Sine Qua Non is one of my favorite Latin expressions – it literally means, “Without which, nothing.” You don’t see it so much anymore – the decline and fall of Latin language classes has seen to that – but it’s a nice one to have in your pocket. Maybe the best English term is “deal breaker” but there’s more negativity in “deal breaker” than in sine qua non, so I’ll stick with the Latin.
I can’t think of just one sine qua non that informs my teaching philosophy in the rehearsal space, so I’m doing a series of them for the next week or so. For each of these, I consider my rehearsal a failure if I do not honor them.
Varied Repertoire
There are lots of specialist choirs in the world. Baroque choirs. Renaissance chamber choirs. Choirs that only sing big 19th and 20th century orchestral repertoire, or focus on the works of only a few composers or just one genre.
For me, I believe that my students grow best, and are most likely to find something that they resonate with, if we tackle varied repertoire. When, in the course of the year, you sing a Madrigal, a new concert choir piece, vocal jazz, a cappella pop, Parker-Show folk songs, spirituals, Bach and Mendelssohn, you give many gifts to your students. They each might find different things to love, and they come to see both the similarities and the variety that make up the world of vocal music.
Without varied repertoire, nothing. Sine Qua non.