Jason Paulk, Editor <jason.paulk@enmu.
edu>
Feeding the Choirs: The Beginner’s Recipe Guide to Selecting Repertoire
Quality Ingredients and
Healthy Eating
Choosing great repertoire is criti-
cal to the success of all choral pro-
grams, and choosing repertoire is a
lot like choosing food. Many college
students live off of fast and cheap
meals. You know the kind I’m talking
about—Ramen noodles, popcorn,
mac and cheese, and fast food. Al-
though this food is easily attainable, it
is neither rewarding nor healthy. Just
as people “are what they eat,” choirs
essentially “are what they sing.” For
many students preparing to enter
into the field of choral music educa-
tion, the process of discovering and
choosing repertoire is a mysterious
one. This article aims to serve as a
“beginner’s guide” to selecting rep-
ertoire. With research, experience,
and a lot of trial and error, young
educators will uncover the ingredi-
ents needed for the perfect recipe.
Choral music education majors
have encountered mass amounts of
choral music by the time they gradu-
ate from college and enter the field.
One of the biggest mistakes new
educators make when beginning
By Jessica Rikard
their first job is choosing music they
performed in college. The music is
usually too hard, which can cause
serious frustration for the director
and the new choir. Instead, choose
music that fits the choirs’ skill level.
Teaching a piece that the choristers
can find quick success with will give a
confidence boost for the teacher and
the students, building trust without
much effort.
First things first—choral music
educators should “feed” the choirs
from the various food groups. Just as
one would probably not eat a meal
consisting of just different flavors of
Ramen noodles, choirs should not be
exposed to just one type of music. It
is the responsibility of the director to
ensure the choir has a well-balanced
diet of meat and potatoes, vegetables,
fruits, and desserts. All students
should be taught a well-rounded cur-
riculum, comprising music from not
just one era or genre. Students should
be exposed to a variety of cuisines
over the course of their choral music
experience. The job of choral music
specialists is to broaden students’
tastes to consist of a mixture of eras,
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 1
composers, genres, cultures, and lan-
guages. It is a great responsibility to
be the only one directing students’ ex-
posure to choral music, and it should
be a goal to help them experience
the “big picture” of choral repertoire
with a mix of all genres and styles.
Uncovering the
Standard Choral Canon
The term “standard choral canon”
is a term used loosely by many profes-
sionals in the choral music profession.
What exactly is this standard choral
canon? Why is it important for young
choral music educators to know what
it is and why they should utilize it
when programming music? When
selecting music, some veterans in the
choral music field use the 50/50 rule
of programming: at least 50 percent
from the standard choral canon and
50 percent new music. Others be-
lieve in programming a majority of
new music. It is important for choral
directors-in-training to keep in mind
that their job is as an educator, not a
professional entertainer. Sometimes
music that is easily accessible loses its
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ability to retain interest for the entire
rehearsal process, while music that is
interesting and challenging holds the
attention of singers until, during, and
even after performance.
In the journey to uncover the
standard choral canon, choral meth-
ods textbooks were consulted. Then,
various professionals in the field of
choral music were interviewed. After
research and interviews, it has been
determined that there is no clear-cut
definition of the standard choral
canon. The standard choral canon
70 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 1
is an umbrella term that applies to
pieces mutually accepted by profes-
sionals in the field of choral music to
be essential to our “healthy” choral
diets. In other words, this could be
considered the “meat and potatoes”
of our choral cuisine. Here are a few
credentials of pieces that could be
considered to be in the choral canon:
• A piece over 100 years old that is still
performed today
• Popular, well-known choral pieces
• Repertoire of high and enduring
quality
• Repertoire by Bach, Brahms,
Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and
other important historical com-
posers
If it is agreed upon that the
standard choral canon is the “meat
and potatoes” of our curriculum, it
is important that we learn how to
discover more of it so that we might
implement it into our teaching.
