Choirmaster/choirmistress to music director
A choirmaster/choirmistress already meets 34% of what the music director role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.8/ 100
1 How much of what a music director is expected to do is already part of a choirmaster/choirmistress’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the music director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A music director role treats 9 of its required skills as things a choirmaster/choirmistress already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- develop musical ideas
- manage musical staff
- musical genres
- musical theory
- plan musical performances
- position musicians
What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A music director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a choirmaster/choirmistress background worth leading with.
- already held position musicians management skills
- already held strive for excellence in musical performance communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage musical staff management skills
- already held develop musical ideas communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held plan musical performances management skills
- already held supervise music groups management skills
All 9 carried skills, including the 9 the music director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn attend music recording sessions required
- still to learn coordinate music with scenes required
- still to learn evaluate musical ideas required
- still to learn orchestrate music required
- still to learn organise compositions required
- still to learn rewrite musical scores required
- still to learn transcribe ideas into musical notation required
- still to learn work out orchestral sketches required
- optional, not held compose music optional
- optional, not held connect music fragments optional
- optional, not held create musical forms optional
- optional, not held improvise music optional
- optional, not held participate in music studio recordings optional
- optional, not held promote music optional
- optional, not held record music optional
- optional, not held write musical scores optional
- optional, not held conduct musical ensembles optional
- still to learn coordinate music components of the work required
- still to learn guide analysis of a recorded performance required
- still to learn organise musical events required
- optional, not held demand excellence from performers optional
- still to learn musical instruments required
- optional, not held film music techniques optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held musical notation optional
- optional, not held study music optional
- optional, not held set up basic recording optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a music director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 attend music recording sessions practise this
- 02 coordinate music components of the work practise this
- 03 coordinate music with scenes practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held develop musical ideas skill
- already held manage musical staff skill
- already held musical genres knowledge
- already held musical theory knowledge
- already held plan musical performances skill
- already held position musicians skill
- already held read musical score skill
- already held strive for excellence in musical performance skill
- already held supervise music groups skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held compose music optional
- optional, not held connect music fragments optional
- optional, not held create musical forms optional
- optional, not held demand excellence from performers optional
- optional, not held film music techniques optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held improvise music optional
- optional, not held participate in music studio recordings optional
- optional, not held promote music optional
- optional, not held record music optional
- optional, not held set up basic recording optional
- optional, not held study music optional
- optional, not held write musical scores optional
- optional, not held conduct musical ensembles optional
- optional, not held musical notation optional
20 held skills the music director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role art-historical values knowledge
- not needed by the target role business management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role collaborate with choreographers skill
- not needed by the target role collaborate with music librarians skill
- not needed by the target role communicate performance aspects skill
- not needed by the target role conduct guest soloists skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate performance tours skill
- not needed by the target role cultural projects knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop cultural activities skill
- not needed by the target role engage composers skill
- not needed by the target role manage fundraising activities skill
- not needed by the target role music literature knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise cultural events skill
- not needed by the target role participate as a performer in the creative process skill
- not needed by the target role select musical performers skill
- not needed by the target role select vocalists skill
- not needed by the target role study musical scores skill
- not needed by the target role subject of music coaching knowledge
- not needed by the target role work with composers skill
- not needed by the target role work with soloists skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn musical instruments required
- optional, not held film music techniques optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held musical notation optional
Other moves recorded from choirmaster/choirmistress
Common questions about this move
Can a choirmaster/choirmistress become a music director?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A choirmaster/choirmistress already covers 34% of what a music director is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 9 of which the music director role treats as required.
What skills does a choirmaster/choirmistress need to become a music director?
12 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is attend music recording sessions.
How hard is the move from choirmaster/choirmistress to music director?
Its learning distance is 69.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.