Salaries for Orchestral Musicians
From the trill of flutes and the blare of tubas, to the keening notes of violins and the crash of percussion, the orchestra is a place of high artistry and consummate skill. Orchestra musicians are the players who interpret classical music and perform it in a live setting, or for recording.
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Average Salary
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The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the official source of employment figures in the U.S., produced mean hourly pay figures for orchestral musicians. BLS reports the hourly wage for individuals working in performing arts companies, the category into which orchestra musicians typically fall, as $33.67, as of September 2011. Orchestra musicians operating as independent performers -- working freelance, essentially – earned a mean of $31.23 an hour.
Case Studies
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The International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians publish salary data for many of the orchestras in the United States. To take a few examples, the National Symphony Orchestra pays its musicians an average salary of $128,568, for the 52-week season of 2011-2012. On the west coast, the Los Angeles Philharmonic paid an average of $143,260 for the same season, while on the opposite side of the country the New York Philharmonic reported an annual salary for the full year’s season from 2010 to 2011 of $134,940.
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Benefits and Costs
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Besides their basic salaries, orchestra musicians may also receive additional benefits. These include 401(k) contributions and health insurance. Freelance musicians will need to provide such benefits themselves. Orchestra musicians do, however, have certain costs that they pay from their salaries. These include instruments and instrument accessories – such as bows for stringed instruments, reeds for woodwind and sticks for percussionists – maintenance costs for said instruments, sheet music and practice space rental.
Outlook
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics also proffered estimates for employment growth for musicians in the immediate future. It posited an 8 percent increase in job opportunities across all types of musical performance, including orchestras for the decade between 2008 and 2018, with the need to replace people leaving the profession one of the key reasons for the growth. However, it also stated that competition for any vacancy is likely to be keen, which may keep wage levels down.
Tough Times
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The bureau’s projections for the future employment prospects for musicians cover a decade, from 2008 to 2018. The economic crisis which enveloped the world after this estimate has had an impact on orchestras, as it has on so many other institutions, with donations and endowments are reduced. For example, musicians in both the Minnesota Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra agreed to take pay cuts in 2009 to help the organization cut costs and balance the budget. Not all musicians agreed to stringent pay cuts, with those in the Cleveland Orchestra going on strike after rejecting a 5 percent pay cut in 2010.
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References
- International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians: New York Philharmonic
- International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians: National Symphony Orchestra
- International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians: Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages - Singers and Musicians: May 2010
- Oregon Symphony Players Association: Costs
- Bloomberg: Cleveland Orchestra Strikes After 5% Pay Cut Rejected
Resources
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