Cello Instructor, Sistema Ravinia Lake County - Ravinia

Ravinia is both North America’s longest-running music festival and its most artistically diverse. Over 100 different events by a mix of classical, rock, pop, jazz, R&B, indie, and country performers make up a typical summer season on our two open-air and two indoor stages. Each year the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is featured in six weeks of concerts, many with Chief Conductor Marin Alsop. During the same summer months, the Ravinia Steans Music Institute provides young professional classical and jazz musicians with career-advancing training and concert settings. Offstage and year-round, Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs engage 75,000 children and adults—in schools with little to no music curriculum, in our Chicagoland communities, and at our 36-acre park—in our mission to make music equitably accessible to all.

The Cello instructor will teach students in small  (studio) and large (Strings Ensemble sectionals) groups of elementary school students participating in the Sistema Ravinia Lake County nucleo. The Violin/Viola instructor reports to the Program Manager and will be part of a team of instructors that will inspire all participating students and be responsible for maintaining a standard of excellence and upholding the values and mission for Sistema Ravinia. The ideal candidate will be an extraordinary teacher, artist, mentor, and model for Sistema Ravinia students. This role is a part-time, hourly instructional seasonal employee position.  

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Teach repertoire, technique and music theory through strings sectionals and violin/viola studios 
• Assist with large ensemble rehearsals as needed 
• Foster student empowerment and focus on the holistic education of each child
• Engage students through the development and implementation of creative lesson plans that foster social and musical growth
• Active participation and collaboration in term planning and professional learning sessions to help create and implement an innovative curriculum and pedagogy that supports each child holistically
• Assess student progress and ensure curriculum alignment on an ongoing basis

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Enthusiasm for El Sistema and its philosophy of social change through music
• Interest and ability to be a motivational mentor and role model for students, parents, and community
• Superior interpersonal skills

Education and Experience

• Experience working with groups of children, youth orchestras, or in the El Sistema music education model
• Experience and desire to work with children from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds
• Bachelor’s degree in music or 2-3 years related work experience

Work Environment

• Working at Glen Flora Elementary School  (1110 Chestnut St, Waukegan, IL 60085) 
• Working three days per week (Program hours*: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:45-5:15 pm plus a one hour team meeting each week TBC)
  • *Hours are subject to change based on program need and school schedule
• Some additional days, evenings and weekends required for concerts, special activities, and meetings 
• Ability to travel to the Ravinia Festival (418 Sheridan Rd, Highland Park IL 60035) for large orchestra rehearsals combined with both sites of Lake County Nucleo
• Interaction with young students, parents and administrators where the safety of the students is paramount

Compensation: $50 per hour for instructional time and $25 per hour for non-instructional time (meetings, professional learning, and curriculum development)

About the program
Sistema Ravinia is an intensive orchestral music education program that provides daily music training for students at two schools in the Lawndale community.  Participating students meet daily throughout the year at their nucleo (program site) and are taught in sectionals and full orchestra. Shaped by the philosophy of the noted El Sistema model, Ravinia has embraced the notion of transforming groups of children into communities of musicians who in turn transform their communities.  Students receive mentorship from teachers and administrators that make them feel loved and valued as an asset to their nucleo community.  

Sistema Ravinia Lake County launched in 2015. The Elementary School program welcomes students at three schools - Glen Flora, Lyon Magnet, and North. Students from Lyon Magnet focus on woodwind instruments, while students from North learn string instruments and Glen Flora, brass and percussion instruments. The Secondary School program takes place at Ravinia and John Lewis Middle School (Waukegan), the middle school students are bused from five schools to John Lewis Middle School and Ravinia two days per week to work in studios, sectionals, strings or band ensembles, and orchestra. In fall 2021, three of our first students cohort, founded the Honors Ensemble formed by high schoolers and some selected middle schoolers who meet at Ravinia once every week.

Ravinia is an Equal Opportunity Employer
As an equal opportunity employer, Ravinia strongly believes that diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives is essential to our success and we strive to create and sustain an equitable and inclusive environment for all our employees. Ravinia does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status under federal, state, or local law. We encourage individuals of all identities and abilities to apply.