Music Theory/Composition 2015–16

For Music Theory and Composition jobs that begin in Fall 2015.

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Composition Only

Berklee College of Music - (Review begins 10/31)

Skype interviews scheduled

Eastman School of Music - (senior position, review begins Nov. 21)

Northeastern University Professor and Chair of the Department of Music

Northwestern University - (senior position)

University of Alabama - Assistant Professor of Composition

University of Kansas - (review begins Nov. 10) Assistant Professor

University of Montana - Assistant Professor of Composition

Williams College - (inside candidate? There was a VAP position last year...) **see below

Theory Only

Appalachian State University (deadline 12/15) Instructor, Assistant Prof., or Associate Prof. of Music Theory

Arizona State University (deadline 12/20) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

Baldwin Wallace University (review begins 10/1) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

Duke University (deadline 11/15) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

Eastman School of Music (deadline 11/1) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

(11/5) 10-minute interview at SMT scheduled (x3)

Florida State University (deadline 10/15) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

• (10/23) Campus interview scheduled

James Madison University (deadline 11/15) Assistant Professor of Music Theory (inside candidate? see below)

Indiana University (review begins 11/15) Post-doctoral resident scholar (two-year, non-TT appointment)

Peabody Conservatory (deadline 10/31) Full-time Continuing Faculty of Ear Training

Stetson University (review begins 9/15) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

(10/18) Skype interviews scheduled for the week of 10/20
(10/29) Campus interview scheduled

Temple University (review begins 11/3) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

University of Massachusetts Amherst (deadline 11/14) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

University of Michigan (deadline 10/15) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

University of Oregon (deadline 10/15) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

(10/31) Interview at SMT scheduled (outside of the posted Friday afternoon time slots, for which I was on a waitlist)
(11/12) Additional materials requested

West Virginia University (review begins 12/1) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

Composition, Theory, Etc.

Brown University (review begins 10/03) Assistant Professor of Composition-Theory

Additional material

Houghton College (review begins immediately) TT Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition; Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition

Illinois State University (review begins Nov. 1) TT Assistant or Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition

Ithaca College Lecturers in Music History/Theory/Composition

Murray State University (due 11/10) Assistant Prof. of Music Theory (but duties include teaching electronic composition)

Occidental College (review begins Nov. 10) TT Asst. Professor in Composition and Instrumental Music

Queens University of Charlotte (deadline 11/3) TT Assistant Prof. of Music (specialty open but teaching expertise in theory, aural skills, and analysis required)

Southern Illinois University Carbondale (deadline 11/17) TT Assistant Prof of Music Theory and Composition

University of California, Irvine (review begins 11/1) Assistant Professor (Composition and Improvisation)

University of Georgia (review begins 12/15) TT Assistant Professor (Composition plus Theory and/or Electro-Acoustic Composition) **See added details below

University of Iowa Lecturer in Composition/Theory

University of Notre Dame (review begins 11/15) Assistant Professor of Music Theory

(9/14) Application acknowledged via snail mail

University of South Florida (review begins 12/1), TT Assistant Prof. of Contemporary Critical Theory/Musicology

University of Tulsa Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory

Webster University (review begins 10/15) Assistant Professor of Music (Music Theory & Composition)

(10/30) Phone interviews

Composition/Technology

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) (deadline: January 15th, 2015) Assistant Professor in Music Technology

Art Institute of CA-San Diego Part-time audio faculty

Colorado College (review begins 10/10) Assistant Professor of Music Technology (tenure-track)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT ) (deadline: November 1, 2014), Music and Theater Arts Section, Assistant Professor of Music (tenure track), Music Technology specialization

Oberlin College (deadline: October 31, 2014) Assistant Director of Audio Services

Prairie State College Assistant Professor of Music Production

San Francisco State University Tenure-track faculty in composition/technology

Texas Christian University (review begins 10/15) Assistant Professor of Music Technology (in the division of Theory/Composition)

(10/27) First short-list made; e-mailed for permission to contact references.

University of California, San Diego (deadline: November 15, 2014) Assistant Professor of Composition/Computer Muisc

University of Michigan Assistant Professor in Performing Arts Technology

University of the Incarnate Word Part-time instructor in music theory and/or Electroacoustic music

DISCUSSION

School-Specific Discussion

University of Southern Illinois Carbondale

(11/11) The link has changed to an Assistant Professor of Chinese position... Anyone have the correct link?
http://cola.siu.edu/music/Job.php
(11/12) Looks like a music theory job to me. Maybe they fixed the link in the time since you last checked?

Baldwin Wallace

(11/3) Does anyone have any updates on their search process?

Eastman School of Music

(11/10) Does the 10-minute SMT interview constitute a round of "cuts" in this search process? In other words, if I wasn't invited to one of those short interviews, should I cross this position off my list?

Florida State University

10/23 Wow, that was fast. I'm mostly just curious--was there any intermediate stage (phone interview, etc.) before moving right to campus interviews?
10/29 Just a fast search. *Nothing* pro forma about this one; very, very legitimate.

