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F ew decisions made by a
choral conductor are as im-
portant as the selection of
repertoire. Just as the selection of
a textbook has a profound effect
on the design and nature of an
academic course, the selection of
choral literature forms the “curric-
ulum” for a choral ensemble. The
characteristics of the music pro-
grammed determine which com-
posers, time periods, historical and
cultural contexts, styles, musical
concepts, and languages (among
other factors) singers will experi-
ence during their time as members
of the ensemble.
The impacts of repertoire se-
lection are even more profound in
the context of conducting gradu-
ate programs, which are one of the
primary avenues through which fu-
ture leaders in the field are trained.
Although students within these
programs encounter repertoire in
other contexts such as academic
courses and studio classes, the rep-
ertoire these students prepare for
performance is almost certainly
the repertoire they learn and inter-
nalize most deeply. Those works,
therefore, will likely be front-of-
mind as they become conductors
of their own ensembles and engage
in their own process of repertoire
selection.

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2 7