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AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS
ANNOUNCES NATIONWIDE SALARY SURVEY
FOR MUSICIANS AT RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
NEW YORK CITY — The American Guild of Organists (AGO), has published an innovative, technology-driven salary survey for musicians serving religious institutions. The survey, which is published in the November 2003 issue of THE AMERICAN ORGANIST Magazine (pp. 94–95), can be completed online at <www.agohq.org/survey>. Alternatively, individuals are welcome to photocopy the survey published in the magazine, complete it, and return it anonymously to AGO National Headquarters. The information collected from this survey will enable the AGO to better understand the current employment trends and evaluate compensation packages of organists and choral directors throughout the country in an effort to better support these professionals.
The survey, authorized by the AGO National Council and conducted by the AGO Committee on Career Development and Support, is designed to be completed within ten minutes. The actual length of completion time will depend primarily on the number or different institutions the respondent serves. Individuals employed by religious institutions are encouraged to complete the form regardless of whether or not they are Guild members. This will enable the committee to compare Guild members’ compensation packages and working conditions to those of non-Guild members.
“While a number of AGO chapters have successfully developed and administered salary surveys for their local constituencies, this is the first time a national salary survey has been developed by the Guild,” noted AGO Executive Director James Thomashower. “
This is an exceptionally important project for the Guild. It has the potential to yield a large quantity of useful information that the AGO can use to develop new insights and recommendations regarding the compensation packages of the nation’s church and synagogue musicians.”
Among the many other ambitious goals of the survey are the following: document the working environments and quantify the actual salaries and benefits packages of professional organists and choir directors; update and validate the AGO’s salary guidelines; assess the impact of education, Guild certification, and experience on an organist’s compensation package; and assess the effects of a religious institution’s economic, demographic, and denominational settings on the compensation package it provides.
The American Guild of Organists, the largest organization in the world dedicated to organ and choral music, supports its members and the institutions that employ them by providing a number of helpful publications including the AGO Salary Guide, Model Contracts, and Annual Employment Review. These are available in electronic form online at <www.agohq.org/profession> and from the AGO Bookstore by calling 1-800-AGO-5115.
The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS is the national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. Founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization, it sets and maintains high musical standards and promotes the under-standing and appreciation of all aspects of organ and choral music. The purpose of the AGO is to promote the organ in its historic and evolving roles, to encourage excellence in the performance of organ and choral music, and to provide a forum for mutual support, inspiration, education, and certification of Guild members. The Guild currently serves more than 20,000 members in more than 340 local chapters throughout the United States and abroad. THE AMERICAN ORGANIST Magazine, the official journal of the AGO, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, reaches an audience of more than 24,000 each month.
This information is submitted by F. Anthony Thurman, Director of Development and Communications. For further information, please contact Dr. Thurman at AGO National Headquarters. This press release is available on the Internet at <www.agohq.org/bulletin>.
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