. Learn Braille music as well as you can. In a rehearsal, you may need to refer to measure numbers where you want a choir to start singing if you are going over a difficult passage in an anthem. I don't know what the situation with Braille music transcribers is like now but find one you can work with on a long-term basis. If you are lucky, some of the scores you will need may have already been transcribed and available from the NLS Music Section. If you ware responsible for choosing music, do this well in advance of when you will be rehearsing it. You might need a sighted person to go through your church's music library to help you select anthems. If I think of anything else, I will send another e-mail.

Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: MusicTlk <musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Julie A. Orozco via MusicTlk
Sent: Monday, February 2, 2026 1:05 PM
To: musictlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Julie A. Orozco <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
Subject: [MusicTlk] Looking to Network with Church Music Directors

Hi everyone,

I recently got a job at my church as their music director. It's the kind of work I've wanted to do for a long time, so this opportunity is so exciting to me. I get to lead the choirs, choose the music, and generally facilitate all music-related programing at our church. 

As I work out what resources I need and how to make my job accessible to me, I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has done this work. I read Braille music and will be using it as much as possible to learn choral and other music. I'd love to hear about how any blind church music directors got music into Braille, how you organized your print music, and any other tips you can share. 

Although I love the work, the learning curve is huge, and sometimes the inaccessibility of it all feels a little staggering. But I know I just need to find a rhythm and use the resources that work for me. My church is very accommodating and supportive. I can get readers when I need them, and they will even pay for me to get some of our pieces transcribed into Braille. 

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to finding others in this field.

Julie

Julie A. Orozco MM, JD

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