Music---General 2009-2010

Curtis Institute of Music - Chair of Musical Studies
(Deadline: Nov. 15)
 * By way of review and information, this position was originally advertised during the academic year 2008-09. About two months after the application deadline passed, the search was cancelled.  It was cancelled because the same search committee was simultaneously undertaking a search for a new Dean and found it could not properly conduct the two searches at the same time.  A new Dean was hired in 2009.
 * The search was advertised again in the fall of 2009. The first cut was made in December.  Three members of the search committee, led by the new Dean, scheduled telephone interviews with a number of candidates. It is my understanding that from this pool a second cut was made by the full search committee; this second group will be invited to Philadelphia in mid-January to interview in person with the search committee.  Following this, it is my understanding that a further, third cut will be made, and this final group will be invited back to Philadelphia for a second time, in mid-February, to meet again with the committee and to teach some classes.
 * Personally, I find telephone interviews to be deeply frustrating. One is unable to register the committee's response to anything that one has said and it is generally quite difficult if not impossible to feel that one is presenting one's self in the best possible light, given the limitation of the circumstances. How choices can be made given the poor opportunity for interaction and human contact under such conditions is something I don't really understand. I suppose it saves money, but does it yield the best person for the job? I would argue it doesn't, with greater costs in the long run.