Musician Resume Example and Music Resume Format Guide

Below is a full musician resume for Theo Marchetti, a fictional cellist: orchestral, chamber and studio in Cincinnati, OH. Keep the section order, then replace each line with your own work and results.

3 musician summaries, one each for music student, working musician and teaching artist. Pick the closest and rewrite it with your own title, years and one real result.

Use an objective instead of a summary for college or conservatory applicant and performer moving into teaching situations: one or two sentences on what you bring and the musician job you want.

Bullets grouped by performance, recording and production, teaching and business and band leadership. The numbers are illustrations; put in your own.

16 skills employers list in musician postings. Include the ones the posting asks for and that your bullets prove.

A performance resume is organized by type of experience, not by employer. Lawrence University's career center advises putting your instrument or voice type beside your name and grouping performances into orchestral or large ensembles, chamber music, and solo performances and awards, listed in reverse chronological order or by importance within each group.

For an orchestral audition, put performance experience near the top and education lower. Then list your primary private teachers and masterclasses with names and dates. Professional organizations are optional.

• Header: name, instrument or voice type, email, phone, website or recordings link
• Performance experience, grouped: orchestral, chamber, solo, session, touring, pit
• Education: degrees, school, year
• Teachers, masterclasses and festivals
• Competitions and awards
• Teaching experience, if you teach

No. The resume shows where, with whom and in what role you play. Specific works go on a separate repertoire list with the same header as your resume.

Lawrence's guidance is that the repertoire list should show everything you could perform on short notice: solo works, concertos and chamber works for instrumentalists, or roles and art song for singers. Mark which pieces you have performed publicly and which you have memorized, and use one citation style throughout.

Keep a master document and cut a version for each purpose. An orchestra audition panel wants ensembles, positions and teachers. A wedding or corporate client wants your band, your song book and a link to live video. A music school director wants your studio size, the ages and levels you teach and your students' results.

For jobs outside music, translate the work: booking and contracts become client management, running a band becomes managing a small team and its payroll, and teaching becomes training and curriculum design.

Group freelance work under one heading, such as "Freelance and Studio Cellist, 2018 to present," and summarize it with numbers and representative names: how many gigs or sessions a year, which orchestras you sub with, what kind of clients you record for.

The BLS notes that "many musicians and singers find only part-time or intermittent work," so hiring panels expect a patchwork. Grouping it shows a steady career instead of a scattered one.

One page, one column, with clear category headings and your instrument in the header. Lawrence's career center suggests keeping a performance resume under one page; your bio and repertoire list carry the rest.

Add one link to recordings (a website, YouTube playlist or Bandcamp page) and test it in a private browser window. Leave the headshot for your press kit, since US resumes usually do not include photos.

Terms that show up in musician job postings. Mirror the exact wording of the posting you apply to, but only for work you have done.

• Musician
• performance
• ensemble
• orchestra
• chamber music
• sight-reading
• recording sessions
• private lessons
• music instruction
• music theory
• arranging
• Pro Tools
• Logic Pro
• live performance
• touring
• audition

• Listing every piece you have played. Repertoire belongs on its own list; the resume shows where and with whom you play.
• No instrument in the header. Put "Cello" or "Mezzo-soprano" beside your name so a contractor sees it immediately.
• Vague gig lists. "Played many weddings" is weaker than "100+ weddings and corporate events a year with a 6-piece band."
• Broken or private recording links. Test every link before you send the resume.
• One resume for every job. An audition panel, a wedding client and a music school director each need a different version.

• Actor resume
• Dancer resume
• Theatre Resume Example and Format Guide
• Artist Resume Example and Writing Guide
• How to Write a Resume for College Applications and Scholarships

We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Musicians and Singers (median pay, education, outlook, number of jobs, work patterns)
2. Lawrence University Career Center: Important Documents for Musicians: How to Write a Musician's Resume, Repertoire List, and Bio (performance resume sections, repertoire list, length)