Director, Brown University Orchestra and Faculty Member in the Department of Music

Location: Providence, RI
Closes: January 16, 2018 (recommended deadline; open until filled)

Brown University seeks an accomplished musician, conductor, and teacher to join the Department of Music as a full-time faculty member with responsibility for directing the University’s student orchestra, contributing to the department’s educational programs, and playing a key role in Brown’s cultural and intellectual life. The Director will hold a faculty appointment appropriate to his/her background and experience, such as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, or Professor of the Practice.  This position carries full University benefits.

The Department of Music is a key department in Brown University’s current strategic plan, Building on Distinction and one of the constituent members of the recently established Brown Arts Initiative. The next Orchestra Director would ideally take up the position on July 1, 2018 and play an important role in the development of Brown’s new Performing Arts Center, slated for completion in 2021, which will include a new concert hall.

The Brown University Orchestra

The Brown University Orchestra (BUO) is the largest performing group on campus.  It is an inclusive student organization with an annual membership of around 90 undergraduate and graduate student musicians from Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Alumni and community members may participate in positions that are not filled from within the current student body.

BUO performs diverse, varied, and adventurous programs of symphonic music past and present. This includes a wide range of orchestral repertoire, concertos with soloists chosen in the yearly Brown University Concerto Competition, and new music composed by Brown faculty and visiting artists.  In addition to working with other campus ensembles like the Brown University Chorus, BUO has collaborated with world-renowned guests including Itzhak Perlman, Eugenia Zukerman, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Tracy Silverman. BUO recently recorded a prize-winning CD for Naxos. Over the last decade, BUO has toured in Ireland and China, and performed in US venues including Carnegie Hall and at Bard College.

The Role of the Director

The Orchestra Director’s responsibilities include selection of repertoire, organizing rehearsals and sectionals, and other preparation for conducting a series of concert programs given during the academic year.  The Director also oversees orchestra auditions, a concerto competition to choose student soloists, the elected student orchestra board and librarians, a collection of percussion and other instruments, and the hiring of guest soloists and musicians from the community as needed.  The Director meets with prospective students interested in participating in BUO and oversees the evaluation of undergraduate admission supplements for strings.  For consideration is oversight of the Chamber Music program and the strings section of the department’s Applied Music Program.

The Director participates as a fully engaged and collaborative member of the Department of Music’s community of scholars, composers, and performers.  Consistent with the faculty appointment that comes with this position, the Director teaches one course per semester (on music theory, music history, orchestral conducting, or other relevant topics in music), serves on committees, and shares in other areas of departmental business.   

Qualifications and Qualities

Best consideration will be given to candidates who demonstrate the following:

• Advanced degree in music, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience conducting, administering, and programming a college or university orchestra.
• A broad, inclusive, and inspiring approach to orchestral repertoire.
• Appreciation of the nature and role student orchestras within a liberal arts academic environment.
• A successful track record of coaching and motivating student musicians to achieve excellence in performance.
• Teaching experience commensurate with a faculty appointment at Brown University.
• A commitment to diversity and inclusion.
• A collegial disposition and interest in building community among faculty and students.

Application Instructions

To apply for this position, please use the following link: apply.interfolio.com/47742


Application requirements include a cover letter responding to the criteria and qualifications for the position, a current CV, an illustrative four-year plan for orchestral programs, a link to a video performance (no physical media), a teaching statement, and the names of three referees who can be contacted at a subsequent stage of candidacy. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled, but best consideration will be given to materials submitted by January 16, 2018.

Brown University is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic global community; as an EEO/AA employer, Brown considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, gender, race, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

For more information about Brown University, please visit www.brown.edu.