Jobs

 

Postion: MATA (Music at the Anthology) Member, Board of Trustees:

As Music at the Anthology’s (MATA’s) elected governing body, the 18-member Board of Trustees is legally responsible, by its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, for establishing, guiding, and assessing the overall direction and performance of MATA.

Length of Term:

Three years, which may be renewed up to three terms if elected by the Board of Trustees

Responsibilities:

Leadership, governance, and oversight

  • Elect the Executive Director, provide guidance and support as needed, and evaluate performance.

  • Oversight of long-range strategic direction:

    • Approve the long-range strategic direction.

    • Approve the long-range strategic plan and annual business, operating, and fundraising plans

  • Oversight of MATA’s annual budget, audited financial statements, Form 990, and material business decisions; being informed of, and meeting all, legal and fiduciary responsibilities.

  • Oversight and approval of trustee governance documents, policies, and procedures.

  • Elect trustees.

  • Elect officers of the board.

  • Review outcomes and metrics created by MATA for evaluating impact, and regularly measure its performance and effectiveness using those metrics.

  • Monitor ethical, legal, and audit compliance and assess business risk.

  • Support the MATA mission and values.

  • Avoid conflicts of interest. When unavoidable, disclose actual, perceived, and

    potential conflicts and abstain from discussion and voting.

  • Respect confidentiality of board deliberations and information provided.

  • Publicly support decisions made by the board.

  • Understand and honor the respective roles and responsibilities of the board, Executive Director, and staff.

  • Serve on board committees as appointed.

  • Regularly attend and participate in meetings. Review advance meeting materials,

    come to meetings well-informed and prepared to share knowledge with board

    colleagues, ask discerning questions, and discuss potential consequences of

    board decisions.

  • Represent MATA to external groups as requested.

  • Participate in MATA events.

  • Identify prospective board candidates.

Fundraising

  • Consider MATA a philanthropic priority and make annual gifts of $5,000 or more as Board dues. MATA giving should reflect its status as a philanthropic priority, understanding that when 100 percent of MATA’s board members make an annual contribution MATA can credibly solicit contributions from foundations, organizations, and individuals.

  • Network on behalf of MATA, including opening doors to create fundraising opportunities for the Institute.

Qualifications:

  • Understanding of operations for nonprofit organizations.

  • Extensive professional experience with significant executive leadership accomplishments in business, government, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector.

  • Commitment to and understanding of MATA’s beneficiaries, preferably based on experience.

  • Savvy diplomatic skills and a natural affinity for cultivating relationships and persuading, convening, facilitating, and building consensus among diverse individuals.

  • Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and passion for improving the lives of MATA’s beneficiaries.

Meetings and time commitment:

  • Trustees spend an average of 2-3 hours per month fulfilling board service responsibilities. Those trustees in leadership positions or who voluntarily assume a heavier assignment load typically average more hours per month.

  • Board service time includes regular attendance and preparation time for board meetings, retreats, committee meetings, and events.

  • Board meetings are held 4-5 times per year. Most committees meet 4 times per year, depending on the committee. Current standing board committees include:

    • Executive

    • Finance

    • Development

    • Governance

Service on MATA’s Board of Trustees is without remuneration, except for administrative support, travel, and accommodation costs in relation to board members’ duties.

About Mata:

“The city’s leading showcase for vital new music by emerging composers” per the New Yorker, MATA is a not-for-profit organization that commissions, presents, and supports the music of a wide array of young composers from around the globe. MATA’s directors are motivated by a desire to create community among composers in the early stages of their careers, especially those whose work does not fit into existing institutions. In providing developing composers with professional performances of their work and valuable connections to colleagues, MATA is a catalyst for their entry into American musical life. The leading festival of new music in America and the only presenter devoted solely to the music of early career composers, MATA presents an internationally recognized festival in New York City each spring consisting of music by emerging composers selected from a free global call for submissions. MATA also presents an acclaimed concert series, as well as MATA Jr., an evening of music by pre-college composers. To date, MATA has commissioned scores of works, and has presented hundreds of performances of pieces by early career composers. Commissioned works have been scored for a broad range of ensembles: from orchestra to solo voice, live electronics to gamelan ensemble. Performers on past MATA festivals have included: the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gamelan Son of Lion, The Knights Chamber Orchestra, So Percussion, L’Arsenale (Italy), Signal, JACK Quartet, Quartet New Generation, Calder Quartet, Argento Ensemble, Nouvelle Ensemble Moderne, Either/Or, NOW Ensemble, Newspeak, VOX Vocal Ensemble, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, International Contemporary Ensemble, Found Sound Nation, the Bergamot Quartet, Brooklyn Orchestra, the Experiential Orchestra, and many more. MATA has a great record of recognizing talent early on.  Rome Prize, Berlin Prize and Guggenheim Fellows, Macarthur “Genius” Francisco Nuñez and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon are among the many composers who have had early performances at The MATA Festival. The New York Times has called MATA “nondogmatic, even antidogmatic;” The Wall Street Journal has said that it “tells us a lot about how composers are thinking now.” Board meets bimonthly at the Midtown law firm of one of its Trustees. Meetings are arranged at mutually convenient times, usually at 5:30 pm.  Financial commitment is medium.  Current board is listed on site and includes attorneys, the Managing Director of a digital media company, composers, nonprofit executives, among others.