Finding Repertoire
Now it’s time for choral music
educators to embark on the mission
of finding repertoire to feed the choir.
Here are some suggestions that might
help locate quality repertoire for the
students’ balanced choral music diet:
1) Colleagues – Perhaps one of the
best ways to find repertoire is from
colleagues. Make friends with fellow
choral educators and plan a time to
peruse each other’s choral libraries
and share pieces. This sharing should
include music that has been successful
with the choirs and pieces that have
presented challenges. Knowing what
has not worked with other groups is
just as valuable as knowing what has.
2) Conferences and Workshops – New
educators are often told of the im-
portance of attending conferences
and workshops. National, regional,
and state conferences are great ways
to discover new music. A conference
can sometimes seem like one continu-
ous concert. During conferences and
workshops, there are often reading
sessions; the most beneficial reading
sessions are typically those “tried and
proven” sessions in which educators
put together packets containing old
gems and recommendations of newer
pieces that have been found to be
worthy of performance.
3) Concerts – An obvious way to find
new repertoire is to attend as many
concerts as possible. It is wise to keep
programs from concerts and confer-
ences, circling pieces that appeal to
you and ordering a single copy of
“must do” pieces to add to your cho-
ral music library.
4) Publications – Publications such
as ACDA’s Choral Journal and state
newsletters are another vital resource.
They can be extremely useful in find-
ing repertoire for a choir. Many publi-
cations contain columns with reviews
of new choral literature.
5) Listening – Another helpful tool to
aid in selecting repertoire is listen-
ing to music. However, the act of
listening to choose repertoire is not
an easily acquired skill. The young
choral director must practice listen-
ing to quality repertoire just like they
practice voice or conducting. Make
this listening habit a daily event! It is
easy to take for granted having high-
quality music literally in the palms of
our hands. No more digging in record
bins hoping to score Mozart’s Requiem.
Music can be purchased through
iTunes, CDs, and other resources.
Music can also be streamed for free
using tools such as ACDA Radio,
Pandora, Spotify, National Public
Radio, and Minnesota Public Radio.
Many of these resources are available
to download as applications on smart
phones and tablets to make listening
to music even more convenient.
6) The Web and other resources – The
Web and other resources such as
books and recordings are helpful
tools when selecting repertoire. Three
websites that choral educators should
have bookmarked are the Choral
Public Domain Library (www.cpdl.
org), ChoralNet (www.choralnet.org),
and YouTube (www.youtube.com).
The Choral Public Domain Library is
a great place to find free choral music
that is under public domain. Much
of the music in the standard choral
canon is old enough that it is now in
public domain. Choral resources are
sometimes just a click away.
ChoralNet is self-described as “the
Internet center for choral music.”
It is ACDA’s website that serves as
an umbrella for choir organizations
and provides a wealth of resources
and helpful tools that can be of great
use to choir directors. Various lists
provide an important repertoire re-
source, such as ACDA’s Repertoire &
Standards, state music festival, and
adjudication contest lists.
Conclusion
The process of choosing repertoire
is challenging for young directors,
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 1
but it is crucial for success. Choral
directors have the opportunity to
teach, inspire, and sometimes even
change lives through the music that
is selected. For some choristers, this
will be their only exposure to choral
music for the rest of their lives. This
is a serious responsibility and chal-
lenge, one that should be viewed
with a sense of eagerness as opposed
to trepidation. The key to success in
choosing repertoire is to choose it as
if you are designing a menu to feed
your students physically, emotionally,
spiritually, and, in this case, musically.
With focused attention to the act of
programming, directors can become
adept choral chefs by building satisfy-
ing and delectable aural menus for
their singers and audiences.
Jessica Rikard recently graduated
from the University of North Ala-
bama, where she majored in choral
music education and was president
of the UNA ACDA Student Chapter.
www.choralnet.org
RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATIONS
FOR THE GLOBAL CHORAL COMMUNITY
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