Band leader vs ensemble director

The differences between band leaders and ensemble directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a band leader has an average salary of $55,494, which is higher than the $51,647 average annual salary of an ensemble director.

The top three skills for a band leader include live performances, event planning and travel arrangements. The most important skills for an ensemble director are music education, public performances, and music theory.

Band leader vs ensemble director overview

	Band Leader	Ensemble Director
Yearly salary	$55,494	$51,647
Hourly rate	$26.68	$24.83
Growth rate	5%	8%
Number of jobs	29,066	4,732
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	44	38
Years of experience	6	-

Band leader vs ensemble director salary

Band leaders and ensemble directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Band Leader	Ensemble Director
Average salary	$55,494	$51,647
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $98,000	Between $26,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between band leader and ensemble director education

There are a few differences between a band leader and an ensemble director in terms of educational background:

	Band Leader	Ensemble Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Music	Music
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Band leader vs ensemble director demographics

Here are the differences between band leaders' and ensemble directors' demographics:

	Band Leader	Ensemble Director
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 74.8% Female, 25.2%	Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	30%	19%

Differences between band leader and ensemble director duties and responsibilities

Band leader example responsibilities.

Perform diagnostics, lead audits, kaizen events, value stream mapping, PDCA teams and employee involvement.
Serve in consecutive positions of increase responsibility requiring strong interpersonal skills, extensive administrative, maintenance, and logistics backgrounds.
Serve in consecutive positions of increase responsibility requiring strong interpersonal skills, extensive administrative, maintenance, and logistics backgrounds.

Ensemble director example responsibilities.

Achieve staff competence with 4 staff members, encouraging the growth and development of one staff member into a leadership position.
Collaborate with drama teacher to compose music/libretto for musical theater setting of Cinderella.
Develop elementary music program and teach private piano and voice lessons.
Provide private piano, vocal lessons, and English language tutoring for SCS students.
Develop and implement leadership training and discipleship program for student leaders.

Band leader vs ensemble director skills

Common band leader skills

Live Performances, 27%
Event Planning, 19%
Travel Arrangements, 11%
Corporate Events, 6%
Private Events, 6%
Private Parties, 5%

Common ensemble director skills

Music Education, 55%
Public Performances, 19%
Music Theory, 17%
Private Lessons, 9%

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Band Leader vs Ensemble Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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