Week One: Getting to know you, and lots sight reading.
Week Two: More sight reading, lots of note/rhythm fixes.
Week Three: Struggles.
The first couple weeks with a diligent ensemble are a period of remarkable growth. With determination, the ensemble can make great strides in brand new music, turning notes into phrases and finding their way to good intonation and sense of ensemble.
But this growth necessarily ends. By the third or fourth week, the pace and shape of rehearsal changes to one of fine tuning, much repetition, and slow progress. It’s the necessary work to achieve excellence in performance, but it can feel a bit of a shock after the faster growth earlier in the year.
Remind your singers that this is natural, even expected. And then balance the older, slow-growing repertoire with some sight reading, so they get a reminder of the fast pace and growth they felt before.