Job Description / Duties

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Butler University School of Music, in the Jordan College of the Arts, is inviting applications and nominations for Lecturer in Voice (full-time non-tenure track, three-year renewable contract).

The Butler University School of Music, Jordan College of the Arts, is inviting applications and nominations of high-quality teachers for the position of Lecturer in Voice. This is a full-time, non-tenure-track position. The three-year contract is renewable with the possibility of promotion to Senior Lecturer per University policy. Job duties include teaching and service; while scholarly/creative activities are appreciated, they are not requirements of this appointment.

Butler University seeks faculty who are committed to providing high-quality engagement with students, high levels of academic challenge and support, and meaningful experiences that prepare students for life and leadership in a diverse, multicultural world. Two of Butler’s key strategic goals are “to create an intentionally diverse, inclusive, and equitable campus community,” and to “build a culture of empowerment, engagement and accountability.” The successful candidate will actively contribute to building an inclusive learning environment for an increasingly diverse student population, and demonstrate commitment to performing and teaching diverse repertoires. Butler provides faculty development support for work that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging on our campus.

The Butler Voice Area seeks a candidate who puts teaching first, and consistently strives to improve teaching efficacy. The voice faculty works together closely, serving all students in the area equitably, and regularly engaging in cross-studio teaching. We have a healthy, growing program and are seeking to expand our team. The successful candidate will lend support to our current efforts.

TEACHING DUTIES: (1) Provide excellent private voice instruction to all assigned students. Since this is the primary function of the position, it is imperative that the teacher maintain a regular presence on campus, starting and ending regularly scheduled lessons on time. (2) Teach two weekly studio classes: Monday afternoons (independently taught) and Wednesday afternoons (collaboratively taught by all voice faculty). (3) Teach assigned voice-related courses such as diction, vocal repertoire classes (musical theater, oratorio/chamber music, opera), and/or social-justice-themed applied voice classes. (4) Provide formal and informal advising, mentorship, and high levels of academic support consistent with Butler’s student-centered culture, and in close collaboration with colleagues in the choral and music education areas. (5) Represent Butler in Indiana and Great Lakes Regional NATS chapters, engaging Butler students in NATS auditions.

SERVICE DUTIES: (1) Devote time each week to recruiting voice majors, including providing sample lessons to prospective students, attending and assessing all voice auditions and pre-screenings, judging/teaching workshops at the annual Butler University Vocal Competition for high school students, adjudicating competitions and following up with promising performers, building relationships with independent studio teachers, and contributing one’s own creative strategies. (2) Evaluate degree recitals, recital hearings, upper divisional examinations, and all end-of-semester voice performance exams. (3) Attend and participate in faculty meetings and serve on committees as assigned. (4) Model artistic performance for students on campus. (6) Additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications / Required Skills

QUALIFICATIONS: Required qualifications include a master’s degree in music, and evidence of professional-level vocal performance, successful voice teaching, an inclusive approach to teaching and programming, and working knowledge of English, Italian, French, and German lyric diction.

Preferred qualifications include a doctorate in music (voice/opera performance and/or pedagogy), a record of effective college-level applied voice and classroom teaching, proven success in the recruitment and retention of college music majors, and a record of performance/scholarship/research/art activism in DEIA/SJD area. Tenors and mezzos are preferred; all applications will be reviewed.

Additional welcome qualifications include the ability to teach lyric diction in Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, or other languages; experience in teaching musical theatre, gospel and/or contemporary commercial (CCM) styles; experience in pedagogy for trans voices and gender expansive singers; and/or training in somatic modalities such as Alexander Technique or Feldenkrais Method. This advertisement can be viewed online at https://www.butler.edu/human-resources/current-opportunities/faculty-openings/.

Additional Information

POSITION: Full-time Lecturer in Voice (Three-year renewable contract)

RANK AND SALARY: Lecturer (non-tenure track). Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Butler University School of Music, in the Jordan College of the Arts, is inviting applications and nominations for Lecturer in Voice (full-time non-tenure track, three-year renewable contract).

APPLICATION: Review of applications will begin March 15 and will continue until the position is filled. Applications should include a cover letter; current curriculum vitae; a statement on the candidate’s commitment to and experience in advancing equity, inclusion, and access in their teaching and or professional work; and contact information for four references. The requested information should be submitted in a single PDF document to jlroger1@butler.edu. Please do not send recordings at this time. However, links to online recordings may be included in the application materials. Some applicants may subsequently be asked to provide links to video excerpts of lessons and/or classroom teaching.

BUTLER VOICE AREA VISION STATEMENT: The Voice Area of the School of Music, Jordan College of the Arts, Butler University is singularly focused on student success. We are a supportive community of learners; a highly collaborative teaching unit unified to help students achieve their goals. We value community and believe that success for one does not deprive another. We offer support and opportunities for all voice majors without regard to studio placement or degree plan. We welcome students from all musical and cultural backgrounds, and embrace students for whom singing is one of several passions. We encourage student agency in decision making, and work closely with the Choral Music Education and the Choral Activities areas to create a cohesive environment in which every voice major can thrive.

Our voice curriculum brings together the strongest elements of our School of Music and Butler University’s liberal arts environment. We challenge our singers to connect scholarship, programming, and performance practice through research and reflection. We are committed to studying repertoire for the concert and operatic stages that gives voice to diverse perspectives, bringing attention to structural inequities and developing strategies for justice-oriented informed performance.

We employ a science-informed, evidence-based pedagogic framework for our applied teaching, which is rooted in the Western Classical style and bel canto tradition; through that lens, we explore functional application to other styles including musical theatre, jazz, gospel, and commercial music (CCM). Our students engage with a unique breadth of voice-specific coursework in literature and pedagogy at the undergraduate level. We encourage students to be intentional as they make connections between their diverse musical and cultural identities and their artistic work.

We believe that providing a safe space for exploration along with mutual respect and accountability allows us to graduate singing scholars who are musically independent, culturally aware, and technically equipped for healthy long-term professional use of their voices. It is a joy to welcome our graduates as new colleagues when they begin their professional lives or pursue graduate study as citizen artists.

Contact Information

Butler University School of Music
www.butler.edu/music

317-940-9246
Joy Rogers
Administrative Assistant

Employer Profile

ABOUT BUTLER UNIVERSITY: Butler University, one of the nation’s leading master’s comprehensive universities, was founded in 1855 by abolitionist Ovid Butler on the principle of equal access to higher education regardless of gender or race. The School of Music, one of the first schools in the country accredited by NASM, enrolls over 200 majors pursuing Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in a wide variety of curricula including performance, music education, composition, and jazz studies. The Jordan College of the Arts (JCA) includes the School of Music as well as the departments of dance, theatre, arts administration, art, and the Butler Community Arts School, an arts education program where Butler students serve as Teaching Fellows. JCA provides focused professional study and collaborative, creative experiences within the context of a strong liberal arts university. We value an inclusive and welcoming environment with a diverse range of artists, traditions, ideas, and audiences, and we emphasize the development of students as artist-citizens who will become leaders in arts and society.

Butler University is located north of downtown Indianapolis, which is the home to Music for All/Bands of America, several professional recording studios, Yamaha Artist Services, Indianapolis Opera, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the American Pianists Association, and many other prominent music organizations. Butler University was recently ranked the No. 1 Midwest Regional University by US News and World Report.


Butler University is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable environment for all employees. We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of age, gender, gender identity, sex, race, religion, color, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other legally protected category.