Some educators say, “The right music is the music that I think will best educate you.” These educators might program the “chestnuts” – the same literature they’ve programmed their whole careers and that they sang in their own student days.
Some educators say, “The right music is the music that reaches the students.” These educators are the ones who program ripped-from-the-pop-charts arrangements all year long.
They’re both wrong. The right music to program isn’t one thing. It’s a bit of everything.
And most importantly, the right music is music that both the teachers and the students value.
We don’t have to value all pieces equally, and our opinions can evolve over time, but if we program entirely for the educator’s value system or entirely for the students’, we are missing the mark.