Job description

Interested applicants are invited to apply directly at the NUS Career Portal. Please note your application will only be processed if you apply via NUS Career Portal.

NUS Career Portal link: https://careers.nus.edu.sg/job/Assistant-Professor-%28Coordinator%2C-Music-as-Collaborative-Practice-%28MCP%29%29/32988-en_GB/

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Job Description

Coordinator, Music as Collaborative Practice (MCP)

The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, offers a unique and adventurous 21st-century Asian environment in which we train and educate performers, composers, producers and recording engineers to take advantage of future professional and artistic opportunities both in Singapore and in the world. The Conservatory is distinctively international in terms of its faculty, student population and artistic outlook. Our mission is to be a focal point for musical activity, artistic development and research, for Singapore, the Asia-Pacific region, and beyond.

The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music is launching Music as Collaborative Practice (MCP), a renewed major grounded in a central conviction that the 21st-century musician’s most valuable asset is not virtuosity alone, but the capacity to create meaningfully alongside others. The renewed MCP makes collaboration the curriculum and as the medium through which students master instrumental and vocal technique, composition, aural training, music theory and contextual studies.
YST is seeking an outstanding, experienced music professional to serve as Coordinator of MCP. This is a full-time position. The successful candidate will be an imaginative and organised practitioner-educator with a deep commitment to collaborative music-making, strong industry networks, and the ability to build and sustain a programme that integrates real-world project briefs, vertical peer mentorship, and co-designed assessment across a four-year conservatory curriculum.

The Coordinator of MCP will be responsible for:

• Designing and managing the full operational cycle of MCP from Years 1–4.
• Building and maintaining a pipeline of partnerships with theatre companies, festivals, NUS faculties, and community organisations, ensuring a steady supply of authentic, audience-facing project commissions for student collaborative groups/ensembles.
• Recruiting, contracting, and managing a cohort of industry mentors per year, which will include film composers, music directors, sound designers, and producers to coach in residence alongside student groups/ensembles.
• Coordinating timetable white space with the Academic Office and shared co-working blocks across YST’s academic calendar so that cross-year ensembles have protected time to meet, rehearse, and deliver.
• Adapting and integrating MCP project cycles with existing YST studio and seminar structures, ensuring vertical mentorship, research–artistic balance, and progressive student autonomy across all four years of the curriculum.
• Maintaining and developing community and outreach activities, ensuring MCP networks connect YST students with Singapore’s broader musical and cultural ecosystem.
• Contributing actively in curriculum development and review, teaching, programme documentation, and ongoing collaboration with YST faculty, the Academic Office, and NUS partners to continuously improve the MCP framework.
• Continuing professional and artistic practice that inform the MCP and YST curriculum.

Rank / Salary: Tenure-track at the rank of Assistant Professor with benefits package commensurate with qualifications and experience in line with NUS appointment norms.

Enquiries about the position may be directed to the Dean’s Office at mussec@nus.edu.sg.

The selection process will commence in June 2026 and continue until the position is filled. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Qualifications

Requirements for interested applicants include:

• A PhD or DMA in Composition, Performance or a closely related field of musical practice. 
• Significant professional experience as a music practitioner and music educator, with demonstrable expertise and commitment to collaborative and ensemble-based practice.
• Proven track record of programme coordination, curriculum development, or project management in a conservatory, arts organisation, or professional music environment.
• Active industry networks spanning performance, composition, music direction, sound design, or music production, with experience engaging practitioners as educators or mentors.
• Demonstrated independence, impact and recognition as a performer, researcher and collaborator in multi-genre settings.
• Strong understanding of conservatory pedagogy and the capacity to work within and across conservatory specialisations while driving a cross-disciplinary collaborative model.
• Excellent organisational, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent project cycles and a diverse community of students, faculty, and industry partners.
• Experience with project-based or outcomes-driven learning frameworks, co-designed assessment, or competency-based education is highly desirable.
• Experience with digital production tools and literacy in music technology.

Qualified candidates should submit the following materials to the Search Committee via the NUS recruitment portal (https://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/):

• A letter of interest describing your vision for MCP and your relevant experience in collaborative music programme leadership.
• A current curriculum vitae outlining professional, teaching, and administrative experience.
• Three letters of recommendation from professional referees.
• A portfolio or documentation of representative projects, programmes, or initiatives you have led or coordinated (may include concert programmes, curriculum documents, industry briefs, or equivalent materials).
• Links to recordings, productions, or other artistic work where relevant.
• Commitment to working in a collaborative, innovative, and internationally oriented conservatory environment and high potential in continuing artistic research throughout tenure employment.