How To Become An Orchestra Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is an orchestra director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an orchestra director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.47 an hour? That's $57,146 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 2,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreOrchestra DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,146

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 5.27%

Black or African American 5.62%

Hispanic or Latino 9.49%

Unknown 4.75%

White 74.69%

Gender

female 51.58%

male 48.42%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.8

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an orchestra director

Explore orchestra director education requirements

Most common orchestra director degrees

Bachelor's

71.2 %

Master's

19.9 %

Doctorate

3.8 %

Start to develop specific orchestra director skills

Skills	Percentages
Student Achievement	26.96%
All-State	14.16%
Fine Arts	8.63%
Music Theory	6.11%
Music Education	4.94%

Complete relevant orchestra director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New orchestra directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an orchestra director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real orchestra director resumes.

Research orchestra director duties and responsibilities

Prepare concerts and participate in UIL concert and sight-reading competition.
Collaborate with drama teacher to compose music/libretto for musical theater setting of Cinderella.
Collaborate with drama teacher to compose music/libretto for musical theater setting of Cinderella.

Get orchestra director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become an orchestra director. The most common roles before becoming an orchestra director include band director, music teacher team lead and instructor.

Prepare your orchestra director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your orchestra 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 an orchestra 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 orchestra director resume templates

Build a professional orchestra 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 orchestra director resume.