I’ve never put someone in a group.
In a recent conversation, a parent thanked me “for putting my son in your group.” I brushed aside the thank you, focusing on the son and his qualities and skills. What I should have said was, “I didn’t put your son in. He earned a spot.”
Spots in an ensemble should never be given by the director. They should be earned by audition, skill, and hard work. As I weigh the factors in deciding audition results, personal preference never is at the top of my list for decision – it’s about the ensemble, about what I heard in auditions, and about what I know about the singers from their other teachers and past interactions.
They earn the spot, and while I rely on my judgement and advice from colleagues to make final decisions, the success rests in the students’ work, not in any favor I have given to one student or another.