Hire a Musician
Music

Hire A Musician

The Department of Music Gig Connection

The Cal Poly Pomona Department of Music is home to a wealth of music students and alumni who have been approved by their primary faculty mentors to perform in professional settings or to teach private music lessons or tutoring. Whether you need music for a campus function or special event, or you need assistance with arranging or transcribing, the CPP Department of Music can help connect you with some of the area’s finest young musicians.

By hiring our talented students and recent alumni you’ll receive a great value while helping to support emerging young artists.  All rates are negotiated between you and the musicians. The Gig Connection referral service is free to both the client and the musician. While we are happy to forward your request to recommended student musicians, please be aware that we are not responsible for any issues that occur at or surrounding the event or teaching opportunity.

Advance notice (3 weeks to 3 months prior to event) is highly recommended.

NOTE: Summer months, university holidays, finals weeks and semester breaks reduce student availability.

Before filling out our musician request form, be sure to review our frequently asked questions and the list of available ensembles and instruments. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Department of Music enjoys connecting qualified, professional musicians to local patrons for special events and educational opportunities. The Publicity Office maintains a database of current students and local alums who have been approved by their primary professors to represent the department in outside activities like performing, accompanying, and teaching.

The Gig Connection functions as a means for potential clients to connect with musicians from the Department of Music. The Gig Connection is a referral service, not a contracting service. The Publicity Office will not recommend specific students and does not set rates or determine availability. It is the client’s responsibility to correspond with the students directly to determine which student musician, teacher, or ensemble is the best fit for the client’s music service needs.

All musicians on the referral list are current students of the CPP Department of Music or recent graduates who have remained in the area. All students on the list have been pre-approved for outside activities by their primary professors who are full-time faculty members of the Department of Music. All of our student musicians are of professional caliber. Students interested in being referred for gigs should complete the Student Interest Form.

The Cal Poly Pomona Department of Music is home to many performance ensembles that actively perform for campus events and private functions including our very popular Mariachi Los Broncos de Pomona. Rates for a student performing ensemble appearance are negotiated with the faculty ensemble director.

Students and ensembles set their own fees, which are negotiated between client and musician. Fees may vary depending on the length of lesson or performance, travel, and services required, as well as the number of musicians involved. Our musicians charge standard professional rates. A good ballpark figure is $125 per hour per musician for performances or $30 for a 30-minute lesson.

The most common type of music requested for special events is a jazz combo but a variety of musical genres and instruments are available. Although we cannot guarantee that all students or ensembles will be available at any given time, some examples include:

Jazz Combos - String Trios and Quartets - Pianists - Classical Guitarist or Duo - Mariachi Ensemble - Vocalists