CLOSED: Sonido Musica Teaching Artist – Brass

THIS POSTING IS CLOSED

Community Music School of Springfield seeks a part time Brass Teaching Artist for our Sonido Musica Program.

Community Music School of Springfield (CMSS)’s mission is to provide an equitable and inclusive center of excellence in music education, arts learning, and cultural engagement that empowers individuals, inspires creative passion, and promotes well-being in our greater community. We seek to build a diverse staff that reflects the community we serve, and encourage Latinx and Black individuals to apply. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

About Sonido Musica

opens in a new windowSonido Musica is a Creative Youth Development program, in partnership with Springfield and Holyoke public schools, to support musical learning, social-emotional growth, and leadership development for youth. Students in Sonido Musica participate in weekly ensemble music classes during school, led by CMSS faculty. Ensembles include band, orchestra, guitar, bucket drumming, and music production. This opportunity is available to elementary, middle and high school students at any experience level in schools that have agreed to partner with CMSS. Sonido Musica provides instruction and an instrument to each student at no cost to their family.

By providing high quality music education with Social-Emotional Learning components, Sonido helps youth develop expressive skills, problem solving skills, and perseverance. Through performance opportunities, youth build courage and self-confidence. Through a group dynamic of community care, support, and respect, students develop their ability to relate to others and build connections with people from different backgrounds and generations.

Job Description

Sonido Musica Teaching Artists are responsible for providing high quality music instruction grounded in Community Music School of Springfield’s mission to provide an equitable and inclusive center of excellence in music education that empowers individuals, inspires creative passion, and promotes well-being in our greater community. They are expected to be knowledgeable in the literature, technique and teaching methods of their instruments or disciplines. They must have sensitivity and responsiveness to the individual needs and musical goals of their students, and an awareness of their overall impact on students’ musical and personal growth. Most Sonido Musica ensembles are co-taught with another Sonido Musica Teaching Artist.

Sonido Teaching Artists meet monthly with the teaching artists in their content area, and semi-annually (January and June) with the Program Director, to align instruction and discuss techniques, challenges, successes, and opportunities.  Professional development and continued learning and growth, particularly in the areas of trauma-informed teaching and culturally responsive pedagogy, are strongly encouraged and supported for Sonido Musica Teaching Artists.

Responsibilities:

1. Teaching Sonido Musica ensembles during the school year and/or summer workshops
2. Facilitating professional virtual instruction when CMSS indicates virtual instruction is necessary
3. Attending all classes, staff meetings, student performances, trainings/workshops, and other Sonido events unless ill or otherwise unable, and giving advance notice when not able to attend
4. Modeling for our students respectful speech, body language and voice tone
5. Taking time to thoughtfully prepare weekly lessons and plans for each class
6. Responding to all CMSS/Sonido Musica communications and requests for information in a timely manner
7. Filling out all time sheets accurately and on time
8. Providing timely notification of absences, and helping to find a substitute teacher when needed.
9. Assisting with scheduling, preparing and coordinating performances
10. Abiding by all Employee Handbook policies and procedures

Required Qualifications:

1. Teaching experience – including tailoring lessons to each student’s needs, assessing and giving feedback on students’ progress, helping students prepare for performances, and mentoring young students
2. Professional performance experience
3. Ability to demonstrate effective teaching techniques for your instrument
4. Knowledge of repertoire for all skill levels on your instrument
5. Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusivity, which are foundational to CMSS’ mission
6. Strong interpersonal skills; Ability to communicate compassionately and respectfully with people from a variety of races, ethnicities, cultures, genders, abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds
7. Ability to work collaboratively and share responsibility with colleagues
8. Punctuality and reliability

Preferred Qualifications:

1. Experience with trauma-informed teaching and social-emotional learning
2. Experience teaching music in a school setting
3. References from members of our community or faculty
4. Skills in multiple different musical styles and genres
5. Experience performing and/or teaching in the Greater Springfield area
6. Experience tailoring lessons/content to be culturally relevant to the student
7. Experience teaching students with different learning styles
8. Classroom management experience
9. Higher education in music

Compensation:

Sonido Musica Teaching Artists are paid $58 per hour for co-teaching (teaching an ensemble with another Sonido Musica Teaching Artist), $80 per hour for solo teaching, and $30 per hour for staff meetings and professional development.

To apply, please send your resume or CV to Sierra Simmons, Associate Direcetor, at ssimmons@communitymusicschool.comcreate new email. Please indicate the position you are applying for in the subject of your email.