Job Center > Director of Choral Activities, Asst./Assoc./Full Professor of Music - Furman University

Director of Choral Activities, Asst./Assoc./Full Professor of Music - Furman University

This is a Permanent, Full-time position.

Category: College/University
State/Province: Greenville, SC
Position: Director of Choral Activities, Asst./Assoc./Full Professor of Music
Deadline: February 2, 2022
Posted: December 16, 2021

Job Description / Duties

The Department of Music at Furman University seeks applicants for a Director of Choral Activities to begin August 2022. This is a full-time, Assistant/Associate/Full Professor, tenure-track faculty position.

Furman University enjoys a reputation as one of the most academically challenging institutions in the country; the Department of Music is considered among its peers to be one of the premier undergraduate music departments. Furman has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) since 1937. The Department of Music’s faculty – comprised of approximately 19 full time and 21 part-time performing artists and scholars – and its staff are committed to providing a stimulating and creative educational environment for its approximately 150 music majors and 100 non-major participants.
Furman University has long enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for excellence in the vocal arts. In addition to the scores of graduates in prestigious positions as choral musicians in colleges, churches and schools, Furman alumni will be found on the rosters of opera houses throughout the world. Furman presents fully staged lyric theatre productions and choral/orchestral programs that provide student solo opportunities.

Founded in 1946, Furman Singers is one of the premier collegiate ensembles in America. It has had only three conductors: the late DuPre Rhame until 1970, Bingham L. Vick, Jr until 2010, and Hugh Ferguson Floyd, until his retirement in 2022. The Singers have appeared at state, regional and national conferences of the MENC and the ACDA. They have taken a tour of the eastern United States each year, and they have toured abroad every other year. The director of Furman Singers holds an endowed chair which generates significant support for the ensemble’s endeavors. Furman Singers enjoy tremendous community and alumni support, and they are viewed as one of Furman’s most effective ambassadors. Every other summer, the Furman Singers Alumni Association holds a reunion where alumni gather for a weekend of rehearsal and singing.

Furman University is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all facets of university life, and strives to create an anti-racist community through excellence in teaching, mentorship, and programming. Numerous initiatives and programs are underway or planned to promote these ideals, including: historic projects, dialogue initiatives, the Center for Inclusive Communities, and a new major in Africana Studies. The Department of Music recently created a Council on Equity and Inclusion in Music, consisting of faculty and students, which advises and guides Department of Music leadership on all matters related to diversity, equity, and access within the department’s curriculum, policies, and operations. The Director of Choral Activities will contribute to promoting these ideals of inclusive excellence in the Department of Music.

Responsibilities
-The successful candidate will be a gifted conductor and teacher with overall responsibility for maintaining and building upon a nationally significant program of choral activities
-The Director of Choral Activities will have leadership over all choral components of the vocal program; they will conduct the Furman Singers and other choral ensembles as needed by the department
-They will demonstrate ongoing commitment to creative activity as a conductor and/or scholar, and they will be directly involved in student recruitment, including diversifying and expanding our applicant pool
-The successful candidate will contribute (through teaching, scholarship, advising, and service) to our department's commitment to increasing diversity, promoting inclusivity, and advancing equity
-Other duties may include teaching conducting, choral literature, choral methods, and other topics based on qualifications, experience, and departmental need.
-The ideal candidate will continue to foster the existing positive, collaborative working relationship with our voice faculty
-The director of the Furman Singers helps with the organization and planning of the Furman Singers Alumni Weekend

Qualifications / Required Skills

-Earned doctorate in music at the time of appointment
-The ability to work with historically underrepresented students, including students of color, and be committed to assisting the university in its continuing efforts to become a model of inclusive excellence
-Evidence of high quality, sustained creative activity in music performance
-Evidence of excellence in undergraduate teaching, success in student recruiting, and a record of significant professional activity are strongly preferred

Additional Information

To apply, please visit jobs.furman.edu, create an account, and submit the following in a single PDF document:

-Letter of application
-Curriculum vitae
-A statement of teaching philosophy that also includes how the candidate might contribute to a liberal arts college community that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion among its core values (approximately one to two pages)
-A document that contains links to video recordings of recent performances and rehearsals representing a variety of styles and genres, not exceeding 20 minutes in length
-Unofficial undergraduate and graduate transcripts (official transcripts will be required of final candidates)
-Contact information, including email address, for at least three references (References may be contacted at a later stage of the search and only with the candidate's approval.)

Review of applications will begin February 2, 2022. Selected candidates may later be asked to submit additional materials, including links to video recordings of recent teaching.

Contact Information

Questions and requests for additional information should be addressed to Randall.Umstead@furman.edu. Applications will be accepted and reviewed until the position is filled.

Employer Profile

Furman University is a selective private liberal arts and sciences college committed to helping students develop intellectually, personally, and interpersonally and providing the practical skills necessary to succeed in a rapidly-changing world. Furman professors are exceptional teacher-scholars who mentor undergraduate students within a campus community that values and encourages diverse ideas and perspectives. Our recently-launched strategic vision, The Furman Advantage, promises students an individualized four-year pathway facilitated by team of mentors and infused with a rich and varied set of high impact experiences outside the classroom that include undergraduate research, study away, internships, community-focused learning, and opportunities to engage across differences.

Furman is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty and staff. The University aspires to create a community of people representing a multiplicity of identities including gender, race, religion, spiritual belief, sexual orientation, geographic origin, socioeconomic background, ideology, world view, and varied abilities.

In keeping with our commitment to equity and inclusion, domestic partners of employees are eligible for comprehensive benefits and faculty/staff affinity groups exist to offer support for faculty/staff that identify as LGBTQIA+ and/or Black/African-American.
The Furman student experience is supported by a rich network of centers and institutes that includes The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, The Riley Institute, The David E. Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, The Institute for the Advancement of Community Health, The Rinker Center for Study Away and International Education, The Cothran Center for Vocational Reflection, The Shucker Center for Leadership Development, The Malone Center for Career Engagement, and our newest addition, The Center for Inclusive Communities.

Furman is located on traditional Cherokee land in Greenville, South Carolina, a racially and culturally diverse community that is one of the fastest growing cities in the Southeast. It has been ranked among “America’s Ten Best” by Forbes Magazine. Greenville has a thriving downtown, excellent private and public schools and a vibrant international community. A 20-mile bike and running trail connects the university to Greenville and Travelers Rest, which was named “one of America’s coolest small towns.” It is within a short driving distance of Asheville, Charlotte and Atlanta. The Blue Ridge Mountains and Atlantic Beaches are within easy reach.