Opportunity Summary

• The San Francisco Early Music Society seeks a Baroque Workshop Director for the 2023  Summer Workshop season. 40-60 hours pre-workshop, one week on-site.
• The San Francisco Early Music Society seeks a Recorder Workshop Director for the 2023  Summer Workshop season. 40-60 hours pre-workshop, one week on-site, possibly two, depending on demand.

Organization (About us)

The San Francisco Early Music Society was founded in 1975 as a membership organization to support the performance, study, and appreciation of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music. For more than four decades SFEMS has been at the forefront of the early music revival. Through thousands of concert presentations, workshops, ongoing support for artists, and other programs, SFEMS has played a major role in building the Bay Area’s remarkable early music community, making this region into the international center for historical performance it has become.

SFEMS offers a nationally renowned series of summer workshops, first held in 1980, taught by acclaimed artists to over 300 amateur and professional musicians. SFEMS offers one of the most comprehensive summer early music programs in the United States, led by a faculty of international artists in residence. The adult Medieval and Renaissance, Baroque, Recorder, and Classical workshops provide opportunities for musicians and dancers at a variety of levels to improve their ensemble skills, performance techniques, and teaching abilities through instrumental and vocal master classes, lectures, coached ensembles, and recitals.

Community

The summer workshops are week-long music camps held in the San Francisco Bay Area in June, July and August.

Currently, the Baroque and Recorder workshops are housed at the First (Congregational) Church and First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, near the University of California. Berkeley is a culturally diverse city with a rich history and is close to San Francisco by car or public transportation, and the Bay Area is a wonderful vacation destination to complement one’s workshop week.

About half of our participants are based in the Bay Area, with the rest traveling from across the United States and Canada. The general level ranges from beginner to semi-professional, and there are also pre-professional students. Many workshop attendees are longtime SFEMS members, concert goers, and early music enthusiasts.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate for each position is 

• a U.S. citizen;
• a hands-on, spirited ambassador for early music who fosters enthusiasm among participants across all ages and skill levels
• a leader in the field of early music, who brings either extensive academic and/or performing experience in order to attract faculty and students from across the country;
• is able to to effectively communicate, manage multiple priorities with clear planning, a sense of urgency, collaboration, and flexibility;
• willingness to request/use feedback;
• Is able to effectively supervise faculty and engage with administrative staff

About the existing workshop structure:

• each workshop currently runs from Sunday evening through Saturday morning;
• pre-pandemic, SFEMS provided accommodations and meals for non-local participants or local participants who do not want to commute 
• classes are held Monday through Friday in the morning and afternoons;
• evenings activities include faculty concerts, lectures, special rehearsals and reading sessions, as well as group activities such as auctions 
• typically, workshop participants perform Friday night and Saturday morning

Responsibilities

Directors’ tasks shall include but not be limited to each of the following items:

• manage the season’s workshop from planning through execution;
• with the Executive Director, help prepare and review workshop budget for the coming year;
• design compelling workshop theme and programming, in consultation with Executive Director and Administrator; 
• hire and manage faculty and teaching assistant;
• develop enrollment for the workshop, working with the Administrator and Communication Manager to produce and implement a communications plan to engage past, current, and future participants;
• review scholarship and work-study applications and make recommendations to the Executive Director and Administrator;

• manage workshop budget based on enrollment;
• plan and execute fundraisers as needed to raise funds for the workshops during the spring;
• work with SFEMS Administrator to select, book, monitor the overnight accommodations and attendant concerns (parking, meals).

Compensation 

This is an independent contractor position with no benefits. Compensation range will depend on experience.

Applications and inquiries

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter and resume, with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments to [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed upon receipt, and will be accepted through November 15. 

Serious candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Contact Stacey Helley, Workshop Administrator, with any questions: [email protected].