The arc of most choirs’ experience with any piece is predictable.
- Sight read.
- Hone and polish.
- Perform at the concert.
- Turn in the music.
- Start over with #1 and new pieces.
It’s a time-tested and worthwhile experience to approach ensemble performances that way. But I think we lose a lot by not giving our students the chance to perform pieces multiple times. Indeed, I think that the biggest difference between a professional group – even one of the highest echelon like Voces8 or New York Voices – and amateur groups is that the professionals will perform pieces dozens or hundreds of times.
The best performing group I have ever been a part of was the Gold Company group I sang in, after we gave 22 performances in 21 days in a tour of Western Europe. The growth in polish, accuracy, musicality, and ease was far beyond what I expected.
Quite simply: the growth that happens after the first performance can often be more profound than the growth before that first performance.
If you can find a way to give students the opportunity to perform a larger percentage of their repertoire multiple times, you will give them an entirely different and valuable educational experience.