Graduate Assistant - Voice and Opera

Job Description:

About Fredonia's School of Music :

With over 500 undergraduate and graduate students, Fredonia's School of Music is SUNY's preeminent comprehensive music unit. Its international reputation is reflected in Grammy and Downbeat award-winning students, faculty, and alumni, and one of the campus's highest retention rates. The School of Music is home to numerous faculty and staff members dedicated to providing students with engaging and meaningful classes for future artists and citizens. Our array of NASM-accredited programs includes undergraduate degrees in music education, music performance, music therapy, music composition, and sound recording technology, with graduate degrees offered in music education, music performance, music therapy, and music composition. This year, the College Symphony Orchestra has partnered with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and received top honors in the American Prize. The orchestra regularly engages its campus and community through public orchestral and opera performances. These are among more than 400 public events we present each year, most of which are live-streamed. Our small, nurturing, and supportive campus, coupled with a comparatively large and comprehensive music school, makes Fredonia one of the best places to enter professional music training.

The State University of New York at Fredonia invites applications for a Graduate Assistant - Voice and Opera Area. Applicants must be admitted to SUNY Fredonia and pursue a Master of Music in Voice Performance for the 2026-27 academic year. This is a part-time, FTE 25% Graduate Assistant position in the School of Music. SUNY Fredonia - one of the premiere schools of music in the SUNY system - has 650 undergraduate majors, 45 full time faculty, excellent facilities, and strong choral, voice, and opera programs. (www.fredonia.edu/som).

The School of Music's numerous dedicated faculty and staff members provide students with engaging and meaningful performance, research, and arts outreach and engagement opportunities. We offer the Master of Music in Performance, the Master of Music - Music Education, and the Master of Music - Music Education Studies degrees. The Voice Faculty of the SUNY Fredonia School of Music is comprised of a large and professionally active body of performers/scholars who share their wide-ranging professional connections and scholarly research eagerly with the student body. A graduate assistant assigned to a Voice Faculty member will receive an engaging, challenging, and professionally relevant level of training.

Rewards & Benefits
Competitive compensation plus benefits including dental and vision coverage (benefit plan eligibility is dependent on FTE; must be 50% or more);
Paid leave provisions including sick and holiday leave; impressive educational benefits including tuition-free study plus supplemental tuition aid;
A rich array of services, programs and benefits to help employees advance in their career and enhance the quality of their personal life, including professional development programs and services, employee EAP and wellness programs, discounted membership to the on-campus fitness center, and access to the Campus and Community Child Care Center.
JOB

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Voice Area graduate assistant will work under the mentorship of the Voice Area Coordinator and the Director of Opera Studies. Duties may include the following:
Assisting Voice Area faculty with preparations for coursework, rehearsals, and performances.
Organizing staffing, resources, and/or equipment for courses, rehearsals and performances.
Managing the Hillman Opera social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) and assisting SUNY Fredonia's public relations and communications efforts for the Department of Music Performance.
Knowing, understanding, and following all university policies.

This graduate assistantship is offered for the 2026-2027 academic year. Work responsibilities will reflect approximately 10 hours each week of each semester of the assistantship. Candidates who are selected for and accept the assistantship will receive a stipend of $3,350 per semester and a tuition waiver for 4.5 credits in-state tuition each semester as GA.

Requirements:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Admission to the Master of Music - Voice Performance program with good standing;
Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively and in a collegial and professional manner with students, faculty, and staff;
Demonstrated commitment to the university, division, and profession;
Excellent performance skills;
Experience with administrative duties relevant to orchestral operations (communications, library, designing concert programs, social media, event planning, and/or other aspects)
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Previous teaching, tutoring or mentoring experiences;
Strong professional organizational, technology and communication skills;
Strong musicianship;
Strong teaching skills
Additional Information:

Fredonia prides itself on an outstanding workforce. To continually support organizational excellence, the university conducts background screens on applicants.

An Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer, Fredonia provides for, and promotes, equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment, without discrimination.

Pursuant to University policy, the University is committed to fostering a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff, and students, as well as ensuring equal educational opportunity, employment, and access to services, programs, and activities, without regard to an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, or domestic violence victim status. Employees, students, applicants or other members of the University community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law, or treated adversely or retaliated against based upon a protected characteristic.

The University's policy is in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations prohibiting unlawful discrimination and harassment. These laws include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, and the New York State Human Rights Law. These laws prohibit discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment and sexual violence.

Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation. If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor's Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via email at info@goer.ny.gov.

Application Instructions:

This position is a part-time, temp appointed, GSEU represented position beginning Fall 2026.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

This is a full-time, FTE 50% Graduate Assistant position in the School of Music, represented by GSEU.

*You may provide links for the requested videos by uploading a word document/pdf with links to the videos.*

Resume/CV
Letter of intent, describing your academic intentions and qualifications for a graduate assistantship. Please include:
-Interpersonal skills and experiences working with collegiate faculty, staff and students
-Any organizational and technical skills that could be useful to your program of study.
-Examples of and commitment to work with diverse groups of students, faculty, staff, and constituents in support of campus and department missions.
-Rationale for why you're the best candidate for a position that may include assisting faculty in a variety of courses and settings.
One of the following:
-An excerpt totaling 10-minutes of the applicant in a performance of an opera. If the applicant did not perform easily extractable pieces in the opera (arias, duets, etc.), they may send other excerpts of their performance in the opera (still totaling 10-minutes in length).
-A document with link(s) to video recordings of two (2) contrasting operatic arias in two different languages. Video should not be edited.

Contact information for three references will be requested. At least one reference who has recently been involved with your performance activities should be included.

Note: After submitting your Resume/CV, the subsequent page gives you instructions that enable you to upload the additional, required documents.

Please see the FAQ for using the online application system. Please contact us if you need assistance applying through this website.

URL:

home.fredonia.edu/music/