You might not know what’s going to work in your plans. But today’s surprises will be tomorrow’s staples.
Mirror glazes, dry sponge cakes, under-proved breads, and a Paul Hollywood handshake are just a few of the stapes of the Great British Baking Show. I’m willing to bet almost none of them were anticipated before the show started.
As you develop your program, you can’t plan what will be the staples, ten years hence. Traditions, repertoire, concert schedule, concert narrative arc – you can make some plans and set some intentions, but you’re also going to discover what works and what doesn’t as you go.
Someday, you’ll know and will be able to rely on the staples of your program, but when you start, those future staples are necessarily surprises to you.
That is frustrating, maybe, but it also is freeing to know that, even if you don’t know how everything is going to work, it’ll come clear in time.