How hard is it to become a composition teacher?
- Wednesday Nov 18,2009 09:10 PM
- By diddy
- In Others
I am applying for a M.M in composition in the States for next fall. After that I would like to do a D.M.A or PhD also in composition.
How hard is it to become a composition teacher at the university level and about how much is the salary?
Composition Teacher, Phd, Salary
2 Comments
Specific institutions have different requirements depending on their approach. Our School of Music tends to be more focused on pedagogy than performance, so, typically, the Professors either have or are working towards Ph.D.s in Music Education. That sounds like the route you want to go.
Other, more performance oriented institutions (like our Musical Theatre department) expect to see an M.F.A. (or equivalent), although exceptions can be made for anyone with the appropriate training and experience. We have an Assistant Professor (non-tenure track) who earned her first college degree (a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre) only last year.
Regardless, the thing to do is to get in with a good faculty advisor/mentor who can guide you in the direction you need to go.
Oh… and the pay for Professors is usually pretty good. You won’t be rich, but you won’t be poor either. Academic jobs also come with a great many perks in lieu of pay (sabbaticals, lots of vacation time, good medical insurance, tuition discounts for kids, etc.)
Beyond all the academic qualifications, you are not telling us about something critical - are you a well-known COMPOSER - have your works been published, performed by an increasingly-prestigious cadre of soloists, ensembles, and symphony orchestras? Do you have commercially-available CDs of your works?? Why would any university hire you - whaqt do you bring to them in terms of accomplishment in your chosen field? Consider someone like Eric Ewazen, the composition teacher at Juilliard - he has a long list of great works to show for his skills - AND he can then teach! Beyond the works you were assigned to do for academic purposes, any committee hiring a teacher of composition wants to see proof of teaching ability and proof of COMPOSING, and its subsequent performance and recording. SO - what have you got??
I have multiple degrees in music education and music theory - and spent my career in doing this.
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