Description
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER
Sun Valley Music Festival
Sun Valley, Idaho
Employee, year-round, part-time, exempt
Reports to Executive Director
About the Festival
The Sun Valley Music Festival’s mission is to enrich, inspire, and instill in our community a lifelong love of classical music through extraordinary free concerts and education programs. Festival programs provide opportunities for people from all walks of life to listen, learn, and play. Now in its 42nd year, it is the largest privately supported, free-admission classical music festival in the United States.
The Festival Orchestra comprises over 100 world-class musicians from North America’s most distinguished orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Summer Season concerts are held in July and August at the spectacular R.E. Holding Sun Valley Pavilion in the mountain resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. Winter Season concerts are held in February or March at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in nearby Ketchum, Idaho, which is adjacent to Bald Mountain, Sun Valley Resort’s primary ski area. Internationally renowned guest artists such as Yuja Wang,
Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Emanuel Ax, Audra McDonald, Joshua Bell, Gautier Capuçon, and Yefim Bronfman have performed with the Festival, among many others.
Through its Music Institute, the Festival strives to inspire the next generation of music lovers by introducing every Wood River Valley student to the joys of classical music. Its year-round and summer programs provide tuition-free instruction for string, piano, and voice students of all skill levels — from elementary through high school — that goes beyond the fundamentals and embraces the entire musician.
Position Overview
The Orchestra Personnel Manager oversees all aspects of orchestra personnel operations, including recruiting, hiring, and contracting, scheduling, and paying musicians, including substitutes and extras as needed. This manager also calls rehearsals and concerts and addresses orchestra staffing issues as they arise. The Orchestra Personnel Manager serves as an on-site liaison between the conducting staff, administrative staff, production crew, and musicians during the Festival’s Winter and Summer Seasons.
Requirements
Responsibilities
Musician Hiring
- Work with Artistic Planning Director to confirm final instrumentation for each
programmed work in each Winter and Summer Season, including orchestra
reductions, step-ups, substitute instruments, etc. - Work with Music Director to finalize musician roster for the Winter and Summer
Seasons. - Develop and maintain musician contact information.
- Issue invitations to musicians and track availability to perform with the Music
Festival; adjust the roster and recruit additional musicians as necessary. - Develop and issue contracts to musicians; confirm final roster for each Season.
- Maintain lists of orchestra affiliations; help acquire and maintain musician
biographies and photos for the website and program book. - Track and maintain musician hiring and seating in OPAS (Orchestra Planning and
Administration System).
Musician compensation
- Set the compensation rates for the Summer and Winter Season.
- Maintain an awareness of compensation structure and contract terms for other
summer festivals, helping ensure the Festival remains competitive. - Work with the Executive Director on any individual musician contracts.
- Track attendance and keep track of all musician services, step-ups, substitutions,
special performances (e.g., donor events), and determine individual
compensation for each musician. - Work with the Finance Manager to confirm musician final compensation and
payment.
Scheduling
- Distribute all rehearsal and performance schedules in coordination with the
Music Director and Artistic Planning Director. - Communicate schedules to musicians and crew via email, postings, and in-
person announcements. - Ensure rehearsal order and schedules are updated in OPAS.
- Track attendance, doubling, step-ups, and related service details including any
overtimes. - Call rehearsals and breaks, and ensure services run on schedule.
- Collaborate with Artistic Planning Director on seating for each piece and section
and stage charts
Concert Operations
- Serve as liaison between the musicians and the Music Director and other
conductors, Executive Director, and Production Crew, including timely resolution
of requests, problems, and suggestions. - Attend all orchestra rehearsals and concerts during both the Winter and Summer
Seasons. Handle any issues that may arise during a service (e.g., locating a
missing musician, handling situations involving potential overtime and overtime
compensation). - Call orchestra rehearsal starts, breaks, and call-backs, and ensure all services end by the scheduled time.
- Manage any musician absences (e.g., due to injury or illness), handling
substitutions or rapid recruitment as appropriate, and in consultation with Music
Director. - Help recruit musicians for concert introductions, pre-concert chats, donor
lunches/dinners, and any other events involving musicians. - Confirm string reductions and rehearsal orders with Music Director and Artistic
Planning Director.
Environment and Culture
- Help create and maintain a positive culture of “gross domestic happiness” within
the orchestra. - Quickly and effectively addresses any issues and challenges that might affect the
work environment (e.g., weather, smoke, interpersonal conflict). - Build relationships with musicians and encourage the proactive flow of
communications. - Oversee welcome and onboarding of new and substitute musicians.
- Communicate frequently with Section Principals regarding section personnel
matters, the substitute list, and any special needs.
Work Structure
- Remote preparation throughout the year (planning, recruiting, contracting,
scheduling). - On-site presence in Sun Valley
- Winter Season – one week in February/March
- Summer Season – four weeks from late July through late August
- Must attend all rehearsals and performances and be available to respond to real-
time needs. - Reports to the Executive Director with dotted-line responsibility and very active collaboration with the Artistic Planning Director and the Music Director.
Experience and Qualifications
- Substantial experience working with symphonies, musicians, music directors, orchestra librarians, and concert production crews.
- Substantial experience managing musician recruiting, contracting, and compensation.
- Familiarity with classical music and its standard repertoire; ability to read music and understand instrumentation.
- Experience as an Orchestra Personnel Manager as described above.
- Exceptional organization skills and detail orientation.
- Strong interpersonal communication skills and ability to manage sensitive personnel matters with professionalism and discretion.
- Strong network in the classical music world and ability to recruit new musicians.
Compensation and Benefits
- This is a year-round, part-time position. Hours will be highly variable during non-Festival period months, and very intense (often more than 40 hours/week) during the Winter and Summer Seasons.
- Salaried position, $40,000+ depending on experience.
- Eligible to participate in the Music Festival’s 401 (k) Retirement Plan with Employer Match.
To Apply
- Please submit a resume and cover letter to jobs@svmusicfestival.org, outlining relevant experience in orchestra or festival personnel management.
