Interlochen Center for the Arts seeks an Instructor of Collaborative Piano for the Voice Area to join our faculty in a full-time, academic year position. This role plays a vital part in supporting the artistic and musical development of our vocal students through collaborative coaching, rehearsal leadership, and performance. Working closely with students and faculty, the Instructor fosters effective musical partnerships among vocalists and pianists while helping students develop the communication, preparation, and ensemble skills essential to collaborative performance. The Instructor will coach and mentor voice students across classical and contemporary disciplines, guide vocalist/student pianist collaborations, and serve as pianist for Interlochen's choir and opera programs.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
Rehearsal and Performance Pianist
- Serve as pianist and coach for Voice Area activities, including Opera Theater rehearsals and productions, choir and chamber choir collaborations, juries, recitals, auditions, community engagement and outreach events, and other performances as assigned.
- Support high-quality performances by establishing rehearsal timelines, repertoire readiness checkpoints, and clear expectations for faculty coaching and student preparation.
Student Collaboration & Coaching
- Develop and oversee a structured collaborative piano program by pairing voice students with student pianists and establishing expectations for rehearsal frequency, preparation, communication, and professionalism.
- Coach vocalist and pianist teams in effective rehearsal techniques, including ensemble skills, cueing, tempo negotiation, musical interpretation, and performance readiness.
- Provide singer-specific collaborative coaching, including breathing support, diction-driven rhythm, flexible rubato, and stylistically appropriate accompaniment techniques.
- Foster student independence by teaching effective rehearsal strategies and self-directed musical problem-solving.
Pianist Development
- Build and manage an efficient accompanist scheduling system to ensure voice students receive consistent, high-quality musical support.
- Train student pianists in the core skills of collaborative piano, including vocal score reading, texture prioritization, balance, pedaling, pacing, transposition (as appropriate), efficient repertoire preparation, and text analysis.
- Develop progressive learning expectations that assign repertoire and responsibilities based on each student's experience and skill level.
Contemporary Collaboration
- Collaborate with contemporary music initiatives that support the Voice Area, including popular music and singer-songwriter programming, while maintaining alignment with vocal health and pedagogical best practices.
Program Support
- Partner with Music Division leadership to advance the goals of the Voice Area and the Academy by supporting program planning, recital and jury structures, opera and choral productions, and other special initiatives.
- Help coordinate collaborative piano resources, including student vocalist/pianist pairings, to ensure support is delivered effectively, equitably, and in a timely manner.
Qualifications:
- Master of Music (MM) or Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Collaborative Piano with a specialization in voice, including experience with language diction (English, German, French, and Italian) and vocal performance practice.
- Minimum of 1-2 years of successful experience as a collaborative pianist.
- Demonstrated excellence as a collaborative pianist with substantial experience working with advanced singers.
- Demonstrated ability to teach and coach musicians in rehearsal techniques, ensemble skills, and performance preparation.
- Experience accompanying staging rehearsals and collaborating effectively with conductors, including reading open-score vocal scores.
- Experience in choral and/or opera rehearsal environments.
- Experience coaching diction-sensitive repertoire and stylistic interpretation.
- Strong musical leadership with the ability to balance artistic direction while prioritizing the needs of singers and the collaborative process.
- Exceptional sight-reading skills and the ability to prepare repertoire efficiently while setting clear and realistic expectations.
- Highly organized with the ability to manage complex schedules, large volumes of repertoire, and multiple priorities.
- Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills with the ability to mentor students with professionalism, warmth, and clarity.
- Commitment to equitable, respectful collaboration and the highest standards of professional ethics.
- Ability to communicate effectively and build positive working relationships with students, faculty, and staff.
- Preferred: Experience developing training programs for collaborative pianists through curriculum design, workshops, coaching structures, or similar initiatives.
- Preferred: Experience collaborating with contemporary vocal repertoire.
Application Materials Required:
