Music director to choirmaster/choirmistress
A music director already meets 37% of what the choirmaster/choirmistress role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.9/ 100
1 How much of what a choirmaster/choirmistress is expected to do is already part of a music director’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 choirmaster/choirmistress role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A choirmaster/choirmistress role treats 9 of its required skills as things a music director 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 13 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 choirmaster/choirmistress role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a music director 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 choirmaster/choirmistress role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 8 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 select vocalists required
- still to learn coordinate performance tours required
- still to learn engage composers required
- still to learn select musical performers required
- still to learn manage fundraising activities required
- optional, not held organise cultural events optional
- optional, not held develop cultural activities optional
- still to learn collaborate with music librarians required
- still to learn communicate performance aspects required
- still to learn work with composers required
- still to learn work with soloists required
- optional, not held collaborate with choreographers optional
- optional, not held participate as a performer in the creative process optional
- still to learn music literature required
- optional, not held art-historical values optional
- still to learn conduct guest soloists required
- still to learn subject of music coaching required
- still to learn study musical scores required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a choirmaster/choirmistress role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 select vocalists practise this
- 02 collaborate with music librarians practise this
- 03 communicate performance aspects 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
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held cultural projects optional
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held collaborate with choreographers optional
- optional, not held art-historical values optional
- optional, not held cultural projects optional
- optional, not held organise cultural events optional
- optional, not held participate as a performer in the creative process optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held develop cultural activities optional
27 held skills the choirmaster/choirmistress role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role attend music recording sessions skill
- not needed by the target role compose music skill
- not needed by the target role conduct musical ensembles skill
- not needed by the target role connect music fragments skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate music components of the work skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate music with scenes skill
- not needed by the target role create musical forms skill
- not needed by the target role demand excellence from performers skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate musical ideas skill
- not needed by the target role film music techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role film production process knowledge
- not needed by the target role guide analysis of a recorded performance skill
- not needed by the target role improvise music skill
- not needed by the target role musical instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role musical notation knowledge
- not needed by the target role orchestrate music skill
- not needed by the target role organise compositions skill
- not needed by the target role organise musical events skill
- not needed by the target role participate in music studio recordings skill
- not needed by the target role promote music skill
- not needed by the target role record music skill
- not needed by the target role rewrite musical scores skill
- not needed by the target role set up basic recording skill
- not needed by the target role study music skill
- not needed by the target role transcribe ideas into musical notation skill
- not needed by the target role work out orchestral sketches skill
- not needed by the target role write musical scores skill
5 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 music literature required
- still to learn subject of music coaching required
- optional, not held art-historical values optional
- optional, not held cultural projects optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a music director become a choirmaster/choirmistress?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A music director already covers 37% of what a choirmaster/choirmistress is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 9 of which the choirmaster/choirmistress role treats as required.
What skills does a music director need to become a choirmaster/choirmistress?
13 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is select vocalists.
How hard is the move from music director to choirmaster/choirmistress?
Its learning distance is 66.9 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.