James Madison University

10/13 There might be an inside candidate here. One of the theory instructors was ABD, graduating this Fall. (John Peterson) http://www.jmu.edu/music/faculty_areas/theory_composition/index.html No guarantees on anything, just a heads up.
(10/19) I don't understand the intent of this comment. First of all, it is conjecture, whether well-founded or not. Second, should prospective applicants NOT apply because there might be an inside candidate? Of course, we all want as much information as possible, but I'm not sure how helpful this is.
(10/21) I appreciate the 10/13 comment. I think the 10/19 comment is much more presumptuous. As for the topic of inside candidates, which is labored every year on this wiki, ...we shall see who the new hire at JMU is in due course.
(10/21 [2]) I think it's more than fair for applicants to know of an inside candidate. My first year on the market, I was naive enough not even to suspect that I'd be invited for a pro forma interview while an insider waited in the wings for the gig. Don't get me wrong: the "insiders" were highly qualified and did nothing untoward; they deserved the jobs. Still, I went in with inflated hopes and they were dashed accordingly; I wish I'd known better.
(11/10) I agree, it is nice to know if there is a current part-time (or NTT, or VAP, or whatever) faculty member in the running, but it doesn't affect whether or not anyone else should apply. There is no guarantee that the "inside candidate" is a shoe-in for the job, or even wants the job, or won't have already accepted a job at another school by the time JMU makes a decision. Too many variables to throw in the towel before the application deadline.

Stetson University

(10/17) Does anyone have any updates on their search process?
(10/18) Skype interviews scheduled

Williams College

(9/13) To the 9/9 poster, yes there was a search and hire for VAP last year, but that doesn't mean there will be an inside candidate. Sometimes VAPs don't get past the first round, they aren't interested in staying, and/or they get an offer elsewhere. Also, a top choice in a VAP search may have accepted a VAP or TT position elsewhere, so they might be the top choice for the TT search the next year. Besides, candidates for a TT search are typically much stronger than the candidates for a VAP position.
The current VAP at Williams is pretty impressive, however, having just returned from a year at the American Academy in Rome and being a current Guggenheim fellow. Still, stranger things have happened...
Yes, the issue of inside candidates is a tough one. Everybody says that inside candidates don't always have an advantage, but it's hard to believe that when you see them getting the job again and again. Last year it seemed as if every inside candidate got the job (Tufts, NYU, UNC-Greensboro, UT-San Antonio, UNT, Florida Gulf Coast, ...). But I suppose the best we can do as job seekers is to try not to think about inside candidates and apply the same as we would anyway.
(9/16) Word on the street has been that Williams would like to keep their VAP and that the VAP would accept if an offer is made. This isn't to say that there is no point in applying, situations often change, but the deck seems to be stacked against outside candidates in this case. Which brings about the possibility of a perhaps more productive question: Has the VAP become a sort of audition for TT?
(9/16) (2) Situations do change. And unless "word on the street" comes directly from a majority of search committee members at Williams, I'm not sure how much it means. Search committees can be fickle, candidates can be too if they get offers elsewhere. I've seen both happen. I personally know an "inside candidate" a few years back who appeared to be qualified and well-loved by almost everyone in the department (and students too!), was warmly encouraged to apply by faculty members on and off the search the committee, and didn't even get an interview. Departmental and administrative politics can also interfere with hiring what appears to be an "obvious" inside candidate.
(11/10) To 9/16 (1), I wouldn't go so far as to call a VAP position a TT audition, at least not in all cases. In many situations, a VAP position is opened when funding for a TT search is not available. For example, if a faculty member announces her intent to leave late in the academic year, it is likely that the Provost will approve a one-year position rather than a full TT search. This could be for any number of reasons, but the two I've heard most frequently are (1) to save money, and (2) to guarantee a "better crop of candidates" next year (the assumption here is that, if you start to advertise a search in March or April, all the "best" candidates will have been hired. Of course, this isn't necessarily the case, but it is not an uncommon belief.).

MIT

I heard rumors from different sources about this job, according to which the job is not so "technology-based" as it looks on the job description. It is the Theater Arts Department, not Media Lab, so I was also wondering what kind of tech person they are looking for. Is there anyone willing to share some details about this job?
It's in the Music and Theater Arts department - I think it is similar to a music technology job at an undergraduate college and less like a Media Lab kind of research gig.

University of Michigan

(11/4) Any updates to report on their search?
(11/4 [2]) Given that they’re holding interviews at AMS/SMT, I wouldn't expect to hear anything until after the conference.

University of Georgia

(11/11) Note from the search committee chair: UGA has two open faculty positions in composition. One position will be in composition, including electro-acoustic composition; the other will be in composition and theory. One position will hire at the rank of assistant professor (tenure-track) and the other on a one-year (renwable) contract as Limited Term Asisstant Professor (not tenure-track). There is no assumed correspondence between the areas of specialization and the ranks. The online application allows applicants to indicate whether they wish to be conisdered for the temporary position in addition to the tenure-track position. Applicants wishing to use a credentialing service (such as Interfolio) for their references should please direct materials to <somadmin@uga.edu>.