Conductor and Orchestral Coach

Application deadline: 
Tuesday, 5 September 2023
Description of vacancy: 

About us

Music for Everyone is the East Midlands’ largest independent music charity, delivering a dynamic range of instrumental and vocal music-making opportunities to people of all ages and abilities across the region. We have just celebrated our 40th Anniversary Season, and are now looking forward to the next 40 years.

About the role

We are seeking an inspiring and charismatic conductor to lead our Daytime Orchestra programme. The successful candidate will be an experienced symphony orchestra conductor, with a strong background as an adult educator, animateur and/or teacher. We are not seeking applications from band conductors or single-practice instrumental teachers.

MfE’s Daytime Orchestras are informal and fun whilst being inspiring and educational. Across our weekly sessions, around 100 adult musicians tackle ambitious symphonic repertoire without the pressure of public performances. Members range from c.Grade 3 adult beginners to retired professional orchestral players. Each orchestra covers around 15 works per season, across three terms of sessions. We currently run two orchestras – in Loughborough on Tuesday mornings and in Nottingham on Thursday mornings – and have plans to expand to a third group in the near future.

If you are passionate about making high-quality classical music with amateur adult players, have a track record of inspiring players to expand their musical horizons, and are currently available on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in term time, we want to hear from you.

Time Commitment and Fee

The season runs from September to July, based on 3x 10-week terms, roughly following the school year. This contract is for one season, with a probation-type review after one term.

The rehearsal fee is £73.50 per 2-hour rehearsal. The current programme has c.60 rehearsals per season (equating to £4,410), with a hope to expand.

We are ideally looking for one person to lead both current orchestras and help us develop our plans to expand the programme. We are however open to proposals for job share arrangements. Note that the current schedule (Tuesday and Thursday mornings) cannot be changed

This is a freelance contract, and the successful candidate will be responsible for any tax liabilities that arise from it, including but not limited to income tax and NI.

How to Apply

To apply, we would like a short statement outlining your experience and interest in the role. This can be written (max. 1 side A4), or a self-taped voice note/video (max. 3 mins).

Please send your statement, along with a CV to Su Evans, General Manager, on su@music-for-everyone.org. You may include YouTube or other streaming links to videos of your conducting work, but please do not send download links (e.g. WeTransfer) as we will not be able to review these.

Music for Everyone is an Equal Opportunities employer and believes that diversity is the key to a strong, safe and effective workplace. You must complete this Equal Opportunities form to validate your application: https://forms.office.com/e/kY5gvf93fe

For an informal chat about the role, please contact admin@music-for-everyone.org and someone will be in touch.