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Repertoire & Resources

by the administration, school board, and surround- and allow students to reengage with focus.
ing community. The third biggest factor for the choir To keep the joy of singing alive, directors can also
teacher is selecting repertoire. Teaching goes beyond balance challenging repertoire with music students
just notes and rhythms; selections should be timely, age love—incorporating a popular song into warm-ups
appropriate, and challenging yet accessible. or transitions, for example. This reinforces that while
Conversely, there are a few concerning trends that discipline and growth are essential, singing should also
are impacting choral music programs. First, we are in remain an enjoyable and life-giving experience.
the era of MORE—more class options, more electives,
more graduation requirements… just more. That lim- Brown: I remember in my first year of teaching, I at-
its the opportunities for students to take arts classes. tended a local area high school choir concert, looking
Second, school budgets being given to music programs to learn and be inspired by the singers and music of
have not caught up with the inflation of music costs the concert. Before the chamber choir performed, the
the past ten to fifteen years. Many districts are taking conductor spent several minutes sharing with the au-
away resources and lowering budgets, making it more dience how proud he was of the singers because they
challenging to update/modernize the choral music were tackling such difficult music. As he continued, it
classroom. felt like more of a disclaimer than program notes. Sure
enough, the choir demonstrated just how hard the mu-
sic was and struggled through the performance. While
When looking for repertoire, how do you differ- the teacher hyped them up prior to the performance,
entiate between “singer focused” and “teacher it was evident in the choir’s facial expressions and de-
focused” repertoire? Is there a difference? meanor that they were not having a successful perfor-
mance.
Ferrie: Absolutely. As a mentor for multiple teachers As choral music educators, we have teaching goals
in my state, I cannot count the number of times I have in mind for each singer of each choir. One of those
heard someone say they chose a piece simply because goals should be to meet them where they are as they
they loved it or because they sang it during their own enter the choir room to start the year while looking to
school years. While personal connection to the music is where they hope to grow by the end of that year. The
valuable, our own preferences should not dictate reper- repertoire sung in a choir is an important part of facil-
toire choices for our choirs. itating and nurturing that growth, musically and hope-
Selecting music that is too difficult can set students fully personally.
up for frustration and a performance that falls short Directors have their “go to” songs or even a “bucket
of its potential. On the other hand, programming list” of music they want to teach, and I do not think
something overly simple may become tedious for the there is anything necessarily bad about that. Where it
ensemble and result in disengagement. The key lies in can be problematic is when these teacher-driven lists
balance. Effective repertoire selection should be rooted are put ahead of the important question: what is the best
in the needs, abilities, and potential of the choir cur- music for the singers in the choir? If those two thoughts are
rently in front of us, not just in what we as directors aligned, that’s great. But if they are not and music is
might enjoy. chosen by the teacher with the biggest justification be-
For adjudicated contests or evaluations, there may ing “I’ve always wanted to teach/conduct this song,” a
be times when the most appropriate piece is not the moment for reflection may be in order.
ensemble’s favorite. In those cases, directors can create
excitement by adding elements of fun. Provide histori-
cal or cultural background to spark interest or use play-
ful strategies such as having students sing the piece in
an exaggerated tone to highlight what not to do. These
lighthearted moments bring laughter, relieve tension,

22 CHORAL JOURNAL November/December 2025 Volume 66 Number 4