I never want to put my ensembles in this position.
So much of our students’ lives are in “It all comes down to this” situations. It could be the big football game, auditions for the musical, the SAT, term papers and final exams, GPA, Prom, college acceptance letters, or any number of other “do-or-die” situations that populate students’ lives.
Never mind that none of those are really the edge of a metaphorical cliff. They aren’t “do-or-die.” It really doesn’t all come down to this.
Which is why I never want a performance from an ensemble to feel like “it all comes down to this.”
Feel nervous, sure. You should want to do well, and you should encourage those around you to achieve their best! But a performance should be part of a journey with the music you’re working on. It should never come down to one moment, to one performance. Even the festival performance with ratings on the line are part of a story, and not necessarily the most important part.
How do you undercut that mentality?
- Tell a story about the journey, not the concert.
- Find multiple opportunities to perform.
- Emphasize other parts of the experience.
- Take a page from The Real Group and ban negative comments after a performance.
Every performance is an opportunity, and no performance is the end of the journey.