Tips for Choosing Balanced and Engaging Repertoire

Choosing repertoire is one of the most important things directors do. The process is exciting, but it’s also difficult to find the right program for your ensemble. Directors have their own tastes and they also know what their students enjoy. Here are some things you should consider when choosing that perfect program for your performance.

What to Look For

When choosing repertoire, it’s helpful to think about the components of music that made you fall in love with playing music. You might not be able to program some of the heavy-hitters that are standard for most bands, but there is music at every grade level that can provide the same excitement you felt when you played in high school or college.

Start with some composers you like. What do you enjoy about their music? Does their music have the components you want — the components you hope your students will respond to like you did? If you don’t believe in the music you’re programming, neither will your students. Your excitement about the music will excite them, and they will want to perform it at a high level.

Not every piece that you like and are excited about will have the same impact on your students. For example, I planned to program “Incantation and Dance” by John Barnes Chance, one of my favorite pieces to perform when I was in high school. However, every rehearsal dragged on when we worked on it. Regardless of how much energy I put in, it was clear that student buy-in was very low and the majority of the ensemble were simply unexcited about the piece. So, I pulled the piece from our program.*

Was it too difficult for them? No. Could I have done something differently? Maybe. Was it worth forcing my students to love what I did when I was in high school? Not at all. No one, especially my students, wants to be like high-school me. I know that there will be a new class of students who will enjoy “Incantation and Dance,” and we will all have a better experience with it.

* Disclaimer: This is the only time I pulled a piece. I wouldn’t make this a habit because you will always find students who don’t like a particular piece. I make it clear that regardless of what you think of the music, it is your job to convince the audience that it is good by the way you play it.

How to Curate a Program

There are a number of things to consider when picking a program. There may be certain concepts you are trying to teach through the music. There may be certain time signatures or key signatures. You may typically want to balance the program to include a good opener, a nice lyrical middle and a flashy closer (or something to that effect).

Some programs are easier to put together than others. Students and audiences engage more with performances that have a clear connection between the pieces. My typical approach to programming begins with just one piece, which is the cornerstone work that inspires the theme. I think about what possible themes this one piece could inspire and begin putting other works into the program.

Last spring, we presented a program that was one of my proudest (saddest, embarrassing, silliest, most fun, cringey — pick any adjective). The cornerstone work was “Diamond Tide” by Viet Cuong. My original thought for a theme was something about caves. So, I included a premier of a work titled “Obsidian” by a close friend of mine, Michael Shun. The last piece was “Illumination” by David Maslanka. Knowing that I enjoy a good theme for a concert, my students enthusiastically asked, “Is this a Minecraft concert?”

Diamonds? Obsidian? Light? I may have just made the most and least incredible concert program of all time! Of course, this was not my intent, but I did lean into it. My students were so excited that we called our concert “CRAFTED”!

Student Input

Why should you ask your students for input on the music that you program? Because they might give you good insight on what they are interested in playing based on the music you’ve programmed in the past. For example, my students enjoy playing a lot of Percy Grainger — although I think they mainly liked hearing the bizarre stories about Grainger that I shared. Student opinions and ideas are worth listening to when appropriate. You won’t know what they like and don’t like unless you ask! Utilizing student input is invaluable in gaining buy-in for the music you are working on — but, of course, you should find merit in it as well.

Program Balance

Balance in a program means different things to different directors. My philosophy is to balance our standard band literature with newer works over the course of the whole season. I could go on a lengthy tangent about the history of the wind band, but I won’t put you through that.

It’s important for students to play classic band repertoire because it is our job to educate our students on band and its history. However, wind bands are typically the champions of new music, so you would be doing a disservice by not exploring new works.

Core Repertoire

There are long lists of core band repertoire that you can find anywhere. This is one of my favorite parts of my job. Feel free to contact me to chat about repertoire — although if you are looking for a short response, you might regret it. Here are some components of our core band repertoire you might consider performing.

