snarekid33 Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 well jeeze, Michael Gaines people! I guess if you work for other theatrical productions outside of the marching activity, it could be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old skool drmmr Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 It also depends a lot on the part of the country you're in. For example, I know of people who have percussion director positions in high schools in Texas, no college degree, making about $45,000. Same with color guard folks. Granted, they have percussion/guard class during the school day and are involved with multiple ensembles at that school. Up here on the #eastcoast, I get paid $5200 for my position of percussion director at a very affluent high school. Marching band arranging and instruction only, no classes or lessons unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Wow I live in the wrong part of the country. Where in the USA, or in the world, do high schools have 12 - 20K to spend on a marching band show design? We are still trying to replace old, broken instruments in my district. I want to work in a school with a budget like that! Woo hoo! the top programs around here raise around $50-100K per year for design and instruction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 well jeeze, Michael Gaines people! I guess if you work for other theatrical productions outside of the marching activity, it could be possible. no he doesn't make $900K a year - lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) well jeeze, Michael Gaines people! I guess if you work for other theatrical productions outside of the marching activity, it could be possible. You said as a drill writer. Let it go. You're misinformed. Nobody makes 900k writing drill. Lets move on. To answer your question, I'll tell you what my applied professor told me in our first lesson in undergrad: "If you're getting into music to be wealthy, to never have to worry about money, or to always be comfortable, then you're in the wrong business. If you want the opportunity to travel, meet some great people, and potentially make a reasonable living, then you're where you should be. You have to love what you're doing for it to be worth it. Any time you consider taking a gig, you have to consider what it is worth to you, and that may not always be a value in dollars. I decide whether or not to take a performance gig based on three questions. 1) is the money sufficient for the amount of work I'm investing? 2) Are the people I'm playing with people I can learn from and enjoy being around? 3) Is the music something I can learn from or enjoy participating in. If the answer to more than one of those questions is no, then I'm not interested." Lots of gigs pay lots of different dollar amounts. Value is entirely relative. Some of my best paying gigs are a gigantic pain in the ___. Some of the gigs I enjoy the most, pay the least. I make a living, teach some great kids, write with some great people, and play with some fantastic musicians. I'll never be rich or famous, but frankly, I don't care to be. So I guess I was the second guy in my teacher's scenario. Edited July 30, 2014 by actucker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv4corps Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 the top programs around here raise around $50-100K per year for design and instruction Where I live, marching band is not king. Wind ensemble is. There is a select group of schools, and in some cases, districts, in the state that always have good programs but too many schools don't have any competitive marching ensembles at all. Money is raised for the strong programs, of course, but not 50K - 100K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer5485 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Wow I live in the wrong part of the country. Where in the USA, or in the world, do high schools have 12 - 20K to spend on a marching band show design? We are still trying to replace old, broken instruments in my district. I want to work in a school with a budget like that! Woo hoo! Texas 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snarekid33 Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 There are schools like Chino Hills, Arcadia, and Ayala in California that raise between $500,000-650,000 a year for their programs. You can check public documents that are online to see this or ask people that work in these groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tone Quality Matters Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I have heard of drill writers making $900,000 a year. I literally pulled a muscle from laughter. Your source deceives you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 There are schools like Chino Hills, Arcadia, and Ayala in California that raise between $500,000-650,000 a year for their programs. You can check public documents that are online to see this or ask people that work in these groups. yes and others do also on the opposite coast....often these big programs do not get any extra help money wise from the board of ed so they need to raise their own money.....and do....i know this 1st hand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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