# $$$ Conductors $$$



## Quaverion

I read an article that talked about how much good conductors make. Many make millions of dollars a year! :angry: Why do you think this is? The musicians are the ones doing most of the work, aren't they?


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## Maestro Murphy

I highly doubt it is MILLIONS. I was told however, that the conductor of the NYC Philharmonic is paid over $100,00 a year. Or maybe it was $300,000. I'm not sure. lol


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## Quaverion

No, they get paid millions. The last chair of the NYC Philharmonic gets paid a STARTING salary of 100,000 dollars a year!


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## 009

> *The last chair of the NYC Philharmonic gets paid a STARTING salary of 100,000 dollars a year!*


Really? :blink: 
Really?  
Really? :angry:


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## Quaverion

Yeah. My orchestra played in some square (I forget the name) in NYC when we toured there last year. The guide told us when we were on that part of the tour. B)


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## 4/4player

Hmm....
I think that depends on the position of the conductor himself...
I read in a music career book about the paying salaries of conductors(I want to be a conductor when I go to college in 3 years,lol) is about 30,000 to a regional conductor or something like that....and $300,000 would be for an international conductor...I could be wrong, so correct me if I am!
4/4player


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## toughcritic

Well, some do make millions, but it depends on each one individually. Also the venue is important. You get paid less if the venue is famous and it's an honor to perform there. Usually these things are negotiated, there is no standart that everyone follows.


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## Manuel

Quaverion said:


> The musicians are the ones doing most of the work, aren't they?


Not really. The conductor is who *reads *the work and analyses it.
Musicians are told what to play to get the sound the tyro in front of them wants.


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## Guest

Manuel said:


> Musicians are told what to play to get the sound the tyro in front of them wants.


But not every time eh Manuel


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## Kurkikohtaus

Wow, I just spotted this thread...

The fact that a handful of conductors make a million a year is no different than the fact that a handful of people who are at the top of _any_ profession make a whole lot of money.

To talk about an "average" salary for conductors is unfortunately meaningless, as the situations in which conductors find themselves in from orchestra to orchestra vary widely. Some Music Directors work about 12 weeks a year with an orchestra for a huge amount of money (i.e. Kurt Masur, NYP), while other conductors may conduct as many as 70-80 concerts with the same orchestra in a season for a modest monthly salary. So as there is no such thing as a "standard conductor", there is therefore no such thing as an average salary.


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## Manuel

> So as there is no such thing as a "standard conductor", there is therefore no such thing as an average salary.


Yes there is. But you have to measure variables like time, dedication, number of concerts, etc. The rest is matematics and statistics.


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## Kurkikohtaus

Good point, Manuel, by that reckoning, there is such a thing as an average salary, statistically. To clarify what I meant to say is that to just pop out a number and call it an "average conductor's salary" might be misleading unless one takes into account all the other factors that you listed.


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