Although research has been conducted on the importance of teaching nonverbal conducting techniques, little is known about whether music teachers in the field perceive these techniques as essential. Most preservice music teachers begin to learn and develop the skills necessary to teach ensembles during undergraduate courses (Silvey et al., 2020). Once music teachers in the field, they sometimes seek additional information to review and improve their conducting skills (Hart, 2019; Manfredo, 2008; Silvey, 2011, 2013; Silvey et al., 2020). Specifically exploring which nonverbal conducting technique items music teachers rated highly essential in conducting orchestra in the classroom would provide useful information to not only pre-service music teachers but also in-service music teachers' nonverbal conducting technique development to become successful orchestra teachers. This study aimed to examine music teachers’ perceptions of the essentialness of various nonverbal conducting techniques by analyzing how they rated each technique. The research questions were as follows:1. What was the essential rating ranking of the 15 nonverbal conducting technique items for music teachers directing orchestras in grades 5-12 classrooms?2. What were the three most highly rated essential conducting items of nonverbal conducting techniques for music teachers directing orchestras in grades 5-12 classrooms?Participants included music teachers (N = 101) with orchestral conducting experience in a grade 5-12 classroom, who were members of the American String Teachers Association. Using a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = not very essential, 7 = very essential), the participants rated the essentialness of 15 nonverbal conducting technique items for directing orchestras in the classroom. I then arranged the 15 nonverbal conducting technique items in order of participants’ essentialness mean ratings to determine the ranking of 15 nonverbal conducting technique items. The music teachers in this study considered the following four items as the three most essential items in conducting orchestra in the classroom: right-hand indications for (1) tempo changes and (2) attacks and releases, followed by a tie between (3) style emphasis and changes and left-hand indications for the crescendo and diminuendo as the third most essential items.The findings of this study could be informative for conducting pedagogues in their course offerings, especially for preservice music teachers’ orchestral conducting preparation in future classrooms. The findings of this study will also be useful for both pre- and in-service music teachers in reviewing, reflecting, and refining their nonverbal conducting techniques to provide more musically enriched experiences to young students.