Teaching at Conservatoires and Music Schools: The Musician's Guide

Understanding What Conservatoires and Music Schools Need

A regional conservatoire (CRR), a departmental conservatoire (CRD) or an accredited music school regularly looks to enrich its students' training through outside perspectives. These institutions have dedicated budgets for occasional guest contributors, separate from the operating budget tied to their permanent teaching staff.

The most in-demand formats are:

• The masterclass: a skill-development workshop with advanced students in a given discipline
• The music talk: a presentation on a style, an era, an instrument or a professional career path
• An open rehearsal or educational concert: an annotated performance for students
• An intensive workshop: a 2- or 3-day engagement centred on a specific theme

Identifying the Right Contacts

In a conservatoire, the decision-maker depends on what you are proposing:

• For a masterclass on your instrument: contact the relevant subject teacher directly — they will champion your application to the management.
• For a talk or educational concert: address the head of pedagogy or the institution's director.
• For a workshop or residency: management and sometimes the board of directors will validate these more significant projects.

In community music schools (associations loi 1901), it is often the association president or the artistic director who decides. Adapt your approach to the structure.

Building Your Pedagogical Proposal

A professional musician does not automatically become a good educational contributor. Conservatoire directors know this and assess your dossier from two angles:

1. Your artistic level: biography, discography, stage credentials, recordings.
2. Your pedagogical approach: what will students take away from your masterclass? What is your method?

Write a one-page presentation sheet describing the content of your session, the prerequisites for students, the recommended duration and your fee. This professional document will immediately distinguish you from the majority of unstructured applications.

Highlighting Your International Experience or Specialisation

Conservatoires particularly value contributors who bring a rare or complementary perspective to their existing faculty. If you have international touring experience, a specialisation in a style rarely taught in schools (manouche jazz, world music, contemporary improvisation, historical instrument-making…) or recognition in your field, put it front and centre.

An "active working musician" profile is often more attractive than a purely academic one for masterclasses: students appreciate learning from someone who earns their living from music today.

The Right Time to Prospect

Conservatoires programme their external sessions at the start of the academic year (September–October) or during first-semester budget reviews. Send your proposals between June and September for the following season. Avoid exam periods (May–June) when teaching teams are overstretched.

A polite follow-up in January can allow you to fill slots freed up during the year, particularly if a planned contributor has dropped out.

Setting Your Fee and Formalising the Engagement

Territorial conservatoires (CRR, CRD) are public institutions: they issue purchase orders or assignment agreements. Research the applicable rate scales in your region. For one-off masterclasses, a daily fee is generally the standard.

Community music schools sometimes face tighter budget constraints but have greater administrative flexibility. Negotiate on a case-by-case basis.

Accelerating Your Outreach with Qualified Contacts

France has several thousand accredited conservatoires and music schools. Finding the right contacts for each institution is time-consuming. The Conservatoires & Music Schools pack from LiveContact centralises verified contacts for these institutions, organised by region and structure type, with checked emails to maximise deliverability.

Also consult the LiveContact methodology to structure your outreach emails to the music education sector. For an even more geographically targeted approach, the Campagna Geo service can manage your campaign from start to finish.