MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Repertoire Is the Curriculum

Author(s): H. Robert Reynolds
Source: Music Educators Journal, Vol. 87, No. 1 (Jul., 2000), pp. 31-33
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for Music
Education
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3399675
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 Qpecidl
SELECTION OF REPERTOIRE

REPERTOIRE IS THE
CURRICULUM
selection
Repertoire hasa majorimpacton whatstudents
willand willnotlearn,
and itshouldhelptheirmusicalunderstanding
and appreciation.

s music educators,our pri-

mary purpose is to help
individualstudentsreceivea
music education through
experiences and informa-
tion. In order to achieve this lofty
goal,we muststriveto selectthefinest
repertoire, foronlythrough immersion
in music of lasting quality can we
engage in aesthetic experiences of
breadthand depth.Whileit maybe an
overstatement to say thatrepertoire is
thecurriculum, we can all agreethata
well-planned repertoirecreates the
framework foran excellentmusiccur-
riculum that fosters the musical
growthofourstudents. o
-
It mightbe assumedthatthemore ca

experienceone has, theeasierthetask

-

>1

ofrepertoire selectionbecomes.As one U

who has severaldecadesof thisexperi-

o

cn

ence,I am hereto tellyou thatit gets

no easier.It is one ofthemostdifficult Awell-planned creates
repertoire theframework
for
anexcellent
music
curriculum
that
fosters
themusical
of
growththestudents.
aspectsof the entireprofession.The
difficultyoccursbecauseyou not only
choose a particular piece or set of
Beginning theProcess taketo the music?How much of the
pieces, but, in makingthisdecision, Each year, the same agonizing musicwillyouselectwiththeaudience
youdetermine thatall otherpieceswill
notbe chosen. processbegins. Questions arise such in mind?Is it too difficult?Will you
as: What compositions will you have good enough oboes (or any at
choose?Do you know enoughnewly all), bassoons, horns,violas, and so
H.Robert Reynolds is professor
ofmusicinthe published music? Do you know the forth? Will you haveenoughrehearsal
SchoolofMusic attheUniversity
ofMichigan
in bestofit?How soon shouldyourepeat time to prepareall this music? Do
Ann Arbor. a particular Will thestudents yourselectionsrepresent
favorite? a balanceof

JULY 2000 31

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 depth,and the like?
styles,aesthetics, Concerts
as Sharing
Experiencesing themto share in the projectby
Will your studentsgrow in musical While audiencesbelievethatcon- theirattentive
listening.
breadthand depthfrompreparing the certsareperformed forthem,concerts At the end of the symphony, the
musicselected?Will you growforthe actuallyprovide a forum forstudents audiencewas on its feet.The perfor-
same reason? You must answer all to sharetheirmusicalpreparation and mance of the HindemithSymphony
thesequestionsand more beforethe education. The challenge lies in had deeplytouchedthe moms,dads,
selectionprocessends. engagingthe audiencewhilepresent- and grandparents in Oshkosh,Wis-
ingmusicthatwas selectedto provide consin.That brilliant
exampleofaudi-
Lists
Keeping musicalexperiencesforthe students. ence participationhas stayedwithme
Lists can simplifythe process of Essentially,the concertis a sharing in vividdetailto thisday,thirtyyears
selectingrepertoire. Createone listof experienceratherthanjust a listening later.
the core repertoire selectionsforyour experience for those attendingthe
ensembleleveland anotherof thecore concert. Avoiding Traps
repertoireworks for your medium A public school ensemble has a
(band, orchestra,or choir). In addi- verydifferent purposefromthatof a
tionto compilingyourown list,excel- professional orchestra or military
lentstaterepertoire listsarenow avail- band. While Beethoven'sSymphony
able. The Michigan,Texas,and Vir- no. 5 or the"Marines'Hymn"areoft-
ginia listsare especially good. If you repeatedselectionsat professional or
areat thebeginning ofyourcareerand militaryconcerts,theyare designedto
do not know a wide varietyof reper- Themusicyou
choose affecttheaudiencemorethantheper-
toireforyourensemble'slevelof diffi-
inlargepart,
becomes, formers. A publicschoolensemblehas
culty,you mightobtain a fewof the theoppositegoal.
statelists.Perhapsthebestmusicstate thecurriculum
thatyou In order to focus the greatest
list is the one fromTexas, which is amount of energyon the musical
availableboth fromthe Texas Music andyourstudents
follow aspectsof the repertoire, most selec-
EducatorsAssociationand frommusic
storesin thatstate.Otherstatemusic
a soundmusic
toward tionsshouldbe wellwithinthetechni-
cal limits of the members of the
listsare availablefromthestatemusic education. ensemble.While some music should
educatorassociations. be selectedthatstretches thetechnical
When lookingat thestatelists,you limitsof the ensemblemembers,the
havebeforeyou a groupof twenty-five musical aspects must be given the
or so piecesofsimilardifficulty. Finda highest priority. Musical energy
piece or two from the difficultyrank- should be spent on matchingstyles,
ing that you know your ensemble can attacks,releases,pitch, timbre,vol-
technically handle. While teachingat theUniversityof ume,intensity, and tonequality,along
Anothersourceof repertoire listsis Wisconsin-Madison,I had the plea- withfostering a greaterawarenessof
MENC's Web site, www.menc.org, sureof guestconductingtheOshkosh the deeper meaning of the music.
whichoffersliterature lists(including (Wisconsin)High School Band in the Focusingprimarily on technicalskill
All-Staterepertoire) forband, orches- springof 1969. The compositionwas will tend to defeatthis greaterpur-
tra,and chorusunder"NetworkCom- Paul Hindemith'sSymphony in B-flat. pose. Obviously, technical skill is
munities." was not an easypiecefora needed to accomplish the aesthetic
It certainly
You may findit helpfulto keep a high school band, and it was not an goalsof themusic,but thepurposeis
runninglist of music that you and easypiece forthefirst-time listenerin not to presenta technicaldisplay.The
your students perform each year. Not a largely blue-collaraudience in the purposeis to presentthemusic.
only will it answer questions such as, heart ofpaper-millcountry. Often music educators get con-
"When was the last time we played Beforethe band beganperforming fused(I knowI did in myearlyyears)
Holst'sSuitein E-flat?" butitwillalso this complicated piece, the regular and developthequalityof theensem-
be a recordof the balanceof musical conductor, James Croft, talked to ble and itsstandingin thecommunity
choicesyoumakeovertheyears. membersof the audience about the and in theprofession at theexpenseof
The musicyou choosebecomes,in piece and the band'sdedicatedprepa- the music educationof the students.
large part, the curriculumthat you rationof it. He remindedparentsthat In suchcases,it becomesmoreimpor-
and your studentsfollow toward a theirchildrenhad grownconsiderably tantto havea fantastic ensemblethan
soundmusiceducation.If you believe due to the concentrated time and to educatethe students.The conduc-
thata music educationmeans much energyit tookto understand and mas- tor'sdesireforfameand gloryall too
morethantheimprovement oftechni- terthemusicaland technicaldemands often motivatesthe rehearsals,the
cal skills,thenthequalityofthemusic of thiscornerstone compositionof the choiceofmusic,and outsideactivities.
played will be essential to the educa- wind repertoire. concluded the When this happens, the choice of
He
tionofyourstudents. interaction withthe audienceby ask- music will be based on makingthe

