I needed to fill a slot in a four-piece set recently, and decided to hold a caucus to pick it. I thought it would be a good way for individuals to see their fellow singers’ preferences, and also to get a brief education about this peculiar political phenomenon. Just in time for today’s Iowa Caucuses.
Here’s what we did.
I started with four pieces that I thought would fill the slot well. I asked for someone passionate to volunteer to hold each piece in a corner of the rehearsal room.
Then, I asked each person to “caucus” for the piece they most wanted in the set.
Finally, we eliminated the least populous corner, had the singers from that corner move to their second choice, and counted again. We eliminated another corner, redistributed ourselves, and then assessed the two remaining pieces. The winner was put into our set.
It was fun, quick, and educational about the caucus process. It also helped give ownership of the repertoire selections to the ensemble, and let them know each other’s thinking.