Choosing Repertoire

Ah, one of my favorite parts of creating a lesson.

There are many aspects to consider when choosing repertoire. But where to begin?

First and foremost, each piece chosen should be unique to the other pieces that a class, or even all the classes repertoire in which you teach.

In choosing music for my choral classes, I usually try to use this format in creating a successful semester and concert.

Each class should have:

1 piece in a foreign language

1 piece of current, popular literature (rock, pop, musical theater, etc.)

1 piece that is more that was written more than 100 years ago

1 piece that is a little bit more challenging than the others that pushes the students

In a choral concert, the ideal number of pieces to present from a large choir is four. Three can be too little, thus not accounting for the differing tastes of the students as well as parents and other staff members who may only see your work at a concert. Five may be too many, especially if a concert has multiple ensembles. Too many pieces can make a concert tedious.

Choosing music for a revue is an all-together different beast. In my experience, the focus of programming a revue can be less about the actual songs performed, and mostly about planning around the schedules of the students. In most cases, a revue is composed of many solos or small group numbers. In order to put on a revue, it is key to find out when your students have free periods and after school time available. This can greatly impact who performs with who (duets for students who can never meet at the same time, not going to happen.) and how many numbers are programmed. DO NOT give a student a solo/piece that needs to be learned outside of class if they have little to no time available to meet with you. Only if a student has proven themselves previously in this type of situation, is it okay to do the prior.

For revues, class periods should be used to practice group numbers (singing, blocking and choreography). This will take more time than you think it will. Allow for two extra days in the schedule to clean up loose ends/review choreography that has been forgotten. These days should not be substituted for run-throughs of the program.

I do not consider everything I have written in the post to be the be-all-end-all of concert programming and repertoire-choosing. It is just knowledge that I have learned along the way. Hopefully, some of it will help you as it has helped me.