Take time to plan your garden!

by Mary Busman, Repertoire and Standards Chair for Jr. High and Middle School Choirs
The seed catalogues keep arriving in my mailbox. Every week, following a busy stretch of doing what we choral directors do, I snuggle down with my cup of tea and plan my summer garden. I eagerly design a nearly perfect place. There are no weeds, failing plants, overly exuberant vegetation, and no rabbits or clumsy dogs. The shady areas are artfully planted with contrasting textures and the snails have not eaten the anemones. The sunny areas are cleverly irrigated, and glow in contrasting banks. It is a wonderful retreat, the imaginary garden that I create on a gray winter day. With a little luck and continued planning, hints of the fantasy may actually become part of the spring landscape!

Certainly, repertoire selection can be compared to planting a garden. Seed catalogues give way to octavos in the choral director's musings. Careful repertoire planning makes the transition between concerts and events seamless and exhilarating. On the flip side, haphazard decisions in repertoire create extra work, expense and may have less than beautiful results.

Planning repertoire for your chorus could begin with the ACDA Choral Journal. It provides a steady source of repertoire information for the choral director. Each month is a virtual treasure hunt for nuggets of information. In December's issue, the 2006 Divisional Honor Chorus directors shared their expertise regarding repertoire selection for 5th through 8th grade Honor Chorus students. The directors gave concise descriptions of the vocal, emotional, and cognitive development of the age group. The article provided an invaluable tool to new and experienced teachers alike.

Another source that continues to grow is the ACDA website. It offers lists of tried-and-true repertoire. After going to http://www.acdaonline.org/ , the Repertoire and Standards link produces a wealth of ideas for musical selection. Many of the pieces may be familiar, but even one new gem makes it worth the time.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the value of attending conferences and workshops in the pursuit of fine choral repertoire. It is not too early to start thinking about the Georgia ACDA Summer Conference to be held June 28-30 at beautiful Spivey Hall.

Enjoy your search for repertoire. Appropriate music is available for those groups that exist in the reality of our programs; the treble groups with one changed voice, the sixth grade group of eighty that meets at the end of the day, the male chorus whose members keep changing voice parts. We must take the knowledge of our students, and with careful selection and a little bit of luck, choose music that is thrilling to the singer and beautiful to hear.
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