Small group

UPDATE: ONLY LOOKING FOR SMALL GROUP LEADERS FOR PHASE TWO STARTING IN JANUARY 2025

Seeking Small Group Leaders for a songwriting residency in Boston and Chelsea Public elementary schools. Lead Teaching Artists and Small Group Leaders needed to facilitate songwriting for 18 weeks or 5 weeks, respectively (between November and April). This program highly values the voices and experience of the children we inspire in schools. Classroom Cantatas seeks talented, reliable, and engaging Teaching Artists in the Roxbury, Dorchester, and Chelsea neighborhoods for weekly in-person classes.

About the Program:

Classroom Cantatas is unique in its commitment to creation over imitation. Instead of teaching children to reproduce the music and styles of another time and tradition, Classroom Cantatas gives students the tools to create and express themselves using their own musical voice. Residencies extend from November through April in three phases:

PHASE ONE (Nov — Dec): Classroom teachers and Lead Teaching Artists suggest composition themes that are meaningful to the students and their communities; past topics have included Bullying, Mythology, Identity, Kindness, Friendship, and Diversity. Lead Teaching Artists give lessons in music fundamentals.

PHASE TWO (Jan — Feb): Lead Teaching Artists and Small Group Leaders guide children to use their newfound musical vocabulary to create tuneful and memorable songs; these students often include special education and English language learners. This phase is an intimate and collaborative process that inspires engagement in the classroom and beyond; students are challenged to look at the world with nuance, creativity, and confidence by analyzing texts and developing meaning through the language of music. During this time, Lead Teaching Artists and Small Group Leaders develop clear musical scores of the songs using music notation software (including melody with lyrics and harmony written as chords or piano accompaniment).

PHASE THREE (Feb — April): Students regroup as a unit to rehearse their songs all together with Lead Teaching Artists. The songs written from each small group become movements to form the whole “Classroom Cantata.” Students perform their pieces for their families and school communities.

Learn more about Cantata Singers at cantatasingers.org.

Qualifications:

This role encompasses a wide range of skills including, but not limited to:

• High level of performance on an instrument or voice
• Fluency with composition and improvisation; ability to create a melody and accompaniment
• Ability to write poetry/lyrics
• Experience using music notation software
• Teaching experience; group instruction with elementary aged students is a plus

Other desired qualities include:

• Strong communication skills (b/w classroom teachers, school admin, Director of Operations and Production, and Teaching Artists)
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Enthusiasm and good rapport with children, especially ages 5–10
• Other languages: Spanish; Vietnamese; Haitian Creole
• Comfort with technology: possible recording and video software

Requirements:

• Small Group Leaders: regular weekly availability during school day in January and February
• CORI check (Boston Public Schools requirement)

How To Apply:

• Please send resume and cover letter to Kripa Joseph, Director of Operations and Production: [email protected]
• Pay rate is $80 per class for Small Group Leaders

Apply by:

Salary:

About this Organization:

Cantata Singers illuminates our shared humanity through choral music.

At Cantata Singers, we raise our voices together in song, bringing artistry to an enduring tradition that has long cultivated relationships, shaped culture, and fostered mutual understanding.

Through music making and community building, we create opportunities for people of all ages, cultures, and identities to engage with others in ways that uplift, inspire, and help them feel that their stories are being heard.

Choral music offers the unique opportunity for musicians and audiences to explore together what it means to be human. Our programming honors the diverse perspectives and experiences that comprise our world, acknowledging that when we better understand our shared humanity, we develop deeper connections and amplify what unites us.