We choral conductors, as a group, are guilty of a fatal bit of virtue signaling. Too often we use “difficult” as a synonym for “good” when describing music.
Consider how many times you’ve described the repertoire of an ensemble as “really hard” as a measure of praise, or how often you’ve heard a colleague praise the “challenging selections” of an ensemble. Conversely, have you ever heard a conductor shrug off a piece by saying something like, “Well, it’s not that hard, but it’s fun anyway.” I’ve heard these comments – even been guilty of some – and chances are the same is true for you.
Let’s agree to remind ourselves as we program upcoming concerts: Difficult ≠ Good.
Choosing the right music – the right lessons – for our students should not mean choosing the most difficult music we can successful (or semi-successfully) tackle. There is something to be said for choosing musically easier repertoire, if it offers the chance to focus on other extramusical elements.
Even in our advanced ensembles.
Especially in our advanced ensembles.