Lecturer in Early Music (Baroque cello and viola da gamba)

The Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki) is hiring

A Lecturer in Early Music (Baroque cello and viola da gamba)

for a part-time employment position valid until further notice from 1 August 2025.

Working environment  

You will work in the Sibelius Academy's early music department, which has about 15 majors in different instruments. The baroque cello currently has two bachelor's level main instrument students and one master's level. The number of minors varies annually and by instrument. In the gamba and baroque cello, the number of minors has varied between five and ten students. The staff structure of our department is currently four lecturers, two art teachers and several part-time teachers.

You can find more information about the department on the Uniarts Helsinki website. Please also familiarize yourself with Uniarts Helsinki's values  and ethical principles on our website.

Job description   

Your main task as a lecturer is to teach early music, especially baroque cello and viola da gamba music. You will participate in the planning, organization, implementation, evaluation and development of early music teaching.

The main focus of your teaching is on bachelor's and master's level education. In addition to students majoring in your own department, you will also teach students from other departments, if necessary. Depending on your areas of strength, the tasks may also include teaching pedagogy, orchestral playing or chamber music. The work may also include teaching at the Junior Academy.

The aim of the teaching is to comprehensively develop the student's musical and technical skills and to support their professional and artistic growth. Your work includes guiding students in matters related to employment and postgraduate study opportunities in the music industry.

Planning, organizing and developing the artistic activities of the department, actively following your own field, the department's working groups and projects, the assessment of study attainments, participation in student recruitment and student admissions, and cooperation with other departments and degree programs are part of your job description. If necessary, you will also participate in other development and quality work as well as in the work of Uniarts Helsinki's administrative bodies.

You can find out more about the degree requirements for early music in the study guide on our website.

Competence requirements and selection criteria

To be selected for the position of lecturer at Uniarts Helsinki, the applicant is required to have a master's degree or equivalent artistic merits, diverse teaching skills and experience in the utilization of artistic activities and/or research in teaching, as well as pedagogical studies or pedagogical experience demonstrated in some other way. In addition, good evidence of activities in the field of art and/or research, experience of domestic or international cooperation and social influence are required.

From a lecturer in early music, we require   

• a master's degree in music or another applicable master's degree
• in-depth artistic and pedagogical expertise in your own special area of early music
• strong higher-level teaching experience
• excellent and diverse mastery of solo and ensemble repertoire for teaching instruments
• artistic demonstrations as a baroque cello and viola da gamba instrumentalist
• the ability to guide and support different students and learners in their studies, learning and transition to working life
• good cooperation and interaction skills
• the ability to create a positive atmosphere in teaching and teamwork situations 
• interest in developing activities together with other teachers and students  
• demonstrations of the planning, organizing, implementation and development of education and artistic activities in the field of study applied for
• independent and developmental approach, vision and flexibility needed in the development of the education sector
• experience of cooperation in industry networks

Pedagogical studies, a doctoral degree and international activities are considered an advantage.

Language skills

The languages of instruction at the University of the Arts Helsinki are Finnish, Swedish, and English. Early Music training is mainly provided in Finnish and English. Applicants must have a good command of the languages of instruction. International applicants are required to be proficient in English. Language skills are assessed in relation to the work tasks. Domestic applicants are also required to have at least satisfactory knowledge of the second national language. The languages of instruction at Uniarts Helsinki are Finnish, Swedish and English. Early music is mainly taught in Finnish and English. Uniarts Helsinki staff are committed to the university's language policy, which emphasizes multilingualism.

Working hours and salary

In part-time (50%) lecturer positions, the total annual working hours are 806, 226 of which are contact teaching. The position requires working in Finland, in other words, the assignment requires the lecturer to live in Finland for the duration of the employment relationship.

The salary for the position is determined on levels 5–6 of the requirement level map for teaching and research staff salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, a salary component based on personal performance is paid. At the beginning of the employment relationship, the monthly gross salary in a part-time (50%) position is approximately €1,800–€2,200, depending on the person's experience and skills.

Applying

Please submit your application no later than 10 September 2025 (UTC +3) via Uniarts Helsinki’s electronic recruitment system. The following attachments must be attached to the application in English or in Finnish in PDF form:

• An application/motivation letter (cover letter)
• A Curriculum Vitae/ resumé 
• A teaching portfolio (general tips for compiling a teaching portfolio can be found by following this link)

Based on the applications, we will call the strongest applicants for interviews and teaching demonstrations, which will be held on 29 September 2025 in Helsinki, at the Töölö campus of Uniarts Helsinki. All applicants will be notified of their admission to the next round on 12.9.2025.

Content of the evaluation event:

1. An artistic performance with a solo repertoire of your choice on both instruments for a total of 10–12 minutes. If necessary, an accompanist from the Sibelius Academy will accompany you, and a short rehearsal with him or her before your turn is possible. If the applicant needs our accompanist, the repertoire must be delivered to them by 22 September. Alternatively, it is also possible to use your own accompanist (the applicant is responsible for the costs).

2. A teaching demonstration, 30 minutes, in which the applicant teaches a student of the Sibelius Academy. The instrument is a baroque cello. The pieces are:

• "the old piece" is Domenico Gabrielli's Sonata in G major, tuning (g-d-G-C), pages 59-63: https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/7/75/IMSLP61757-PMLP126162-Gabrielli_Domenico_-_Ricercari,_canone_e_Sonate_per_violoncello.pdf
• "the new piece" is Diderich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri, second part of Ad genoa, pages 11-19: https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/8/8c/IMSLP114153-PMLP232995-Buxtehude_BuxWV_75_MembraJesuNostri_score.pdf

3. Interview

The language of the event is Finnish or English.

Enquiries

• Regarding the content of the position, please contact: Head of Department, Annamari Pölhö, tel. +358 40 548 0321.
• Regarding the application process and system, please contact: HR / Anne Kilpeläinen, tel. +358 50 348 4539
• Our email addresses are in the form: firstname.surname@uniarts.fi