Choral director vs band leader

The differences between choral directors and band leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a choral director and a band leader. Additionally, a band leader has an average salary of $55,494, which is higher than the $54,709 average annual salary of a choral director.

The top three skills for a choral director include classroom management, fine arts and music education. The most important skills for a band leader are live performances, event planning, and travel arrangements.

Choral director vs band leader overview

	Choral Director	Band Leader
Yearly salary	$54,709	$55,494
Hourly rate	$26.30	$26.68
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	4,783	29,066
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

Choral director vs band leader salary

Choral directors and band leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Choral Director	Band Leader
Average salary	$54,709	$55,494
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $100,000	Between $31,000 And $98,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	DePauw University	-
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between choral director and band leader education

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

	Choral Director	Band Leader
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Music	Music
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Choral director vs band leader demographics

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

	Choral Director	Band Leader
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9%	Male, 74.8% Female, 25.2%
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, 5.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	30%	30%

Differences between choral director and band leader duties and responsibilities

Choral director example responsibilities.

Manage entire music program, schedule ministers, concerts, and prayer services.
Produce and direct a full Broadway Jr. production of Annie.
Continue to serve as a UIL choral adjudicator across the state.
Collaborate with drama teacher to compose music/libretto for musical theater setting of Cinderella.
Accompany all the choirs on the piano and organ for services, concerts, and special events.
Produce and direct a full Broadway Jr. production of Annie.

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.

Choral director vs band leader skills

Common choral director skills

Classroom Management, 18%
Fine Arts, 9%
Music Education, 9%
Music Theory, 8%
Choral Music, 7%
Student Learning, 6%

Common band leader skills

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

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Choral Director vs Band Leader

Updated January 8, 2025

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