How do you decide level of difficulty for your repertoire? I’m of eight minds (at least).
Mind One: Program easier repertoire that students can be successful at while learning and growing.
Mind Two: Program Goldilocks repertoire that challenges students without wiping them out.
Mind Three: Program tough, tough repertoire that engages students’ minds and gives them mountains to climb, even if they’ll never perform it very well.
Mind Four: Program from across the spectrum of difficulty: some easier things for early success, and some harder things to motivate growth.
Mind Five: It doesn’t matter how difficult a piece is; if students love it, they will tackle it.
Mind Six: If you truly love the repertoire, and can show your students why, they’ll learn to love it, too.
Mind Seven: All of this is moot; in an ensemble of 12 or 24 or 48 the level of proficiency is so wide that there is no hope of repertoire that all members approach equally.
Mind Eight: You can’t do everything in one season or even one year; lengthen your time horizon.