Senior Director, Curriculum and Artistic Planning, YOLA

Senior Director of Curriculum and Artistic Planning, YOLA

Position Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Reports to: Vice President, Learning

Compensation: $120,000 - 130,000

Department: Learning

About Learning at the LA Phil:

Leading the LA Phil’s strategic engagement with youth and education across Los Angeles, the Learning programs at the LA Phil champion the organization’s investment in the larger arts ecosystem while providing thought-leadership and advocacy for youth engagement program models that uplift and inspire.

About the YOLA Program:

Mission Statement:

YOLA provides transformational and equitable access to music education for young people from underserved communities, to support their personal development, their communities, and beyond.

YOLA Vision for Impact:

By 2035, YOLA is serving well over 4,000 students across LA County. Thousands of alumni believe the transformative experience of playing music with the YOLA community contributed to their personal development, a path to excellence, and a deep and lasting love of music, motivating them to meaningfully contribute as adults to the creative industry ecosystem.

Program Summary:

YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) is LA Phil’s signature education program, inspired by El Sistema and led by Gustavo Dudamel. YOLA provides over 1,800 students annually access to instruments, high-quality music instruction, and holistic support, helping young people thrive artistically, socially, and academically at no cost.

The work of YOLA is focused on two areas: Local programs, which directly serve communities across Los Angeles, and national programs which provide opportunities for young musicians, teaching artists, program administrators, and other stakeholders to learn from and create community with one another.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Vice President, Learning, the Senior Director of Curriculum and Artistic Planning, YOLA is responsible for the oversight of the artistic and education planning for the YOLA program. Under the leadership of this position, the artistic growth for the program is defined at a strategic level while making vital connections to how this vision is executed at a curricular level. The scope includes programming for YOLA’s local and national programs. This role also provides direction and oversight for Teaching Artist and Conductor development, musical evaluations, and is lead position for development of YOLA Institute which creates opportunities for enhanced musical growth and development of young musicians in YOLA.

The Senior Director of Curriculum and Artistic Planning works with a number of key stakeholder groups within and externally to the department. The position also works closely with the Director of Programs and Instructional Partnerships to ensure that curricular goals and program design and woven together seamlessly and with high effectiveness toward the program’s strategic outcomes.

The Senior Director leads a team of two full-time managers, the Senior Artistic Manager and the Manager, Curriculum and Instruction, and provides extended oversight to the YOLA Artistic Advisor, YOLA conductors, and other part-time artistic staff. The Senior Director is an experienced music educator and artistic leader who brings deep expertise in instrumental and orchestral pedagogy, a commitment to inclusive and diverse representation in repertoire and learning settings, and an understanding of social impact through music within the context of a major performing arts organization.

This position will include frequent evening and weekend responsibilities.

Scope of Work:

Curriculum, Pedagogy & Evaluation:

With the curriculum team, set the pedagogical vision for local and national programs and oversee the ongoing development of the YOLA curriculum, benchmarks and lesson planning tools, aligned with national core arts standards

Ensure the pillars of the YOLA curriculum are applied consistently across all hubs, private lessons, YOLA National programs and the YOLA Institute

Oversee the design of YOLA’s music evaluation process, including juries and ensemble placement, and use evaluation data to refine curriculum, repertoire and training

Advise the Director of Programs and Instructional Partnerships and Program Leadership on curriculum alignment for new and existing programs, and oversee curricular and artistic readiness

Artistic Planning & Programming:

Lead annual and multi-year repertoire planning for all YOLA Institute ensembles, sequenced to curricular benchmarks and championing diverse works and traditional repertoire from the canon

Lead the artistic team in concert planning for YOLA’s regular season, including advising on calendaring, programs and collaborations with LA Phil ensembles and artists, and integrate signature projects into the season plan

With the Vice President, Learning, lead the artistic development and preparation for large-scale projects, special events and tours

Lead the YOLA Institute and the artistic and instructional components of YOLA National programs and any other artistic initiatives for YOLA

Team Leadership & Faculty Development:

Supervise, coach and evaluate the Senior Artistic Manager and the Manager, Curriculum and Instruction, and set goals and priorities for the conductors, coaches and artistic project staff they lead

Overseeing the curriculum team, design the training for professional development and mentorship for teaching artists, conductors and faculty across all YOLA programs

Direct the development and maintenance of evaluation process for teaching artists and conductors, working in collaboration with the curriculum team and Director of Programs and Instructional Partnerships

Lead recruitment strategy and growth pathways for teaching artists and conductors

Develop and manage the curriculum, faculty development and artistic planning budgets, including the contracting of guest artistic leadership

Oversee the artistic operations that support instruction and performance across hubs, including rehearsal and performance scheduling, music library and repertoire-driven instrument needs, in coordination with the program delivery systems owned by the Director of Programs and Instructional Partnerships

Serve as an active member of the Learning Department leadership team, contributing to strategic planning, departmental priorities and the department’s major events

Other duties as assigned

Relationships:

Reports to: Vice President, Learning

Supervises: Senior Artistic Manager

Manager, Curriculum and Instruction
YOLA Artistic Advisor

Interacts with: Learning Department

Contracted Artistic and Music Directors, guest conductors and visiting artists

LA Phil Musicians and LA Phil Artistic staff and leadership

Internal and External Stakeholders

Successful Habits for the Role:
Strong, supportive people and project management skills

Artistic and curricular leadership that balances high musical standards with youth development and equity

Attracting, choosing, supporting, growing, and retaining talent

Building and supporting student- and family- centered programming with high expectations and excellent outcomes

Excellent organizational and administrative skills

Strategic and disciplined use of resources, aligned with strategic priorities

Active participatory member of the Learning team and engaged with all major events for the department

Excellent communication skills

Proactive and curious nature

Continuously looking for ways to improve program experience for all important stakeholder groups

Relevant Program Outcome Metrics

Students who maintain ‘Meets Expectations' or above on jury

Students retained YoY and reporting increased opportunity and access, life skills, artistic formation, & sense of community

Faculty & staff retention

Teaching Artists who meet or exceed expectations

Teaching Artists reporting they feel supported by the program in their personal, professional growth

YOLA students who report that YOLA teachers are helping them learn and grow, see YOLA teachers as role models, mentors

Students advancing through ensemble levels on the expected trajectory

Performance and repertoire quality, including works by living and underrepresented composers

Conductor retention and conductors who meet or exceed expectations

Position Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in music, music education or conducting; Master’s degree preferred

Single Subject Teaching Credential in Music or equivalent preferred

At least 7 years of combined experience in music teaching, ensemble leadership and the supervision of music educators or conductors, including work with elementary, middle and high school students

Demonstrated experience leading the curricular or artistic program of a youth, community or pre-college music organization, including repertoire planning, concert planning and performance preparation

Experience writing and/or implementing music curriculum based on national music and core arts standards, and designing music evaluation processes such as juries

Experience preparing orchestral ensembles for, and collaborating with, professional conductors, artistic directors and guest artists

Experience managing managers and multi-layered teams, as well as managing to budgets and contracts for faculty development and artistic programming

Fluency in Creative Youth Development practices and demonstrated effectiveness with inclusive instruction in diverse communities

Champion and practitioner of equity, diversity and inclusion in music and with youth

Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills; strong organizational skills and a solution-oriented approach

Fluency in Microsoft Office and remote working tools (Slack, Google, Zoom, etc.)

Ability to work evenings and weekends