Resident Musical Director

Stage School Australia; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 40,000 - 48,000; Part time

Job summary

Stage School Australia is seeking a Resident Musical Director to lead the theatre’s musical and vocal creative direction across programs, productions and events. You will work with the Artistic Director and Resident Creative Team on repertoire, interpretation and resource creation to achieve the intended artistic outcome.

The role collaborates with Curriculum Coordinators to provide complete musical direction, rehearsal tracks and supporting resources for curriculum translation and weekly

Qualifications

• Strong leadership with proactive initiative.
• Passion for teaching and vocal pedagogy.
• Knowledge of vocal arrangement and teaching methods.
• Ability to manage budgets and OH&S compliance.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and define the musical direction in partnership with the Artistic Director.
• Select repertoire and oversee vocal interpretation and rehearsal resources.
• Provide musical artefacts and direction to Curriculum Coordinators.
• Collaborate with cross-discipline teams to ensure consistent outcomes.
• Lead post-performance musical reviews.

Skills

Musical direction

Vocal arrangement

Curriculum collaboration

Leadership

Budget management

Job description

The Resident Musical Director is Stage School Australia’s musical and vocal creative lead, responsible for defining and maintaining the musical vision, vocal direction and performance standards across the company’s programs, productions and events.

Working in partnership with the Artistic Director and Resident Creative Team, the Resident Musical Director leads repertoire selection, musical interpretation and vocal arrangement direction, and creates, commissions and/or approves the core musical resources required to achieve the intended artistic outcome.

The Resident Musical Director works closely with the Curriculum Coordinator (Voice), providing clear, complete and timely musical direction, sheet music, rehearsal tracks, performance tracks and supporting artistic resources for translation into curriculum, teacher support and weekly rehearsal systems. The Resident Musical Director owns the musical destination, while the Curriculum Coordinator (Voice) owns the teaching and implementation journey.

The role collaborates with curriculum, learning, creative, Brisbane and production leaders to ensure musical outcomes are artistically strong, appropriate for the student cohort and delivered to an equivalent standard across all SSA locations and performance contexts. The position includes agreed teaching and performance-season responsibilities and may contribute specialist musical expertise to casting, professional learning and additional creative projects.

This role is a 2 day a week role (or 0.4 of a Full-Time Equivalent FTE) primarily based at the Stage School Head Office in Coburg, Melbourne with some requirement to attend other Stage School locations and rehearsals, performances.

In addition to the two days a week, compulsory teaching will be required (on top of the 0.4 FTE).

The teaching shifts are to be agreed and will be paid pro-rata according to the shifts allocated.

2 days at $40,000- $48,000. ($100-$120,000 Full Time Equivalent/FTE).

Resident Musical Director

The Resident Musical Director is Stage School Australia’s musical and vocal creative lead, responsible for defining and maintaining the musical vision, vocal direction and performance standards across the company’s programs, productions and events.

Working in partnership with the Artistic Director and Resident Creative Team, the Resident Musical Director leads repertoire selection, musical interpretation and vocal arrangement direction, and creates, commissions and/or approves the core musical resources required to achieve the intended artistic outcome.

The Resident Musical Director works closely with the Curriculum Coordinator (Voice), providing clear, complete and timely musical direction, sheet music, rehearsal tracks, performance tracks and supporting artistic resources for translation into curriculum, teacher support and weekly rehearsal systems. The Resident Musical Director owns the musical destination, while the Curriculum Coordinator (Voice) owns the teaching and implementation journey.

The role collaborates with curriculum, learning, creative, Brisbane and production leaders to ensure musical outcomes are artistically strong, appropriate for the student cohort and delivered to an equivalent standard across all SSA locations and performance contexts. The position includes agreed teaching and performance-season responsibilities and may contribute specialist musical expertise to casting, professional learning and additional creative projects.

This role is a 2 day a week role (or 0.4 of a Full-Time Equivalent FTE) primarily based at the Stage School Head Office in Coburg, Melbourne with some requirement to attend other Stage School locations and rehearsals, performances.

In addition to the two days a week, compulsory teaching will be required (on top of the 0.4 FTE)

The teaching shifts are to be agreed and will be paid pro-rata according to the shifts allocated.

2 days at $40,000- $48,000. ($100-$120,000 Full Time Equivalent/FTE).

