The Music Leadership Certification Curriculum

Music Leadership Certification Program Benefits

Music Leadership Certification Program Benefits

The UUA offers the MLCP curriculum through a series of six core courses and additional professional development trainings. The courses are now offered primarily online, with the remaining courses offered in-person at the Association of Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM) annual summer conference. In addition, the UUA hosts a Professional Development Training (PDT) annually, either online or at the conference.

Core Courses​​

  • Winter/Spring 2022 Online: Developing and Managing a Music Program 
    In this course, we will survey the practical aspects of developing and managing a dynamic music ministry. We will explore resources from the Association of UU Music Ministers and elsewhere, but our greatest resource will be each other. In addition to discussing the ‘nuts and bolts’ that make up our music programs, each participant will explore and discuss the culture that exists within his/her faith community. Programs tend to succeed when we understand who it is we are serving as music leaders.
  • Winter/Spring 2022 Online: Music and Worship
    This course will develop the music professional’s ability to create transformational worship as part of a collaborative team. By the end of the class, the participant will have an increased understanding of the role and function of music in worship and how to access appropriate resources within a Unitarian Universalist setting.
  • Summer 2022 Conference: Leadership of Congregational Singing
    This course will develop strong, effective, and inspiring leadership of hymns/songs for congregational singing. Through the use of both practical and written assignments, candidates will use a wide range of musical styles and techniques to help them broaden and deepen the worship experience of the congregations they serve. Matt Meyer & Francisco Ruiz, instructors. (Syllabus (Word, 4 pages) (PDF) Register Online
  • Summer 2022 Conference: Leading a Rehearsal
    This class will focus on elements of leading a choral rehearsal including warm ups, teaching and introducing new music to singers, working with a variety of singers, score preparation, troubleshooting and polishing music, timing and pacing your rehearsal for success, and creating a positive atmosphere in rehearsals. This will be a hands-on class. Glen Thomas Rideout, Instructor. (Syllabus, (Word, 6 pages) (PDF)
  • Summer 2023 Online: Spiritual Care Training for Congregational Leaders
    This course covers material for the pastoral care and professional ethics competencies for the Music Leadership Certification Program. The program includes the online coursework for “Spiritual Care Training for Religious Professionals,” which addresses pastoral boundaries and covenantal relationship with supervisors, deep presence, mental health, professional ethics, self care, and other topics. Participants will review the AUUMM Code of Professional Practice and complete a final paper or project that evidences proficiency with the materials covered in this class. Topics around anti-oppression and anti-racism will be woven into the discussions over the course of the program.
  • Summer/Fall 2023 Online: Toward a Multiculturally Competent Music Ministry 
    This course is designed to support the role and best practices of the music leader in a multiracial, multicultural, and theologically diverse Unitarian Universalist congregation. As a doorway for deepening the congregation’s commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of every congregant, the course supports music leaders in helping the congregation to explore, name, and integrate its values in service of compassion, justice, and inclusion. We will explore such questions as: What is the music leader’s role in communicating and embodying the core messages of Unitarian Universalism? How are music leaders called to enter into the current conversations and actions in our Unitarian Universalist movement around dismantling white-supremacy culture in our institutions?

Professional Development Trainings

The annual Professional Development Training (PDT) is meant to help hone skills to round out an enriching and successful music ministry, and will address some aspect of the following UU professional development topics:

  • UU Theology and History
  • Congregational Structure
  • Interpersonal Leadership

The UUA will offer PDTs online starting in 2023.

2022: System Theory and Unitarian Universalism by Connie Goodbread and Cameron Young. 2022 Syllabus (PDF, 3 pages)