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What is a choir director and how to become one
As a choir director, you'll compose and lead performances of both vocal and instrumental music of musical groups like choirs, ensembles, or glee clubs. You may work with organizations such as schools and churches to oversee and manage their vocal music programs. You'll perform duties such as selecting music, conducting rehearsals, and performing auditions to identify and select suitable choir members. Also, you'll perform administrative duties, which include maintaining a calendar of events for performances and ensuring that the group attire is uniform.
Employers require a minimum of a bachelor's degree in music or any related field with previous experience in a similar role. Candidates must be creative, assertive, and be able to interpret various styles of music to succeed in this position. You must possess communication, leadership, organization, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Choir directors make an average salary of $60,056 per annum. It ranges from $31,000 to $115,000.
Avg. Salary $51,590
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 5%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.32%
Asian 2.76%
Black or African American 7.19%
Hispanic or Latino 10.33%
Unknown 3.57%
White 75.83%
Genderfemale 56.72%
male 43.28%
Age - 49American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 49Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is good
6.4 - fair
Choir director career paths
Key steps to become a choir director
Explore choir director education requirements
Start to develop specific choir director skills
Skills Percentages Music Program 16.80% Singers 10.95% Easter 6.10% Chorus 6.04% Fine Arts 5.73% Research choir director duties and responsibilities
- Coordinate and lead a vibrant music ministry of both professional/volunteer musicians and singers.
- Prepare choir repertoire consisting of traditional and contemporary gospel, and anthems.
- Increase the choral repertoire to reflect contemporary, traditional gospel, and classical traditions.
- Direct the chorus during weekly rehearsals, additional rehearsals as needed, and all schedule performances.
Get choir director experience
Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a choir director. The most common roles before becoming a choir director include music teacher, director of music team lead and band director.Prepare your choir director resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your choir director resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a choir director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable choir director resume templates
Build a professional choir director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your choir director resume.
Apply for choir director jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a choir director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first choir director job
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Average choir director salary
The average choir director salary in the United States is $51,590 per year or $25 per hour. Choir director salaries range between $28,000 and $93,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do choir directors rate their job?
Choir director reviews
Mmmm. I love it all....but right now, listening and critiquing singing assignments constructively on zoom is really tough. Although I can see growth with most students, it is difficult...because Choir is a group activity...we are a choir family. Middle School vocalists listen learn, and blend with each other unconsciously...and many issues with vocal technique I hear on the recordings, would not have been an issue if students were singing with others in real time. They would have fixed it. Students that are not trying, or have just given up, or who struggle, would have been brought into the fold and worked with so they felt like an integral part of the group. We are doing our best, and we are doing a good job...but there are some students still on zoom that it is difficult to reach.
Flexibility, creative-based work, working with volunteers, teaching opportunities, music...
Updated January 8, 2025
