I love efficient rehearsals. But sometimes efficient isn’t the most important value.
I mentioned this today discussing the choirs of Henry Leck with my son. I specifically remember hearing his TTBB ensemble at a conference demonstrate that they had all learned all four parts of a piece, and could switch from one to the next on command. My son pointed out that that’s not the most efficient use of rehearsal time, learning multiple parts of the same piece. It’s not as if you can sing all four parts in concert!
That’s true, but there is educational value in learning how your parts fit with the others, how different parts feel, who has the melody, how to balance to the melody, and so much more. Dr. Leck sacrificed efficiency to gain education.
I love efficient rehearsals. But I love knowledgable students more.