Applications are invited for an appointment as Lecturer Above the Bar in Music (Composition) at NUI Galway.

In 2018, NUI Galway introduced a new BA degree programme in Music. This is offered as a Joint Honours Arts degree, with students taking Music alongside two other subjects in first year, and continuing with Music and one other subject to degree level. During their degree, students take core modules in the history of western art music, Irish traditional music, theory, performance, composition, sound technology, harmony and keyboard harmony, and performance analysis; in their final year they must either write a dissertation or submit a portfolio of original compositions. Optional modules include further modules in both performance and Irish traditional music, as well as musical theatre, editing, orchestration and arranging, choral conducting, counterpoint, opera, reviewing, musicology, and arts management. Third-year students have the opportunity to study abroad for a semester at a third-level institution, or to take a music-related work placement in Ireland. There are plans to introduce programmes in Music at MA and PhD level over the next three years.

The creation of the new degree builds on, and complements, existing strengths in the areas of Creative Arts, notably in Drama and Theatre Studies, Film and Digital Media, Creative Writing, Irish Studies (Literature and Music), Literature and Publishing, and others. These strengths include several thriving undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, as well as major partnerships with creative arts organisations, including the Abbey Theatre (Ireland’s national theatre), the Galway International Arts Festival, the ConTempo String Quartet, and Music for Galway. The university also runs an innovative ‘Arts in Action’ programme, which provides concerts, recitals and performances for students from across the university. Galway itself has a vibrant and thriving arts community, and is a European Capital of Culture for 2020.

As part of the development of the new BA in Music, the university wishes to appoint a Lecturer Above the Bar in Music (Composition). This appointment will be of a composer with a national/international profile, or the potential for this, who has experience of teaching on Music degree programmes at third level. The appointee will be required to teach and coordinate modules in composition and orchestration, and be expected to contribute to the teaching programme of the department more generally in fields such as history, theory or performance. The ability to teach sound technology would be an advantage. The appointee would be expected to teach and coordinate modules in composition at Master’s level, and to supervise doctoral students in composition, when MA and PhD degrees are introduced.

The successful candidate will have a strong track record as a composer. They will have collaborated with leading professional performers, participated at international festivals, and be capable of forming new partnerships nationally and internationally. They will be expected to make a strong contribution to the creative life of the university and the city of Galway, and, in particular, to work with institutional partners such as the ConTempo String Quartet and Music for Galway. Given the strength of the Creative Arts within the university, an ability to work with colleagues in Drama, Film and Creative Writing would be desirable.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Aidan Thomson, Email aidan.thomson [at] nuigalway.ie or telephone: +353 (0)91 493675.

See full job description under ‘Academic Vacancies’ at the link below.