Job Description / Duties

Overview:

We seek a dynamic Choral Director to lead our choral program and foster a vibrant musical community within our institution. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of choral music, exceptional leadership skills, and a proven track record of recruiting and developing talented singers to pursue undergraduate degrees in music education, music performance, music therapy, music industry studies, and a graduate degree in music performance.

Responsibilities:

Choral Program Development: Lead the development and enhancement of our choral program, crafting a vision that aligns with the values and goals of the Hayes School of Music with degree programs in music education, music performance, music therapy, and music industry studies.

Conducting: Conduct rehearsals and performances with precision, artistry, and enthusiasm, inspiring students to achieve musical excellence. Teach choral conducting courses and applied lessons.
Music Education: Deliver courses in the choral music education course sequence, including choral methods, choral literature, practicum, and student teaching.

Repertoire Selection: Curate a diverse repertoire that challenges and engages students while showcasing the breadth and depth of the choral tradition. Collaborate with faculty and student composers to generate interest and support for creating new repertoire.

Recruitment and Retention: Implement strategies to recruit talented singers and retain existing members, fostering a supportive and inclusive choral community.

Collaboration: Collaborate with other music faculty members and academic units to promote interdisciplinary learning opportunities and enrich students’ musical experiences.

Performance Opportunities: Organize and coordinate performances on and off campus, providing students with valuable opportunities to showcase their talents and engage with diverse audiences.
Management: Manage the choral area budget and resources, including the choral library, and represent the choral area on the Dean’s Advisory Council. Additional activities include participating in Hayes School of Music entrance auditions and coordinating choral auditions.

Community engagement: Serve as a resource for area choral programs.

The choral area at the Hayes School of Music is a vital resource to the school and the community. We seek a dynamic educator and conductor who demonstrates a commitment to building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment, including the programming of diverse repertoire and that of historically underrepresented composers and styles.

The Hayes School of Music maintains a close-knit community of engaged learners (faculty, staff, and students) who seek to provide a mutually supportive environment to nurture musicians pursuing careers in music education, performance, music therapy, and music industry studies at the undergraduate level and music performance and music therapy at the graduate level.

In the Hayes School of Music, full-time tenure-eligible or tenured faculty members teach 24 full-time equivalent hours (FTEs) per academic year. A faculty member may request reassigned time for up to 6 FTEs annually for research or creative activity.

Qualifications / Required Skills

The successful candidate must have a demonstrated history of or the potential for exceptional leadership in the field of Choral Conducting.

The candidate must have a proven track record of recruiting and developing talented singers and a recruiting plan for the Hayes School of Music.

The candidate must hold a DMA or Ph.D. in choral conducting, music education, or a related field. Only candidates with an earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution will be considered. Since ABD does not meet the minimum requirements, it will not be considered.

(Credit toward tenure may be granted to individuals who have held full-time tenure track positions.)

The School of Music seeks applicants with experience in collegiate-level choral conducting and/or pre-college (K-12) choral music education or the equivalent. Recruiting students, collaborating with voice faculty, and serving as a vital resource for the local, regional and national choral community is critical.

Additional Information

For a complete application, please apply and submit all below-required documents electronically in PDF format through Appalachian State University’s job board:

a curriculum vitae

a letter of interest addressing the essential duties and responsibilities outlined in the job description
contact information for five references (email and phone).

A PDF with links to video recordings of choral performances and rehearsal sessions. Rehearsal sessions should be working sessions that demonstrate the conductor’s rehearsal and teaching techniques. Links should include footage from the chorus members’ visual perspectives (camera facing the conductor) and a total of no more than 15 to 30 minutes each. The video examples should reflect rehearsals and performances in the past five years. Please do not send physical media or attach individual files for download, as the committee requires all video samples to be hosted on a media server for on-demand streaming.

Semi-finalists will be invited to an initial ZOOM interview. Finalists will be invited to an on-campus interview planned for the week of May 6, 2024.

Salary: Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Contact Information

https://appstate.peopleadmin.com/postings/45452