Concert Assistant

What do Concert Assistants do?

A Concert Assistant will usually be employed by an orchestra or other musical ensemble in the field of classical music. Their job is to ensure the smooth running of the rehearsal and concert, with particular responsibilities for the orchestra, soloists and conductor or other musicians. The Concert Assistant will make sure the requirements of the detailed rehearsal and concert schedule are met. These requirements are often set out by the conductor or concert manager.

A Concert Assistant may help with the administrative and clerical tasks in the run-up to the concert and on the day, scheduling auditions, typing letters of acceptance, arranging performance dates, brochure and biography typing, ushering, providing simple refreshments, and keeping statistics about ticket sales and costs.

They may also be required to keep abreast of progress during rehearsal, and help to manage the logistics and rearrange timetables if musicians are running late or are unavailable. They will usually report to the conductor or concert manager.

Where necessary they may implement stage setup changes in line with the agreed stage plan, and possibly keep records of the different stage settings for different pieces as required. They may be responsible, with the concert manager for keeping a watching brief on the arrival and whereabouts of orchestral or ensemble performers, and for notifying the conductor of any problems with the schedule. A Concert Assistant will help implement stage setup changes between pieces, notifying the conductor and soloists when stage changes between pieces are complete and send them onto the concert platform.

A Concert Assistant will need good administrative and project management skills, and must be confident working under pressure. It can be a good route to a career in music or events management. It is not always necessary to have a music background but it is helpful if they have an appreciation of the type of music they are assisting with and some understanding of the needs of the musicians. Marketing and PR skills are also appreciated.

There are 1108 music industry professionals with the job title Concert Assistant on Music Jobs

Concert Assistant jobs which have appeared on the Music Jobs jobs board:

Music Agency Interns Los Angeles, CA (non-paid or commission only)	02/02/12
Music Academy Assistant Innsbrook, MO	01/05/12
Artists Representative/Booking/Sales Jenkintown, PA	01/04/12

Job description sources include (but are not limited to) imdb.com, skillset.org and wikipedia.