What’s On The Agenda?

I don’t mean, “What’s on the agenda today?” I mean, what detail should you include in the agenda you send out?

A rehearsal agenda can be as detailed as a rehearsal plan: with specific targets, timing, and strategies. It can be as vague as a list of the pieces you intend to spend time on.

For me, I think the magic of rehearsal sometimes comes from the surprise of unexpected turns and new ideas. Even so, I committed this year to regular agendas to help my ensemble feel better prepared walking into rehearsals.

So I’ve found a middle ground: I’m keeping it vague (a list of pieces) but also all nonmusical items we’ll be discussing (“Business”) and with each piece, a general goal or intention. I follow it up after rehearsal with as much detail as I can about what we actually accomplished, as well as a bit of “Dear People” philosophizing.