Key responsibilities include:

Musical & Vocal Artistic Direction

• Maintain and define the musical direction in partnership with the Artistic Director.

• Establish repertoire, style, interpretation, ensemble sound and performance expectations across relevant SSA programmes and productions.

• Maintain alignment with SSA’s artistic identity and programme objectives.

Repertoire and Musical Resource Development

• Select, approve and maintain appropriate repertoire in collaboration with resident creatives.

• Create or approve musical direction notes, accent guidance, solo requirements and other specialist musical resources where required.

• Commission and approve rehearsal and performance tracks.

• Ensure resources are accurate, complete, staff-ready and delivered to agreed deadlines.

• Maintain appropriate documentation, version control and archives.

Creative-to-Curriculum Handoff

• Provide Curriculum Coordinators with complete musical artefacts and direction.

• Clarify intended musical outcomes, non-negotiables and areas of flexibility.

• Respond to implementation constraints and collaborate on solutions.

• Consult where curriculum or rehearsal realities require an adjustment to artistic intent.

Musical Quality and Performance Review

• Review musical quality across agreed rehearsals and performances.

• Identify patterns affecting ensemble sound, musical accuracy, interpretation or performance readiness.

• Lead or contribute to post-performance musical review.

Artistic Partnership and Cross-Discipline Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Artistic Director and other Resident Creatives.

• Support cohesive programme-level thinking across Voice, Dance and Drama.

• Contribute to productions and creative projects where musical expertise is required.

• Work with the Producer on project-specific musical requirements, schedules and production dependencies, while maintaining clear accountability for musical deliverables.

Company-wide Musical Consistency

• Communicate the intended musical destination to Brisbane delivery leaders.

• Support reasonable adaptation to local cohort, venue and staffing conditions.

• Protect artistic non-negotiables while pursuing equivalent outcomes.

• Ensure corrected and complete musical packages are available for interstate handoff.

Specialist Musical Leadership

• Provide specialist artistic mentoring or professional learning when agreed.

• Contribute specialist musical expertise to recruitment, casting and staff-development processes as required.

• Build the musical capability of the teaching workforce through specialist input, modelling and professional learning delivered in partnership with the Curriculum Coordinator (Voice).

Resource, Budget and Supplier Management

• Scope musical-resource requirements.

• Brief and manage arrangers, musicians, track producers or other specialists.

• Monitor spending against approved budgets.

• Approve musical outputs before release.

• Maintain clear records of commissions, source files, approvals and final versions.

• Assessing suitability of repertoire and vocal arrangements.

• Artistic guidance for the voice/ musical department.

• Teaching Advanced Performing level groups. This includes weekly Friday night rehearsals, workshops, and additional solo rehearsals as required.

• Participating in solo casting.

• Fostering continuous improvement in the voice/ vocal department for the future.

Successful Applicants will have:

• An enthusiastic and motivated approach, demonstrating a strong capacity to show initiate and be proactive.

• Passion for teaching and knowledge of a range of effective teaching and classroom management strategies for young people.

• Knowledge of vocal arrangement and vocal pedagogy.

• Ability to contribute to and implement operational and long-term strategic plans.

• Familiarity with basic financial management including managing a budget.

• The ability to effectively understand, assess and make good judgements on all role related matters especially OH&S, Child Safety matters.

• The ability to effectively critically think and develop the critical thinking of team members in order to make sound judgement calls to achieve the best outcomes for the voice discipline at Stage School Australia which includes a focus on obtaining the best possible outcomes for the student.

• Expertise in managing projects and initiatives focusing on execution and delivery.

Why work at Stage School Australia?

Developing young people’s personal and performing skills through drama and musical theatre is at the core of Stage School Australia’s values. To deliver on this, we work hard to make sure our staff also feel inspired and supported. We strive to create a professional, inclusive, and diverse workplace where people can simply be themselves no matter their age, race, gender, disability or sexual orientation. The theatre has always been a place where difference is celebrated!

Stage School Australia is one of Australia’s largest performing arts companies, specialising in providing training for young people. With almost 40 years of legacy, 25 venues across Melbourne and Brisbane, over 5,800 students and a faculty of 100+, Stage School is the industry leader in its field.

All applicants that will be progressed through the recruitment process will be contacted directly. Unfortunately, due to the volume of applicants we generally receive, we will not be able to contact everyone directly. We do thank all applicants in advance for their time and effort to participate in our recruitment process.