A positive teacher-student relationship is a critical component of an engaging climate in pluralistic music classrooms. This article defines and gives examples of five strategies for building positive, cross-cultural teacher-student relationships. Teachers who take responsibility for developing these relationships begin by becoming culturally competent themselves. Culturally competent teachers make use of multiple cultural patterns of interaction, behavior, and music-making in their classrooms. By doing so, these teachers create a classroom climate that is responsive to their students. In addition, culturally competent teachers create more equitable relationships with their students while simultaneously maintaining a focus on musical achievement.