Choir Director Job

Choir Director
Music Haven seeks a dynamic and experienced Choir Director. The Choir Director will provide vocal coaching to students and lead a Children’s and High School Choir. The ideal candidate will be passionate about teaching and inspiring young musicians, with experience teaching choir to school-aged children in group settings. This position offers a flexible schedule of 3-4 days per week, teaching in the afterschool hours (3:00-6:00PM) on-site at Music Haven, as well as leading occasional student concerts and events on evenings and weekends. In addition to leading the new ensemble, the candidate will teach beginner music theory to current Music Haven students in violin, viola, and cello. Duties and Responsibilities:
Teaching and Mentoring
• Design, prepare, and implement a cohesive curriculum for a younger Children’s Choir and a High School choir.
• Lead sectional rehearsals, individual lessons, and conduct full rehearsals for students in the Choir program.
• Collaborate with the Education Director to integrate the Choir Program into the broader Music Haven curriculum.
• Organize and participate in student recitals, concerts, and other performances.
• Maintain accurate records of student progress and provide feedback and assessments as needed.
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Maintain clear lines of communication between parents/guardians of your students to maintain engagement, attendance, and student progress; be the point of contact between Music Haven and families, understanding that many families do not regularly use email, and rely predominantly on phone calls and text messages.
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Evaluate and document student progress through parent-teacher conferences (twice per year) and juries (twice per year), and maintain and update these student records with support from Administrative Staff.
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Design, prepare, and teach a comprehensive beginner theory/music fundamentals curriculum for current Music Haven students.
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Collect all necessary enrollment materials from families by the designated deadlines.

Organizational & Support Work
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Attend planning meetings, weekly staff meetings, and musicians’ meetings as needed, to be determined by the Education Director and Artistic Director.
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Meet regularly with the Education Director to assess the progress and effectiveness of group classes and curriculum, and address as timely as possible any potential issues.
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Regularly update the Music Haven Program Calendar with schedule changes, teaching, and any other work-relevant calendar event. This includes indicating on the Program Calendar when you reschedule students for another day, convene off-site rehearsals, or bring in teaching subs or workshop guests.
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When appropriate, you will be expected to assist in development-related work, such as signing letters, reaching out to donors/funders, attending meetings/panels/board events, or helping with site visits.
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Additional projects/duties as assigned based on personal strengths and interests.
Compensation
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This is a 20-25 hr./week position with a salary of $35 an hour
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Music Haven’s work calendar follows that of the New Haven Public Schools, with days off matching the NHPS calendar, such as Winter Recess in December and February, Spring Break in April, and Summer Break (third week of June - third week of August). Please submit a cover letter and resume to Toccara Joyce, Operations Manager, [email protected], by April 4, 2025. Highly qualified applicants will be invited to Music Haven to interview and teach a trial lesson and small group class. The position will remain open until filled. Start date for this position: August 25, 2025.
All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religious creed, age, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran status, intellectual disability, mental disability, or physical disability.

Health/Dental Benefits, Retirement Benefits

At Music Haven, young musicians study with and are mentored by our resident musicians from first, second, or third grade until they graduate from high school. At the heart of our model is the relationship between teacher and student, and the relationships between the young musicians, themselves. Through music, they build community, develop resilience and self-confidence, and experience collective struggle and success. With the resident musicians at the heart of a rich and ever-expanding variety of educational programming, workshop offerings, and performances throughout the region, each of our students and his or her family is part of a vibrant community of musicians.