Executive Director
The New York Youth Symphony welcomes nominations and applications for the position of Executive Director, available July 1, 2020. Shauna Quill, who has served as Executive Director since 2011, recently announced her plans to step down from the position following the close of the current season on June 30, 2020.
Founded in 1963, the award-winning New York Youth Symphony (NYYS) is nationally recognized for its Orchestra, Jazz Band, Chamber Music, Composition, First Music, Musical Theater Songwriting, and Apprentice Conducting programs, all of which provide opportunities for young musicians to develop their full musical potential.
The mission of the New York Youth Symphony is to educate and inspire young musicians through exceptional ensemble training and performance opportunities. Inspirational artistic directors, experienced coaches, and illuminating lecturers teach valuable skills. Rehearsal halls, studios, and lecture rooms are the classrooms where students, ages 12-22, learn as much about themselves as they do about their instruments and the music. All students are selected by competitive audition.
A leader among youth orchestras nationally, the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra offers sophisticated programs to enthusiastic audiences in one of the world’s greatest venues, Carnegie Hall. The Orchestra’s season extends from September to May and includes weekly rehearsals at the DiMenna Center and three performances at Carnegie Hall. Additional highlights include the Orchestra’s recent tours to Spain and Argentina and a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with Misty Copeland and the American Ballet Theatre.
The NYYS Chamber Music Program was founded in 1983 in order to foster the growth of young musicians in a setting that allows them to explore the wide range of small ensemble repertoire. Approximately 100 students each year participate in string quartets, piano trios, woodwind and brass quintets, and other ensembles. The Program highlights new and commissioned repertoire as well as traditional chamber music, and also includes coaching sessions and master classes with world-renowned musicians in addition to concerts at Weill Recital Hall and Scandinavia House. An NYYS string quartet was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning.
Modeled on the swing bands of the 1930s and 1940s, NYYS Jazz is a 17-member ensemble dedicated to studying, rehearsing, and performing classic jazz music. NYYS Jazz preserves big band traditions while incorporating current and emerging styles that define the genre for the present generation. Performances take place at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Times Center. NYYS Jazz recently made their first tour, visiting Brazil.
The NYYS fosters young composers through its Composition Program. The Program offers student composers the opportunity to explore the world of composition and orchestration through seminars, workshops, and tutorials. Each year, students compose new works for ensembles, including string quartets, woodwind quintets, percussion ensembles, and more. Recent guest clinicians include Caroline Shaw, Nico Muhly, Huang Ruo, and Missy Mazzoli.
First Music, the NYYS’s young composer competition, commissions America’s best emerging orchestral, chamber music, and jazz composers under the age of 30. First Music awards seven commissions annually and is widely acknowledged as a leading force in the US for bringing the work of gifted young composers to the public’s attention. Since its inception in 1984, First Music has commissioned more than 160 new works, each premiered by a NYYS ensemble. Through a partnership with Interlochen, new works are now assured a second performance. Collectively, First Music composers have been awarded 12 Rome Prizes, 16 Guggenheim Fellowships, two Grawemeyer Awards, and four Pulitzer Prizes.
NYYS’s Musical Theater Songwriting Program is specifically designed to lead students through a range of musical theatre songwriting processes. Through a series of seminars and masterclasses, the Musical Theater Songwriting Program provides students unparalleled access to composers, librettists, actors, musicians, designers, and producers as they explore the relationship between music and language in this vital American art form. Sharing of student works takes place throughout the year and culminates in a public performance.
The Robert L. Poster Conducting Program offers talented and curious young conductors the opportunity to study the art of conducting with a focus on rehearsal technique, baton technique, time on the podium, and score analysis. The Conducting Program culminates with the apprentice conductors working directly with a composer of the NYYS Composition Program to prepare, rehearse, and perform newly composed pieces.
The NYYS artistic leadership team includes: Michael Repper, Music Director of the Orchestra and the Conducting Program; Lisa Tipton, Director of the Chamber Music Program; Andy Clausen, Director of NYYS Jazz; Kyle Blaha, Director of Composition; and Anna Jacobs, Director of Musical Theater Songwriting. Christopher Theofanidis and Arturo O’Farrill are chairs of First Music.
The New York Youth Symphony has an annual operating budget of $1.5 million, and endowment and reserve funds are approaching $7 million. The NYYS is governed by a 27-member Board of Trustees and has an administrative staff of four full-time and fourteen part-time employees. An active Parents’ Guild provides guidance and support.
The Opportunity
The next Executive Director will join a vibrant organization with a clear and compelling mission, an active and engaged Board of Trustees, and programs that provide extraordinary opportunities for young people to develop their musical skills, creativity, self-discipline, and sense of teamwork, all of which will benefit them in any career path they choose and help them become life-long contributors to society’s engagement with the arts. The next Executive Director will have the opportunity to lead the organization in developing a strategic plan to establish priorities and an action agenda for the artistic, financial, and organizational success of the New York Youth Symphony through the next decade. Working with the Board, they will lead NYYS’s efforts to ensure that equity, diversity, and inclusion are deeply shared values reflected at all levels of the organization. The next Executive Director will build on a strong foundation developed over nearly 60 years to provide unique and extraordinary educational experiences for young musicians in a city with unparalleled creative resources.
