High school music director vs ensemble director

The differences between high school music directors and ensemble directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a high school music director has an average salary of $56,794, which is higher than the $51,647 average annual salary of an ensemble director.

The top three skills for a high school music director include fine arts, music theory and curriculum development. The most important skills for an ensemble director are music education, public performances, and music theory.

High school music director vs ensemble director overview

	High School Music Director	Ensemble Director
Yearly salary	$56,794	$51,647
Hourly rate	$27.30	$24.83
Growth rate	5%	8%
Number of jobs	29,139	4,732
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	44	38
Years of experience	6	-

High school music director vs ensemble director salary

High school music directors and ensemble directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	High School Music Director	Ensemble Director
Average salary	$56,794	$51,647
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $81,000	Between $26,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between high school music director and ensemble director education

There are a few differences between a high school music director and an ensemble director in terms of educational background:

	High School Music Director	Ensemble Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Music	Music
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

High school music director vs ensemble director demographics

Here are the differences between high school music directors' and ensemble directors' demographics:

	High School Music Director	Ensemble Director
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%	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 high school music director and ensemble director duties and responsibilities

High school music director example responsibilities.

Achieve staff competence with 4 staff members, encouraging the growth and development of one staff member into a leadership position.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.

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.

High school music director vs ensemble director skills

Common high school music director skills

Fine Arts, 22%
Music Theory, 12%
Curriculum Development, 10%
K-12, 9%
All-State, 7%
Chorus, 6%

Common ensemble director skills

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

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High School Music Director
High School Music Director vs Ensemble Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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