Employment  Opportunities​​

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Artistic Director       
​Shelter Music Boston (SMB) is seeking an Artistic Director (AD) to envision, implement, maintain, and grow the artistic and creative components of our mission, vision, values, and cultural equity aspirations. This part-time role (15 hours per week) reports to our Board of Directors and often works in collaboration with our operations staff. Below illustrates an aspirational leadership profile for SMB’s Artistic Director position, reflecting the skills and qualifications that would be most advantageous for our organization at this time. If your skills match some, but not all, of the qualifications listed below and you believe you could be a good match for SMB, please send your materials. We look forward to hearing from you. 
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Artistic
  • Approve selection of all musical repertoire and concert instrumentation proposed by Ensemble Leaders.
  • Select, train, and manage Shelter Music Boston Ensemble Leaders and musicians, often in collaboration with the managing director and with attention to recruiting/supporting a corps of musicians diverse in race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, and beyond. 
  • Design and implement special artistic projects, typically annually. Past programs have included our Women Composers Project, Collaborative Composition Project, and Florence Price Project.
  • Oversee the research and preparation of biographical, historical, and musicological concert program notes for printed/virtual concert programs; approve music purchases and acquisitions, including custom arrangements; and oversee the organization and orderly maintenance of the SMB online music library.
  • Perform in concerts delivered to homeless shelters and substance misuse recovery center concerts, as appropriate, throughout the year. 

Shelter Music Boston is committed to creating concert programs that reflect a wide variety of music that, while rooted in the Western classical genre, will encompass varied styles, emotions, and time periods, and be inclusive of music by composers of diverse backgrounds, including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning), and women composers. Programming should offer maximum potential to welcome audience members unfamiliar with classical music and engage audience members familiar with the genre.

• Leadership
  • Inspire artistic vision, direction, and innovation that maintain and grow the Shelter Music Boston standards of creative excellence. 
  • Represent Shelter Music Boston’s mission, vision, values, and cultural equity aspirations while enhancing SMB’s position as a leader locally, nationally, and internationally.
  • Coordinate with SMB managing director to achieve organizational goals and carry out the strategic plan as pertaining to artistic matters. 
  • Support internship program by building partnerships/collaborations with educational institutions and by mentoring the students in SMB’s artistic social justice work and nonprofit organizational work.
  • Attend regular board meetings and provide artistic updates.
• Fundraising
  • Participate in donor cultivation and/or philanthropic meetings, activities, and events, as appropriate.  
  • Perform and/or program music for donor cultivation and/or philanthropic meetings, activities, and events, as appropriate.  
  • Support SMB fundraising efforts by providing artistically appropriate content for grant proposals, reports, and program documentation.
• Marketing and Communications
  • Help increase SMB’s visibility, networking, and impact by creating social media content that highlights the social change and social justice work of SMB and emphasizes local, national, and international artistic collaborations for social justice. 
  • Support media outreach efforts for SMB programming and special artistic projects, as appropriate.
• Additional duties as appropriate.  

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrate an outstanding career as a performing musician, a social justice activist, and an educator with unique vision.
• A Bachelor’s degree, or higher - or the equivalent professional experience - in music, with an emphasis on Western classical music, as well as significant interest in and experience with music written by a diverse range of composers, including BIPOC, LGBTQ, and women composers. 
• Capacity to engage with and empower audiences in unconventional concert settings, particularly with marginalized communities.
• Successful record of creative concert programming and preparing ensembles for performances with measurable outcomes. 
• Successful record of managerial experience and proven leadership in arts management or the equivalent, including efforts to build and support a diverse corps of musicians.
• Significant experience and creativity with building, maintaining, and leveraging a wide variety of social media platforms as an activist, musical artist, and innovator. 
• Commitment to anti-racism, social justice, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and in program delivery.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with attention to details, including the capacity to communicate SMB mission internally and externally.
• Demonstrated ability to plan strategically, prioritize time, and manage implementation of plans in highly changeable environments. 
• Ability to work evening and weekend hours in order to perform concerts, participate in occasional fundraising events, and attend regular board meetings.
• Willingness, ability, and recognized experience with participation in major fundraising opportunities.
• Collaborative team player and thoughtful team builder.
• Able to work independently from a home office.  Shelter Music Boston does not have a shared work space at this time and due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
• Residence in the Greater Boston area.                                                                                                                                                                              

COMPENSATION
This part-time W2 position consists of 15 hours per week to be divided between program implementation, staff meetings, building partnerships, additional duties as listed above, and the creative work of an artistic director. The Artistic Director will be paid a salary of $25,000 - $30,000, commensurate with experience, over 12 months, with 4 weeks unpaid vacation. Performing on live concert programs at homeless shelters and recovery centers or on video recordings will be paid at current SMB pay scale for musicians, beyond the artistic director salary. This position has a flexible work schedule. There are no benefits included with this position at this time.  Shelter Music Boston is committed to adding benefits as it is able. 

HOW TO APPLY
Please submit your resume/CV, at least two (2) references, and a cover letter outlining your professional accomplishments and what makes you a good fit for Shelter Music Boston. Please include links to websites or online resources with representative samples of successfully delivered creative work, including your own musical performances. These samples should showcase work that includes BIPOC, LGTBTQ, and women composers , as well as unique collaborations with composers, other musicians, and nontraditional venues.

We also ask for a document outlining two (2) sample chamber music concert programs, including composers, instrumentation, and length of pieces/program, which indicate an understanding of SMB’s programming priorities. Please provide a brief description of why you have selected this repertoire. 

Please send all application materials to Carrie Eldridge-Dickson, Managing Director, at carrie@sheltermusicboston.org by Friday, February 5, 2021.

NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT AND COMMITMENT TO EQUITY
Shelter Music Boston is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We are committed to providing an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, independent contractors, board members and other volunteers, vendors, and the individuals we serve. The audiences we serve represent a diverse cross section within our community, including people of color, people living in poverty, women, and individuals who identify as LGBTQ. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.

Shelter Music Boston Ensemble Musicians
Are you interested in creating social change with live classical music? Classically trained professional musicians may send a cover letter and current CV to info@sheltermusicboston.org for more information. 

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