Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. Each season the Philharmonic connects with up to 50 million music lovers through live concerts in New York City and on its worldwide tours and residencies as well as with its digital recording series; international broadcasts on television, radio, and online; and as a resource through its varied education programs and expansive digital archive.

The New York Philharmonic seeks a Director, Archives and Public Historian to oversee the New York Philharmonic’s Archive and the Leon Levy Digital Archives, using those resources to assist in telling a broader institutional story. Making connections with a wide variety of cultural organizations both locally and outside of New York City, this highly collaborative position will work across the institution, providing context and insight in the development of projects and initiatives, and will serve as an important outward facing presence and voice in framing the New York Philharmonic’s innovative past and future.

Responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Oversee the extraordinary collection of the New York Philharmonic Archives.

• Contextualize concert programs and repertoire with the stories, movements and communities of New York City; preparing and presenting the results in a variety of media forms, including pre-concert talks, Playbill articles, podcasts, Facebook live presentations.

• Work with the Artistic, Education and Community Partnerships teams on developing collaborative projects that support the Philharmonic’s artistic initiatives.

• Develop meaningful partnerships with institutions of higher learning, social service agencies, museums, and other performing arts institutions.

• In collaboration with the Development department, cultivate relationships and assist in identifying funding sources that support the continued development of the Archives and Leon Levy Digital Archives.

• Direct the planning and development for capturing and preserving all future formats of documentation created by the institution.

• Develop a relationship and rapport with musicians, board members, patrons, and concertgoers, capturing their experiences and stories for the Archives as well as sharing the traditions and stories of the Philharmonic with them.

• Serve as a public presence and personality on behalf of the New York Philharmonic, and find ways of utilizing technology and new media to tell the story of America’s oldest orchestra.

• Supervise budgets for the Archives.

• Serve as the direct supervisor for the archives staff, including the Digital Archives Manager and Archives Manager.

• Miscellaneous duties as required.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of five years archival or library management experience that includes representing the institution throughout the community and interpreting the institution’s collections to the public. An advanced degree in archival/library information sciences, American/public history and/or musicology is required. The candidate must have the ability to interact with a wide variety of constituents including artists, conductors, musicians and patrons. An accomplished writer and speaker of historical themes with proven supervisory and office management ability, s/he will possess strong written and verbal skills.  

Strong understanding of databases and working knowledge of a variety of digital content formats and standards and previous experience with Alfresco or other Enterprise Content Management systems preferred.  An enthusiasm for classical music is highly valued. 

The New York Philharmonic offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, life and long term disability insurance, generous time off policies, employer contribution and match to your 403(b) plan, commuter benefits, and more.