There is a particular kind of teacher who shapes a young musician's life. At WPMA, that is the work, and it comes within one of the most serious pre-college music environments in the Southeast.
WPMA is a pre-college, conservatory-style academy in Alpharetta, just north of Atlanta. Our students train the way pre-professional musicians do: weekly private lessons, structured musicianship and theory, regular studio classes and recitals, chamber and orchestral repertoire, and masterclasses with visiting artists. We are expanding our wind and brass faculty, with immediate priority on clarinet, trumpet, and flute, and growing studios in saxophone, trombone, French horn, and the other woodwinds. We are looking for accomplished musicians who want to build a studio within a program of real distinction.
WHERE OUR STUDENTS GO
Each year, our students earn concertmaster, principal, and section-leadership chairs in ensembles including NYO, NYO2, the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, and GMEA All-State. Our students place as prizewinners in regional, national, and international competitions, and study at leading summer festivals. Our graduates have gone on to conservatories such as Juilliard, Peabody, the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, New England Conservatory, and the San Francisco Conservatory, as well as universities including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UPenn, MIT, Stanford, UChicago, Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Duke.
Our string program has led these results, and we are now building our wind and brass studios with the same seriousness and support. For an ambitious teacher, that is the opportunity: to shape a growing program from within an academy that already knows how to develop young musicians at the highest level. Teaching here means working with students of real ambition, teachability, and familial support.
WHO THRIVES HERE
The teachers who flourish at WPMA are accomplished performers in their own right, musicians who have played and taught at a high level, including those with international careers, and who still take real satisfaction in developing a young player. They are as invested in a student's audition presence and practice habits as in their technique. And they want more than a roster of students; they want to build a studio they can be proud of, and to help shape our wind and brass program as it grows. If that describes you, we would like to meet you.
WHAT THE ROLE INVOLVES
- Teach weekly private lessons on your instrument.
- Lead your own studio class each semester for your students.
- Build, mentor, and grow your own studio of dedicated students.
- Coach students toward youth-orchestra auditions, competitions, festivals, and conservatory auditions: repertoire, practice strategy, and performance presence.
- Take part in WPMA masterclasses, recitals, and events across the year.
WE HIRE AND TRAIN CAREER TEACHERS
Here is what that means for you:
- We help you build your studio. Rather than starting from nothing, you are introduced to committed students from supportive families, and as you keep and develop them, more come your way. A studio here is earned, and it grows with you.
- We develop our teachers. Teaching at WPMA happens in the open, the way conservatory training does, through masterclasses, recitals, and studio classes among senior faculty. You can have your teaching coached by our most experienced faculty, and as their studios fill, students are referred to you.
- Your studio, your pay, and your standing grow together. As your studio fills and your students achieve, your rate rises, your name earns its place on our faculty, and you gain the benefits of teaching at a conservatory: the right to audition and select your incoming students, chamber music coaching, invitation to annual faculty performances, a dedicated teaching room, and involvement with our distinguished artists masterclasses, Pre-College, and Summer Festival, among other things.
- You always know your next step. Growth here follows clear, published standards. You will know exactly what earns your next step, and when you meet it, it is yours.
Compensation begins at $55 per hour, with a clear, published path to significantly higher pay as your studio grows and your students flourish. What draws teachers here is the students, the colleagues, and an environment devoted entirely to classical music education at its best.
WHAT WPMA HANDLES SO YOU CAN TEACH
- We manage the scheduling, billing, and family communication, so your time goes to teaching rather than administration.
- Musicianship, aural skills, and music theory training available to all academy students.
- Frequent performance opportunities for your students.
- Staff collaborative pianists are available for your students' performances.
- A conservatory environment to support your students' and studio's growth.
- Flexible scheduling.
- Relocation assistance for the right candidate.
THE BACKGROUND THAT FITS
- An accomplished wind or brass player with a strong performance résumé. We are hiring first for clarinet, trumpet, and flute, and also welcome saxophone, trombone, horn, oboe, bassoon, and other wind and brass players.
- Substantial experience teaching pre-college or pre-professional students.
- Training from a leading conservatory or music program; international training and performance experience is especially welcome.
- A clear, motivating method for building technique and repertoire across ages and levels.
We review applications as they arrive, and we encourage strong candidates to apply early.
Pay: From $55.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Relocation assistance
Application Question(s):
- Please share the best email to reach you at.
Work Location: In person
