How to Become a College Music Professor

You’ve spent years practicing your instrument. You’ve earned a Master’s Degree, or maybe even a Ph.D. in music performance. Yet you can’t seem to find a gig that is fulfilling and pays well and doesn’t involve you joining the military. Then you notice a want ad in one of the music publications you read.

There’s an opening for a college level music professor specializing in your instrument at a state university. But before you send off your resume and audition tape, you need to know what to expect in the selection process and how to present yourself.

The selection process is usually handled by a committee comprised of music faculty and possibly some students. There will probably be several rounds leading up to the final interview. This article will cover the following stages:

Resume and Portfolio
Audition Tape/CD
Phone Interview
Visit with Selection Committee
Live Audition
Masterclass with current student
Interview/Gathering with current students

The goal of the selection committee is to evaluate the candidates in these seven areas and in the end choose the one whom they fell will bring the best influence to their music program. Contrary to what some may think, the one who will make the best music professor is not always the one who is the best musician or who has the most impressive resume. Obviously you have no way of knowing where you stand, but you want to make sure you aren’t dismissed in the early rounds due to sloppiness or misunderstanding.

In the first stage of your application to become a college music professor you will most likely be asked to send an audition recording and portfolio. You cannot change your qualifications or playing ability, so the most important part of this step is to be organized. Your portfolio will most likely consist of your resume, music teaching experience, transcripts, musicians with whom you’ve studied or taken lessons from, masterclasses attended and programs from notable performances.

These should all be neatly organized in a binder or booklet with a table of contents, in chronological order, and with all parts secured so they do not fall out when opened! I have seen everything from professionally printed bound booklets to file folders stuffed with loose papers. Don’t worry about trying to be fancy, just make sure everything is clean, organized and readable.

Your audition recording is the second half of the first round. Again, neatness and organization applies. If you send a tape make sure it is labeled with your name, the piece you are performing on it, and what side of the tape it is on. Also be sure to have the tape set in the correct spot so all they have to do is press “play”. You don’t want the interviewer wasting time rewinding and forwarding trying to find it. Same thing with a CD, it must be labeled with your name, your audition piece and the correct track.

It is also imperative that you send a good quality recording. It does not look good if there is a lot of static interference or background noise, and it makes it hard to evaluate your playing ability. Also, make sure it is a SOLO performance. A concerto with piano or orchestra is fine, but don’t send a recording of you performing with a brass quintet. The interviewers may think you are trying to “hide”.

After they have chosen a list of desirable candidates based on the audition and portfolio, they may ask you to call for a phone interview before bringing you to the campus. The phone interviews I participated in consisted of the selection committee gathered around a phone with the candidate on speakerphone, and each asked two or three questions.

The first and most important part of the phone interview is to make sure you have the correct date and time! One poor applicant called at 7:00 AM instead of 7:00 PM. When 7:00 PM rolled around he was not able to be at home and had to call from a pay phone, which made it extremely difficult to hear and understand him. My advice is to make sure you are on a land line phone where you will be comfortable and uninterrupted. The committee does not want to grill you, they just want to talk and see if you are the right person for the school.

What kind of questions will they ask? Naturally that will vary between schools and people, but I can give you some examples from my own experience.

What are the top five method books you would recommend for freshman [your instrument] players?

What are the top five solo pieces/orchestral excerpts you would assign freshman [your instrument] players to work on?

My advice for these is to stick with the standard method books and solos/excerpts for these questions. Anything that is likely to show up on an orchestral or military audition somewhere down the line is important for young musicians to learn, especially if they are performance majors.

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a musician?

Be honest. Don’t be afraid to talk about your strengths, but don’t be afraid to talk about your weaknesses either. I actually heard an applicant state once that he didn’t think he had any weaknesses. He did not advance to the final round. Even the best musician on the planet has a weak area; and most college music professors are expected to continue their own musical studies as well as teaching.

What are your feelings on band/marching band/orchestra?

This can be a tricky question. Some schools are very oriented towards band, and some are oriented towards orchestra and may not think of band/marching band as a valid musical activity. Do your research in advance and find out about the music department’s priorities. You do not want to appear negative on what the music school considers their strongest and most important ensemble.

If you are prone to nervousness you may want to make a cheat sheet of your teaching methods, recommended method books/solo pieces and any other information you consider important, and also any questions you might want to ask. Long periods of silence while you collect your thoughts are awkward and they may reflect poorly on you.

So you’ve made it to the final round and have been invited to the campus to perform, interact with the students and get to know the other faculty. This is the final stage of the selection process and the most important thing to remember is just to be yourself. You might be asked to go out for pizza with the faculty and student or participate in some other informal gathering. The purpose of this is for them to get to know you and your personality and see how you interact with the students. Don’t be afraid to talk and ask questions or even joke around a bit. A lack of interaction may be perceived as boredom or disinterest.

The live audition and masterclass will be your final chance to make a good impression. The audition is a no-brainer. Give your best performance! During the masterclass you will be evaluated on your teaching skills. There will probably be a few students of varying abilities selected to play for you. Don’t be too harsh or too kind. Even if a student performs a piece to near perfection, there’s always something that can be improved.

After your visit to the campus is over, there’s nothing more you can do except wait. Be sure to thank the students and search committee before you leave, and send a follow-up thank you note. Even if you are not hired as their next music professor, at least you know that you were squared away and made a favorable impression. The members of the search committee will remember you, and someday in the future that may work to your advantage.