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

What is an ensemble 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 ensemble director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.83 an hour? That's $51,647 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 4,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreEnsemble DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,647

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.1

Growth Rate 8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.21%

Asian 6.50%

Black or African American 13.44%

Hispanic or Latino 16.56%

Unknown 6.39%

White 56.91%

Gender

female 32.47%

male 67.53%

Age - 36

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 - 36

Stress Level

4.1

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.8

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.3

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an ensemble director

Explore ensemble director education requirements

Most common ensemble director degrees

Bachelor's

69.9 %

Master's

21.9 %

Doctorate

3.4 %

Start to develop specific ensemble director skills

Skills	Percentages
Music Education	55.24%
Public Performances	19.36%
Music Theory	16.59%
Private Lessons	8.82%

Complete relevant ensemble director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New ensemble 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 ensemble director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real ensemble director resumes.

Research ensemble director duties and 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.

Prepare your ensemble director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your ensemble 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 ensemble 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 Ensemble Director Resume templates

Build a professional Ensemble 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 Ensemble Director resume.

Apply for ensemble director jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an ensemble 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 do ensemble directors rate their job?