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From the
NATIONAL OFFICERS
President

PRESIDENT
ANDRÉ THOMAS Back to School, and it’s Repertoire Time!
president@acda.org

VICE PRESIDENT One of the most challenging things we do as cho-
DAVID FRYLING ral directors is selecting a suitable repertoire. We’ve all
dfryling@acda.org been to reading sessions and found selections we like,

but is that enough? If repertoire choices affect what the
PRESIDENT-ELECT André Thomas
singers will learn from experiencing the repertoire, and
EDITH COPLEY if repertoire choices affect how successfully they may perform it, then the

ecopley@acda.org
answer is clearly no! Each repertoire choice we make must be examined and
questioned for its ability to meet the needs of both the presenting choir and
SECRETARY/TREASURER
our intended audience. We must ask of each selection…
TOM MERRILL
merrilltg@gmail.com
• Is the selection attainable by the presenting choir?
PAST PRESIDENT • Does our chosen musical selection challenge the ensemble?
LYNNE GACKLE • Is the selected repertoire cohesive enough to make a concert program?
lgackle@acda.org • Will this program appeal to both audience and performers?

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Attainable—Is the selected music age-appropriate for the presenting choir,
ROBYN HILGER and is it vocally appropriate for the development of your singers?
executivedirector@acda.org
Challenging—Because we predominately sing compositions with text, we
have an excellent opportunity to introduce singers to great poetry through
NATIONAL R&R CHAIR

our musical selections. The selection of repertoire by its text offers the op-
GRETCHEN HARRISON
nationalrr@acda.org portunity for expansion of awareness for both the choir and the audience
through text that expresses today’s issues such as diversity, equity, and inclu-
EASTERN REGION PRESIDENT sion (DEI).
CHRISTOPHER KIVER Cohesive—Developing a theme for the concert helps present a unifi ed feel
cak27@psu.edu to the program and can easily lend itself to a program that is also varied and
appealing.
MIDWESTERN REGION PRESIDENT Appealing—When selecting repertoire, we often find ourselves choosing oc-

DAVID PUDERBAUGH tavo length selections of approximately 3-5 minutes in length to create a pro-
david-puderbaugh@uiowa.edu
gram. To strengthen the program, consider programming an extended work,
approximately 15 to 25 minutes in length. For example, program a missa brevis
NORTHWESTERN REGION PRESIDENT
or a cantata. An extended-length work often allows collaboration with the
STEVEN ZIELKE
president@nwacda.org band, orchestra, or a selected instrumental ensemble, increasing both singer
and audience appeal.

SOUTHERN REGION PRESIDENT ACDA Resources—ACDA is here to help you in making those choices.
STANLEY ROBERTS Resources available to you are: ACDA Chapters state meetings’ reading ses-
roberts_sl@mercer.edu sions, Repertoire and Resources Committees vetted lists of repertoire sugges-
tions, ACDA YouTube channel, ACDA Publications (Choral Journal, ChorTeach,
SOUTHWESTERN REGION PRESIDENT International Journal of Research in Choral Singing), and Reviews of individual se-
JEFFREY A. MURDOCK lections and recent recordings. All can assist when selecting repertoire. Many
jeff reym@uark.edu
of our National Standard Committees have Facebook pages where repertoire
assistance questions are predominant among the many posts. Please take ad-
WESTERN REGION PRESIDENT
vantage of your ACDA; we are here to help.
MICHAEL SHORT
president@acdawestern.org