Perfecting Your Concert Program: Tips for Selecting Repertoire

There are so many worthwhile old and new pieces from which to choose, and from so many gifted composers; yet our time to meet and work with students is limited and precious. With cutbacks to student contact-time faced by many programs and the urgency of preparing for the next performance (always around the corner), directors are increasingly using concert selections to teach curricular musical concepts (“Teaching Music Through Performance”). More than ever, choosing repertoire to place on the stands of students in ensembles is just about the most important decision directors make. The following are some approaches that can help you narrow the choices in order to focus on the right music to program.

Difficulty

There are educationally appropriate reasons for selecting music of varying difficulties for every ensemble, regardless its rating or level. “Easy reads” are pieces which allow an ensemble to sound good early on in a concert preparation cycle. Because they are confidence builders, they are great for opening and closing rehearsals, and for digging deep when it comes to musical expression. Pieces “in your wheelhouse” are ones well-suited to students’ abilities. These selections take reasonable effort but don’t exasperate. They leave time for the ensemble to work on lots of musicality so, in the end, everyone sounds their best. “Challenge pieces” stretch the ensemble and—if they’ll ultimately be performed (rather than just rehearsed for the experience)—will need a commitment of extra time and effort by all involved.

Getting the right mix of “easy reads,” “in your wheelhouse,” and “challenge” pieces is crucial. Err on the side of the former and your ensemble will peak early and be bored. Err on side of the latter and you risk cramming the piece by rote, exasperating students and robbing them of the joy they should be experiencing when making music. Depending on the lengths of specific pieces and the number of weeks of preparation devoted to concert preparation, I suggest a good balance of approximately 30% “easy reads,” 60% “in your wheelhouse” and 10% “challenge pieces” (your mileage may vary!). For example, if there will be seven selections in an upcoming concert, program two “easy reads,” four or five pieces “in the wheelhouse,” and one “challenge” piece.

I encourage directors to select a little less demanding music in order to devote more time delving into tuning, phrasing, balance, tone, and musical expressiveness. As a composer I have been in the awkward position of being invited to guest conduct a piece of mine that is really too difficult for the ensemble. I think to myself, “Ok, this is rough; but if only the piece were a half-a-grade easier, the students would be nailing it.” If there are pieces you want to program with your students, but are too difficult for them now, set goals and make a plan to move your program forward so you can in due time. But in the meantime, we should be more interested in having our students experience well-crafted music making than being able to say they’ve played a certain grade level piece. When a concert recording sounds great, our pride is well justified, and including the title of a difficult piece on a printed program means little.

Give a Shape to Your Show

A concert is a “show” of sorts and the audience rightly expects to be engaged for its duration. Creating an aesthetically pleasing arc for the presentation of music in a concert is similar to the kinds of creative decisions a composer makes with a single composition: How can I make the introduction and closing sections inviting and compelling? After developing an opening theme, what contrasting music can keep the listener engaged? How might the concept of tension and release offer satisfaction to the listener? What special things can set this piece apart and make it memorable?

Certain programming choices are considered “conventional” because they are broadly appealing. For instance, many concerts open with an upbeat, exciting, shorter selection. Pieces which demand more mental engagement—due to their length, slow pacing, or dissonant harmonic vocabulary, etc.—are usually programmed fairly early when the listener’s ears are fresh. Works for a soloist and the ensemble more often than not occur halfway through a program before the soloist might get fatigued. Fun, popular and novelty selections often appear near the end of a concert—your patient audience has earned it! By the way, all of the above is applicable whether or not your “show” follows a theme such as “Winter Holiday Music,” “Music from Stage and Screen,” or “Music Around the World.”

Despite these traditions, there really is no single “correct” plan for a concert. Instead of a boisterous finish, you might choose to close a concert brightly with an audience sing-along, or reflectively with a beautiful, softly ending tone piece. After several varied shorter works on the first half of a program, you might devote the entire second half to a lengthy, mature work. The important thing is to have a shape for your show , a narrative of sorts that keeps your audience (on stage and in the auditorium seats) engaged.

Something Old, Something New...

There are many “formulas” out there for creating a good shape for your show. One such approach used by directors to lend balance and variety in programming is based on the good luck couplet used by brides when dressing for their wedding: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” “Something old” focuses on preserving tradition and calls for a piece that has earned itself a place in core repertoire. “Something new” allows directors to feature some wonderful recent pieces, highlighting the fact that music is a vibrant art created by living composers. Transcriptions and arrangements—“something borrowed”—bring orchestral classics, opera arias, reworked choral works, or even a Broadway or film music medley to band students and their audience. “Something blue” could be something a jazz- or pop-influenced work, or anything colorful and contrasting.

Repertoire Listings

I frequently ask director colleagues some form of the question, “What are the best pieces you’ve performed with your ensembles?” Interestingly, when I find the time to look over their recommendations there are always some (sometimes quite a few) that are not a good fit for my students. The problem isn’t the ability of my colleagues to discern good music, it’s that each school ensemble is incredibly unique, with many variables (contact time, instrumentation, community support, standout performers, etc.). The same can be true with repertoire listings and music reviews. On the other hand, if the same piece turns up again and again in multiple listings, it’s probably worth a closer look.

Recommendations—whether from trusted colleagues or highly regarded reviewers—must be followed up by examining the piece. When I examine a score, I want to feel as if the composer or arranger had written this particular work for me as a commission—knowing my strong and weak sections (both in technique and numbers), who might be able to serve as soloist, and what items I was hoping to teach with the piece (i.e. dotted rhythms, certain chromatic notes, phrasing, unison tuning, etc.). There are so many great pieces out there; given enough time, you can find just what your students need.

Concert Duration

If you’re fortunate to be blessed with hard working students and ample rehearsal time, leaving you with more repertoire prepared than a reasonable concert length will allow, you need to find more performance opportunities rather than hold marathon-length concerts! Perhaps have a chamber music night. Or, allow selected soloists and small ensembles to augment the concert of a colleague who feels challenged filling an entire program him/herself. The concept of “less is more” applies here. When your concert ends, leave the audience wanting more rather than having had enough!

Final Thoughts: Margin

A lot of the above ideas actually stem from my reading many years ago Richard Swenson’s fine book, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives . Swenson, who defines “margin” as the space that exists between ourselves and our limits, offers sage advice about focusing on what’s important and avoiding the stress that naturally results by stuffing too much in our lives. Leave some margin in the volume and difficulty of the music you choose and you and your students will find yourselves engaging in more dynamic rehearsals that include—in addition to the normal drilling of passages—time for meaningful discussion, student reflection, and moments of higher musical excellence. Ultimately, margin allows everyone to enjoy more the very special music you have chosen as you rehearse and perform it.