This is a year-round position, and the annual salary will be $45,000 for the 2024/25 season with the potential for an increase in 2025/26. The Symphony will purchase or provide all scores required to fulfill conducting and cover duties.
The Assistant Conductor is eligible for the following benefits:
Paid Leave (sick, vacation, personal, bereavement)
Health and Dental Insurance
Life, AD&D, and Long-term Disability Insurance
Flexible Spending Account
Workers’ Compensation
Complimentary Tickets: as available, depending on sales.
The Assistant Conductor is an integral member of the artistic leadership team and conducting staff of the Omaha Symphony. In collaboration with key staff, they are responsible for creatively planning and executing the Omaha Symphony’s industry-leading Education and Community Engagement concerts and activities. These highly-visible programs are essential to the Omaha Symphony’s mission and serve nearly 25,000 participants annually. The Assistant Conductor also provides vital support for the Omaha Symphony’s Music Director, Principal Pops & Resident Conductor, guest conductors, and musicians as cover conductor for all of the orchestra’s activities.
The Assistant Conductor position is a two-season appointment (24/25 and 25/26 seasons), with the potential for an additional two-season extension. The preferred start date of the position is July 1, 2024.
Key Responsibilities:
Write, program, host, and conduct Education and Community Engagement concerts, Family concerts, residencies, and tours, in collaboration with the Director of Education, the Music Director, Principal Pops & Resident Conductor, and other Omaha Symphony staff.
Conduct other programs as assigned. Assist with offstage conducting needs, prepare scores and call sound/light/supertitle cues as required.
Serve as cover conductor for all other Omaha Symphony orchestra services including the Masterworks and Symphony Joslyn classical series, Symphony Pops, Symphony Rocks, Movies, and Family series, special concerts, and fee engagements.
Participate in mentoring relationships with Omaha Symphony Music Director, Principal Pops & Resident Conductor, and senior staff. Actively engage with Omaha Symphony musicians and guest artists.
Plan and host Community Engagement activities, including pre-concert lectures and events with community partners.
Administrative duties which will include, but are not limited to, attending artistic planning meetings, as well as staff, board, and committee meetings.
Public relations duties, which will include media appearances, public speaking engagements, and other functions where the Assistant Conductor represents the Omaha Symphony.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate exceptional musicianship and conducting skills and have a broad knowledge of orchestra repertoire and familiarity with all genres of music in general. They will have strong communication, interpersonal, leadership, and organizational skills. Creativity, flexibility, and the ability to work under pressure are extremely important to this position.
Conducting experience with symphony orchestras is required. Experience conducting and programming educational concerts is preferred. Bachelor’s level college or conservatory degree required, and an advanced degree or training is preferred.
Knowledge and/or innate curiosity about orchestra operations, including concert programming, professional performance practice, and the parameters of a union work environment are essential for this position. The successful candidate must be able to work well with resident and visiting artists with a broad spectrum of personalities. Assistant Conductor must work days, evenings, and weekends as required.
Assistant Conductor shall reside in Omaha for the duration of the appointment. Applicants must legally be able to work in the United States.
The Omaha Symphony has been an essential resource for orchestral performances, musical entertainment, and education for 100 years. Founded in 1921, the Omaha Symphony's virtuosity and versatility are showcased in six distinct concert series: MasterWorks, Symphony Pops, Symphony Rocks, Family, Symphony Joslyn, and the Movie Music series. In addition to mainstage performances, the orchestra continues to perform a wide array of nationally-recognized education and community engagement programs that annually reach many thousands of people, of all ages, throughout the region.