An artistic director may refer to someone who directs a musical ensemble

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

, and in this medium, is often abbreviated as simply Director. The typical jobs of a musical artistic director are to choose repertoire for the ensemble, come up with an artistic vision for the group and also a long-term strategy for programming, and also to help choose performers if the ensemble is not pre-set. An artistic director may also be—and often is—the conductor of the ensemble and a "jack of all trades", performing multiple roles and even managing the ensemble, although that role is often left to a Managing Director if financial resources are available. A musical artistic director essentially mirrors a theatrical artistic director

Artistic director

An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...

, albeit working in a different medium.