The Macao Orchestra Recruitment Advertisement
The Macao Orchestra is a professional ensemble performing group, organized under the auspices of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government.

The Macao Orchestra is one of the most prominent art group that appears in the yearly Macao International Music Festival and Macao Arts Festival. As an ambassador of Macao, the Orchestra regularly organizes concert tour to various part in Asia. From September 2008, Maestro Lu Jia was named Musical Director and Principal Conductor of the Macao Orchestra.

 2. Terms and conditions of employment:

Salary (gross, in Macao currency, MOP)

a. Regular musicians: MOP$21,352.00 per month; Regular musicians with doubling: MOP22,475.80 per month; Section principals: MOP$26,971.00 per month;

b. All full time orchestra musicians are entitled to a MOP$2,000.00 monthly housing subsidy;

c. The salary includes one month paid vacation, to be taken in August;

d. In addition to the monthly salary, a holiday bonus equivalent to one month’s salary is paid (pro rata) ;

e. The Orchestra will purchase labor insurance and health insurance for each musician. The musician shall be reimbursed for two one-way airfares in economy class: one, at the commencement of the initial Contract shall cover the cost of travel from the place of recruitment to Macao, and the second, at the end of the final contract, shall cover the cost of travel from Macao back to the place of origin.

(Notes, for reference only: Macao Pataca - Hong Kong Dollar exchange rate is 103.2:100; the net income from a monthly salary of MOP26,971.00 is MOP25,789.60, MOP21,352.00 is MOP20,416.60.

Yearly net income for a tutti musician is approximately USD32,930.00 for reference only.

The monthly rental rate for a furnished apartment with 2 bedrooms and 1 sitting room in Macao ranges from MOP3,500.00 – MOP5,000.00.

f. Any fulltime musicians who have continually worked in the Macao Orchestra for two years will receive a monthly increment of MOP500.00 (five hundred Patacas) from the third year onwards. Then, each two year, there will be a monthly increment of MOP$500. The upper limit of this increment will be MOP2,500.

Musicians will work maximum ninety (90) hours per month;

Annual professional responsibilities include:

- Preparation for a maximum of 32 different programs for public performance per annum;

- a maximum of 80 school concerts (of 45 minutes each);

- a reasonable number of hours of individual or group tuition, recordings and other activities;

The performance season runs from early September through to the end of July of the following year. This is a one-year or two-year contract. The first three months of the first contract tenure will constitute a probation period.

3. Eligibility
The Cultural Institute welcomes applications from experienced professional musicians, who have received a complete musical training in an institution of international repute, and able to participate in English-language rehearsals. All other conditions being equal, preference will be given to holders of Macao identity cards.

4. Application Guidelines and Procedure
The application process consists of three stages:

i. The application registration:
Applications must be submitted by post to arrive in Macao on or before 2010 Dec 31 and should fill out the application form in full (see attached), and enclose with the following: one copy of passport, diplomas, transcripts, proof of awards received and current employment, along with 3 copies of a recent photograph; Applicants must also provide one copy of an audition VCD or DVD （which should be UNEDITED, CONTINUOUS and candidate could choose their order of the piece . It should be of all the pieces and excerpts required for the audition）.The videotape should include:

a. any one work of the applicant’s choice, approximately fifteen to twenty minutes in length. The piece should accurately reflect the applicant’s highest level of playing ability;

b. for audition DVD or VCD, three excerpts from the appointed pieces in the attached Macao Orchestra repertoire list. Special request for percussion excerpts, details could found in the audition excerpts accordingly. The application form can be obtained through hotlines, fax, e-mail or downloaded from the Macao Orchestra website. The application form can be photocopied. Audition excerpts.

ii. The audition tapes will be screened and a list of candidates for live audition will be compiled. The Macao Orchestra will select an Audition Panel that will review all the tapes submitted and compile a list of candidates for live audition (Applicants should note that all videotape and other application materials will not be returned).

3. Time and spot for live audition will be confirmed accordingly.  During live audition, candidates should prepare all the excerpts from the list below.

5. Contact information

1. Applications should be sent to the following address:
The Macao Orchestra Recruitment Office
Endereço: Avenida Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, no. 95A, Macao S.A.R.

2. For inquiries:
Telephone: +853 8295 7300 / 8295 7311
Fax: +853 28530666,
Email: ocm@icm.gov.mo
Website: www.icm.gov.mo/om

APPLICATION FORM: THE MACAO ORCHESTRA