Dean, School of Music
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the School of Music. The University seeks a proven and dynamic leader who will work with the school’s talented faculty and staff to develop and implement a strategic vision of excellence for the School of Music. The Dean serves as the academic, artistic, and administrative leader of the School of Music, and as a key member of the UNCSA senior administration.
The University
The institution opened its doors in 1965, and has since developed a justly deserved international reputation for training talented artists from high school through graduate school for careers in the performing, visual, and moving image arts. Students are admitted by competitive auditions and come from throughout North Carolina, the United States and more than 20 foreign countries. UNCSA is divided into five separate Schools that operate as arts conservatories, in addition to two divisions - the High School Academic Program and the undergraduate Division of Liberal Arts. Each one of the five schools is dedicated to a specific aspect of the performing or moving image arts, and each one is charged with providing students with an educational experience designed to develop talent, vision and professional excellence. UNCSA is one of seventeen campuses of the University of North Carolina system, and the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Total institutional enrollment for fall 2015 is 1,240.
The mission of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts is to provide gifted emerging artists with the experience, knowledge, and skills needed to excel in their disciplines and in their lives, and it serves and enriches the cultural and economic prosperity of the people of North Carolina and the nation. UNCSA is the state's unique professional school for the performing, visual and moving image arts, training students at the high school, undergraduate and master’s levels for professional careers in the arts.
UNCSA is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a progressive Southern city with a vibrant downtown renaissance and the recipient of many “Best Place to Live” honors. Winston-Salem is known as the “City of the Arts and Innovation,” in part due to the strong artistic influence of UNCSA. The Winston-Salem Symphony, Piedmont Opera, and numerous other music ensembles are based in Winston-Salem.
The School of Music
The School of Music has world-class artist-faculty and visiting guest artists who provide exceptional training for young artists from high school through post-graduate studies. It is the only school in the nation that offers residential undergraduate, graduate, and high school programs in music. Performance venues include the 1,380-seat Stevens Center; the 590-seat Crawford Hall with a 35-stop C.B. Fisk organ; the 300-seat Watson Chamber Music Hall; and the 38-seat Hood Recital Hall. It is also home to the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute and the Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute. The School of Music has an enrollment of 263: 101 high school students, 113 undergraduate students, and 49 graduate students. The School has 30 full-time faculty, 20 part-time faculty, five staff members, and six accompanists.
A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute
In the spring of 2000, the A.J. Fletcher Foundation took the unprecedented step of committing $10 million to establish an Opera Institute at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. In September 2001, the A.J. Fletcher Foundation merged its National Opera Company with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts School of Music’s graduate opera program, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts School of Design and Production, to create the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute. A vehicle for advancing the career potential of exceptional young singers, the Fletcher Institute offers performance-based training at the graduate and post-graduate levels to several Institute Fellows each year. The endowment is valued at nearly $14 million today.
Institute Fellows perform in fully staged productions of new and established operatic works and participate in touring and outreach programs. Extensive performance experience is enriched by advanced studies in voice, language, diction, operatic literature, acting, makeup, movement and dance, Alexander Technique, stage combat, and career enhancement strategies. Instruction is provided by a resident artist-faculty and visiting artists of national and international renown. In the 14 years of its existence, the Institute boasts 19 Metropolitan Opera District winners.
Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute
The Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute of the UNC School of the Arts is dedicated to the development of outstanding chamber musicians. Through coaching, rehearsals, seminars, performances, touring, guest mentorship and career development, young artists realize their potential, emerging fully-formed and ready to flourish.
The Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute is a unique graduate program that builds on the traditional strengths of the UNCSA School of Music: an outstanding artist-faculty, a broad network of professional affiliations, excellent facilities, a region known for supporting small ensembles of all kinds, and a school that has always cherished tradition while welcoming the new.
In October 2015, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center announced a partnership with the
Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute. Through this new partnership, UNCSA students travel to New York City for coaching, and groups from Lincoln Center have annual residencies at UNCSA.
The Position of Dean
Appointed by the Chancellor and reporting to the Provost, the Dean oversees all aspects of the School of Music, and also serves as the Executive Director of the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute and the Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute. The Dean provides artistic, academic, and managerial leadership to the School of Music faculty, staff, and students. The Dean should have the ability to articulate and execute a shared vision for the School, while empowering and supporting creative faculty and their ideas. The Dean is also responsible for fundraising, in partnership with the Chancellor and the Advancement Office staff, for the School of Music. Specific responsibilities of the Dean include:
- oversee all aspects of the School of Music operations and development including long-range strategic planning, curriculum planning and evaluation, and accreditation;
- recruit, evaluate, and retain the highest quality faculty, staff, and students;
- develop and implement plans to raise significant funds for School of Music programs and actively participate in achieving fundraising goals for UNCSA as a whole;
- administer the School of Music annual budget of $3.2 million;
- represent the School of Music in University planning with other deans and senior administrators; and
- serve as an ambassador for the School of Music to expand the School's reputation and recognition locally, nationally, and internationally.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate evidence of the following qualifications:
- high level of accomplishment in the music profession;
- understanding of current developments and future directions in the music profession and in higher education;
- experience working with students of diverse ages and backgrounds;
- ability to lead artist-faculty toward shared goals;
- demonstrated commitment to the professional development of music students;
- excellent communication and public relations skills with the ability to forge productive links with the other academic units and external constituencies;
- proven track record of successful fundraising; and
- at least a Master’s degree or the equivalent in professional experience.
Nominations and applications may be sent in confidence to the University’s executive search consultant:
Martin M. Baker, Senior Vice President
Baker and Associates LLC
4799 Olde Towne Parkway – Suite 202
Marietta, GA 30068
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