The Position
The Executive Director is the chief executive officer of the New York Youth Symphony and reports to the Board. They manage the organization’s human and financial resources and ensure that the NYYS fulfills its mission and achieves its goals for artistic excellence, financial stability, and the enrichment of young lives through music.
The Executive Director is responsible and accountable for all aspects of the organization’s management, including artistic administration, strategic planning, fundraising, marketing, audience development, public relations, promotion, production, operations, budgeting and financial management, communications, community engagement, and the educational activities that support and develop the musicians of the NYYS.
The Executive Director is the organization’s chief fundraiser. They provide guidance and support to the fundraising efforts of the Board. They establish and maintain productive relationships with individuals, foundations, corporate sponsors, and other funders. They ensure that NYYS achieves or exceeds its contributed income goals from all sources.
The Executive Director provides impetus to the work of the Board. They help identify and recruit board members and ensure the continuity of leadership for the organization. They provide staff support to the Board and its committees, and ensure that the Board has the information it needs for decision-making.
The Executive Director recruits, hires, motivates, supervises, evaluates, and provides leadership to a high caliber artistic and administrative professional staff. They develop and maintain an environment that nurtures the talents of the young musicians and conductors who participate in NYYS programs and allows the artistic staff and coaches to do their best work. They build and support an administrative team in an organization that is committed to transparency, welcomes new ideas, and encourages personal development.
The Executive Director is the chief spokesperson for NYYS and represents the organization throughout the community. They develop and promote the NYYS brand throughout the greater metropolitan area to increase public awareness of NYYS programs, build audiences for NYYS concerts, and advocate for the value and importance of music education and youth orchestra programs. They develop partnerships and collaborations that advance the mission of the NYYS while providing the best possible educational experience for young musicians.
In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Executive Director works with and is supported by the NYYS Board and staff.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will be a visionary leader with a deep commitment to music education, substantive experience working with talented young people, and a proven record of success as senior executive of a not-for-profit music or arts organization. They will have a strong working knowledge of music, artists, and repertoire. Experience as a performing musician, though not required, would be an asset.
The successful candidate will have excellent financial management skills with the demonstrated ability to develop, manage, and balance annual operating budgets. They will be an enthusiastic fundraiser who has had successful experience achieving or exceeding goals for foundation grants, annual fund and endowment campaigns, corporate sponsorships, and special project fundraising.
The successful candidate will embrace the mission and core values of the New York Youth Symphony. They will be an advocate for the value and importance of music education for all young people. They will be able to speak and write persuasively about NYYS. They will have experience guiding and mentoring young musicians who seek to pursue professional studies. They will be knowledgeable about concert production and digital media.
The successful candidate will have strong interpersonal skills. They will have experience working with a volunteer Board of Trustees and recruiting volunteer leadership. The successful candidate will have excellent supervisory skills, the ability to foster teamwork, and the willingness to nurture and develop staff. They will be a strategic thinker, a superb listener, and a skilled communicator.
The successful candidate will be energetic, optimistic, and curious. They will be a mature leader with integrity, high ethical standards, and a strong commitment to transparency. They will welcome the opportunity to provide leadership to an educational organization with a youth orchestra that has been described by the New York press as “an accomplished, ambitious group of players,” who perform at a “level that is almost always what you would expect from a full-time, professional adult orchestra,” and is clearly “America’s best youth symphony.”
Compensation
Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Applications
The New York Youth Symphony is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in all facets of the organization and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.
Please submit a cover letter that describes your specific interest in NYYS and your qualifications for the position. Send with a resume and salary expectations. Please also include the names of several professional references. All applications will be treated as confidential and references will not be contacted without the applicant’s agreement. Electronic submissions are requested.
New York Youth Symphony
c/o Catherine French Group
2500 Q Street NW, Suite 623
Washington, DC 20007
applications@catherinefrenchgroup.com
(MS Word or Adobe Acrobat attachments only, please.)
Marketing Internship - Summer 2020
The New York Youth Symphony is seeking a Marketing intern for Summer 2020 to provide marketing, development, and general administrative support.
Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
- Creating content for social media channels including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
- Basic website maintenance (no coding experience necessary)
- Designing marketing collateral such as promotional flyers, stickers, and newsletters
- Drafting press releases and eblasts
- Researching media outlets and contacts to expand upon existing media list
- Providing support with the preparation of NYYS performances
- Updating and maintaining the NYYS CRM database
- Fielding general phone inquiries, following up on season subscriptions
- Providing general administrative support in the office as needed
Requirements
- An interest in music, cultural arts and/or the non-profit sector
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Proficient with MS Office Outlook, Word, and Excel
- Experience with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
- Ability to work independently
Skills preferred, but not required
- Experience with Adobe Photoshop and/or InDesign
- Photography/Graphic Design experience a plus
Compensation & Benefits
Internship stipend and college credit are available.
To Apply
Please submit a cover letter, résumé, and two work references to jobs@nyys.org. Please include "NYYS Internship" in the subject.