• MARCHES: A number of years ago, I used to think marches were “just marches.” That was very naive of me — I have matured since then. A significant part of band history, marches have so much character and provide great depth for music-making. If I had a time machine, I would scold my younger self for not appreciating them much sooner.
• ORCHESTRAL TRANSCRIPTIONS: These are another significant part of the development of wind band music. Pieces like “Four Scottish Dances” by Malcom Arnold (trans. John Paynter), “Galop” by Dmitri Shostakovich (trans. Donald Hunsberger) and “Variations on America” by Charles Ives (arr. William Shuman, trans. William Rhodes). They are also a great way to provide students with knowledge of music history that they might not otherwise get. And who doesn’t love the lush beauty of a Romantic era orchestral work?
• ORIGINAL, SIGNIFICANT WORKS FOR BAND: Some of the heavy-hitters I mentioned earlier are great if you have the horses to play them. Pieces like “Lincolnshire Posy” by Percy Grainger, “Canzona” by Peter Mennin and “Pageant” by Vincent Persichetti. These works have helped the advancement of the wind band and provide students with a lot of context for band music. Even if you can’t perform “Lincolnshire Posy,” your students can listen and learn about it while you work on another Grainger piece like “Irish Tune from County Derry.”
• NEW WORKS FOR BAND: It seems like there is a new piece for band promoted every day. Music being written within the last 10 years or so have helped develop the genre as we know it today. As noted earlier, the wind band has long been a champion for new music and will continue to further advance the genre. If we only program music from the 1950s (don’t get me wrong, that was a great year for band music) we are failing to provide a broad picture of the history of the wind band. Additionally, how cool is it to have a living composer work with your students on their music? But, please, someone let me know if they have Holst’s email.
• DIVERSE REPERTOIRE: This is a topic that I could go on and on about, but I’ll share only a few thoughts here. One of the biggest reasons diverse repertoire is extremely important is that the music your ensemble plays should reflect the population of your students. However, in Maine where I teach, a diverse program of marginalized composers doesn’t reflect my student population. However, it does provide me an opportunity to promote inclusivity and reflect a more broad community that goes beyond the borders of Maine.

Where to Find New Music and Composers

You probably have a list of composers whose works you have played or programmed throughout your experience as a musician and director. Through online algorithms, you have probably expanded your lists of new literature and composers. How can you keep up with the large number of new composers composing for band right now?

• SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow composers on social media and see what they are promoting. A lot of composers know each other and share their contemporaries’ music. Follow them, too!
• NEWSLETTERS FROM PUBLISHERS AND COMPOSERS: Publishers often send out emails featuring one of their composers and their music, including new works. It’s fun to keep up with composers and learn about them as well as their music. Could you imagine learning what Gustav Holst was doing in his free time?
• ATTEND CONFERENCES: Check out reading sessions and concert performances to see what music groups are playing. I find that a live performance — compared to listening to it online — provides a more meaningful impact on what I find to be compelling music. There’s nothing better than live music.
• CHECK OUT CONCERT PROGRAMS ONLINE: University wind ensembles and bands will often share their programs online or on their live stream. Even if you don’t have time to catch their performance, take a look at the program!
• TALK TO YOUR COLLEAGUES: I’d much rather talk to fellow music teachers about what music they’re playing or have heard recently than how to respond to that annoying email or deal with that broken instrument. I trust my friends and their recommendations of new music and composers.

Finding new music is part of our job as directors. The music does not necessarily need to be new literature — it can be music that is new to you. Currently, I’m exploring composers and music from various regions of Europe and look forward to finding that right piece for my groups! We do our students a disservice by programming the same music on a predictable rotation just because we are familiar with it.

Commissioning Music

In a previous article, I wrote about commissioning music and included tips on how you can approach it yourself. Commissioning is a great way to curate a program that is unique to you and your program. If you’re looking for music to celebrate an anniversary of an event, celebrate a person, tell a unique story or whatever it may be, commissioning is a great way to do so. Additionally, your students and community will be excited to bring a new piece of music to life.

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This article includes content that I prepared for an online course on BandCourses.com. This course is free and includes resources, rep lists and interviews with my own students who give their candid thoughts and opinions on the music that we play. I do not get any kickbacks for this. I just enjoy sharing my thoughts and passion with all of you!