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Boston Career Explorer

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

Music Directors and Composers

Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical artists or groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs; or create original works of music.

Also called: Arranger, Choir Director, Composer, Conductor, Music Composer, Music Director

Median pay in Greater Boston
$78,760
$37.87/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
260
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+1.7%
30 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Bachelor's degree
Less than 5 years of related work experience

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$51,120$64,520$78,760$107,910$140,710

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Use gestures to shape the music being played, communicating desired tempo, phrasing, tone, color, pitch, volume, and other performance aspects.
  • Direct groups at rehearsals and live or recorded performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance dynamics, rhythm, and tempo.
  • Study scores to learn the music in detail, and to develop interpretations.
  • Apply elements of music theory to create musical and tonal structures, including harmonies and melodies.
  • Consider such factors as ensemble size and abilities, availability of scores, and the need for musical variety, to select music to be performed.
  • Determine voices, instruments, harmonic structures, rhythms, tempos, and tone balances required to achieve the effects desired in a musical composition.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure63 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 68
  • Language-model AIOE 75
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 47

Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure is moderate for this job, and observed AI use is some. AI tools may help with writing musical ideas, studying scores, or picking pieces. Leading live rehearsals and shaping a performance with an ensemble still depend on people.

Likely to change

  • Drafting melodies and harmonies
  • Studying scores and choosing pieces

Still relies on people

  • Leading rehearsals and live performances
  • Shaping music with gestures and feedback

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

33 programs near Boston (plus 26 graduate)

Related occupations

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