Music Conductors and Directors

The operating cost for an orchestra continues to grow every year, and music organizations are in constant budget-trimming modes, as have been most other professional business organizations in the last decade. This has tended to affect growth in the orchestra field and, accordingly, the number of conducting jobs. Additionally, the overall number of orchestras in the United States has grown only slightly since the 1990s. The number of orchestras in academia has declined slightly while community, youth, and city orchestras for the most part have grown slightly in number. The slight growth pattern of orchestra groups will not nearly accommodate the number of people who graduated from music school during that period and are trying to become conductors. Competition for music conductor and director jobs will be keen. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment of music directors and composers is projected to grow by 3 percent from 2023 through 2033, which is about as fast as the average for all careers. Job opportunities at theater companies and dinner theaters are expected to grow by 6.1 percent (faster than the average) through 2033.