GCTYO is hiring!

Brass Coach

Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras is seeking applicants for a Brass Coach position. Qualified individuals from backgrounds traditionally under-represented in classical music are strongly encouraged to apply.

Coaches work closely with the Music Director and Conductors of the orchestras in the program to support students both musically and technically during each of our concert cycles. 

Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras is located in Fairfield, Connecticut. Rehearsals are most Saturday mornings during the school year (except vacation days). At least 3 concerts per year are performed in November, early March, and May. Read our DEI Statement below and our mission statement here: https://gctyo.org/mission-statement. We are also on Facebook and Instagram.

Join a thriving organization and teach students who are eager to learn and dedicated to making music!

Responsibilities:

– Conduct weekly Saturday morning sectional rehearsals ( and a couple of Sundays) from September through the middle of May

– Attend periodic staff meetings and professional development sessions

– Communicate with Music Director and conductors and establish effective rehearsal plans

– Communicate with Executive Director

– Attend, assist, and conduct at 3 concerts per year

– Assist with auditions as needed

Qualifications:

– Bachelor’s degree in Music or Music Education is required

– Ability to establish the highest standards of music performance, while being supportive, understanding, and approachable

– A demonstrated appreciation for and understanding of the needs of all levels of student brass musicians

– A demonstrated appreciation for and understanding of the needs of high performing students

– Demonstrated success in teaching brass techniques and methods

Please send the following materials to:

Music Director Christopher Hisey (he/him) at Musicdirector@gctyo.org.

– Cover Letter addressing interest, experience with, and desire to work with youth orchestras

– Curriculum Vitae 

– A minimum of three professional references with contact information

Start date is as soon as possible. Position is a one hour coaching session per rehearsal from 11 AM-12 PM in Fairfield, CT for advanced brass students, with potential for more responsibility in the future. Compensation will be $275/month for the rest of the season, October through May. Teaching Artists are compensated for attending professional development sessions and other additional activities that benefit the organization.

GREATER CONNECTICUT YOUTH ORCHESTRAS

STATEMENT OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras (GCTYO) is grounded in the conviction that music education is a vital part of the education and development of young people and of communities as a whole. Accordingly, our music programs develop and support young musicians with an understanding that they are also part of a much larger world that is both diverse and historically complex. With this larger global context in mind, GCTYO recognizes that delivery of a robust and meaningful music education must begin with an acknowledgement of the historical inequity, exclusion and disparity of access to resources that shape the landscape in which we live. Euro-centricity, hetero-normative gender expectations, colonial conquest, and anti-Black racism have shaped the history of classical and symphonic music and continue to determine access to and success in the field. Given the systemic racism,  anti-LGBTQ bias, gender bias, and white privilege that dominates the orchestral world, our organization commits to creating opportunities for the meaningful inclusion of historically under-represented voices, particularly those from Black and Brown communities. These efforts will include (but are not limited to) equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist pedagogical and performance practices, diversifying our musical repertoire to include musicians and composers of color, and hiring staff that is diverse and reflective of our student community and the global community in which we live. In an effort toward accountability for these goals, we pledge to regularly engage our student musicians, parents, and GCTYO community by conducting annual assessments and inviting comments and suggestions about our progress. Our hope is that students emerge from the GCTYO music program as strong musicians with a deep commitment to social justice and an understanding of how music can play a part in achieving unity and equity for all.

AAPI Statement of Support

Spring 2021

GCTYO stands with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community who have been targeted, harassed and endured violent discrimination during the coronavirus pandemic. We recognize the valuable contributions of the AAPI community to our orchestras and to society as a whole. Racism against AAPIs has a long history in our nation that has been unaddressed and GCTYO takes an actively anti-racist stance against this bias.