Music Instructor

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Faculty or Staff:

Full Time or Part Time:

In-Person, Hybrid, or Remote:

Minimum Starting Rate of Pay:

Rate of pay commensurate with experience

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Job Description:

The Mount Holyoke College Department of Music seeks Music Instructors to teach Individual Performance Study (ie. music lessons) for interested students. Instructors are on the active roster for lessons in their instrument(s), though the total number of billable teaching hours each semester is subject, as always, to student enrollments. Our Music Instructors teach students at all levels, from beginner to advanced, across a range of voice types and instruments.

Individual Performance Study is one of the requirements for the Music major, supports excellence in our many department ensembles, and is also very popular with non-majors/minors. Lessons are one of the few instructional areas where a student can experience sustained one-on-one teaching, and may have the same instructor each semester for their entire undergraduate career. We therefore prize Music Instructors who cultivate welcoming, respectful, and supportive studios; offer students a diverse range of repertoire; prioritize wellness and sustainable approaches to technique; and help students develop pathways for a lifetime of thoughtful engagement with music, whatever their future professional goals may be.

This is an academic-year, non-benefited appointment (September 1 - May 31), renewable annually. 

Important Application Note:
This is a Rolling Application. We are continuously recruiting talent for our future needs. Submitting an application puts your information directly into our active pool, and we will contact you for an interview should a suitable opening become available. Submitting an application does not guarantee an opening.

Instruments currently offered:

• Piano

• Voice

• Flute

• Oboe

• Clarinet

• Saxophone

• Bassoon

• French Horn

• Trumpet - Currently Searching for Trumpet Instructor (for AY26-27)

• Trombone

• Tuba

• Percussion

• Harpsichord

• Organ

• Harp

• Guitar

• Electric Guitar

• Violin

• Viola

• Cello

• Double Bass

• Electric Bass

• Early instruments: Lute, Viola da Gamba, Recorders, etc.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Offer 10 30-minute or 60-minute lessons per student per semester, depending on the number of credits and student enrollments

• Assist students with placement and enrollment

• Prepare and distribute syllabi

• Prepare for lessons

• Assist students in preparing for end-of-semester performances and half or full recitals

• Assist students with mentorship and musical opportunities as appropriate

• Submit grades

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Music

• Minimum one year prior experience teaching one-on-one private music lessons

• Commitment to Mount Holyoke College’s climate of academic excellence and inclusive learning within our gender-diverse women’s liberal arts college environment

Compensation: $73.54/HR for lessons and $36.78/HR for administrative work

Special Instructions for Applicants:

Apply online; application materials must include:

• A cover letter summarizing interests and qualifications

• A complete resume or curriculum vitae

• Links to at least two videos of you in performance for each instrument you teach, recorded within the last 5 years

• Encouraged but not required: one or more videos of you teaching your instrument, recorded within the last 5 years

Background Checks:

Mount Holyoke College is committed to providing a safe and secure environment, supported by qualified employees that will allow all of its students, faculty, staff and those associated with them to successfully carry out the mission of the college. As a condition of employment, the College will conduct appropriate background checks for all new hires. Mount Holyoke has designated the Office of Human Resources as the office responsible for ensuring that background checks (CORI, SORI, Credit History, & Driver Credential) are completed and utilized in the hiring process and Five College Office of Compliance and Risk Management as the office responsible for facilitating background checks as articulated in this policy.

Special Instructions for Applicants: 

Apply online; application materials must include:

• A cover letter summarizing interests and qualifications

• A complete resume or curriculum vitae

• For faculty positions, statements on mentoring, teaching, and research will also be required.

​It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment.