What’s the upside to rehearsal absenteeism?
After a retreat and four weeks of rehearsals, we had our first rehearsal with all ensemble members in attendance.
It can be frustrating to deal with absenteeism, even when it’s appropriate reasons – athletic events, theatrical commitments, illness, and more. When you have absences, your ensemble growth is less than efficient, especially as you move away from notes and rhythms into musicality and ensemble work. The work done isn’t mastered by all, and then must be repeated or communicated outside of rehearsal.
Quite simply, the ensemble stagnates when they aren’t all together.
Even so, I remind myself to be happy that I have an ensemble with students busy with varied interests and activities. For all the slowed growth, the group is made incalculably better by their spirit, by their diverse experiences, by their passion.
As long as they are equally committed to all their activities, work to appropriately balance those commitments, and bring good energy to rehearsal, the loss of rehearsal progress is more than made up by the energy those students bring to the ensemble.