32 MUSIC EDUCATORS JOURNAL

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ensemblesound good ratherthan on an option." It remindsme that the
themusicalvalueoftheworks. worldis changingand I mustchange * Investigaterepertoirethatdirectly
This trapis closelyallied withthe with it. One is either growing or affectsyourday-to-day teaching.Find
issue of whetheror not the students newand betterpieceseachyear.It will
dying;one is eithera partof thepast
willlikethemusic.Whileyou should or of the future.While much can be revitalizeyour teachingand music-
considerthe students'enthusiasmfor gained fromhonoringthe past, one makingand have a stimulating effect
the music,the intrinsicmeritof the mustliveforthefuture. Herearesome on yourstudents.
musichas a muchhigherlevelof pri- to * Investigaterepertoirethat indi-
suggestions helpyoukeepgrowing:
* The musiceducationworldcon- rectlyaffectsyourday-to-day teaching.
ority.Englishliterature classesdo not
selectreadingmaterialbased upon the If you are a band conductor, listento
tinually has workshops, many of
desiresof the students,but ratheron whichare terrific.Attendtheseregu- stringquartets,opera, and so forth.
the inherentvalue of the literature to can Regularly enlargeyour CD collection.
larly.Workshops help you be a
be read. Music classes should be no betterconductor, know more new Expand your listeningexperiences.
different. music,and learnaboutbetterteaching Your growth and development
Anotherdifficulty, "friendlyene- techniquesand howguidelinessuchas dependsuponwhatyou investin your
mies,"existsin all aspectsof theartis- the National Standards for Music own musicalsubstance.Do you know
ticworld.Thesepeopleknowall about Education can support and enrich the music of Gorecki,Gubaydulina,
a band, choir,or orchestraand how, yourteaching.In additionto theben- Perle, Part, and Crumb? Know as
when, and what it should perform. efitsof the workshopitself,you will muchabout the musicof thegreatest
They also knowthe purposeof your meet otherdedicatedand interested livingcomposersas you know about
ensemble.In the educationalworld, musicianswho will be withyou fora musicforyourspecificensemble.
* Read! Read books about music
theyusuallyinsistthatyourensemble lifetimeofknowledge and friendship.
needsto perform at a function thathas and musicians,as wellas otherbooks.
little(ifany) directeducationalvalue. Be likeThomasJefferson, who said,"I
Or, in anothervariation,thesepeople cannotlivewithoutbooks."
insistthatconcertsare held merelyto * Learn more about the entire
entertain membersof theaudience.It musicprofession. Who won a Pulitzer
takesa diplomatof considerableskill Prize this year?Who won the first
to turnfriendly enemiesinto alliesof PulitzerPrize?Who conductsthe Los
AngelesPhilharmonicOrchestra,the
an educationally solidmusicprogram. Musicalaspects
mustbe St. Louis SymphonyOrchestra,and
Networking giventhehighest the Amsterdam Concertgebouw
Orchestra? Be a personin touchwith
As we movethrough life,we develop
moreand morefriends. Manyarepro- priority. themusicprofession.
* Make arta partof youreveryday
fessionalcolleagueswho are a great
sourceof help, as well as friendship. life.Talk about it. Shareit withyour
Nearlyall of myphonecallsto friends studentsand encouragethemto share
overtheyearshavecontainedquestions itwithyou.
of "What new compositionsdo you
know?"or "What are you playingat Conclusion
your next concert?"Having a wide- * Read the New YorkTimeseach We music educatorscan make no
ranging cadreof friendsenablesyou to more importantdecision than the
share a wide varietyof performance Sunday.New YorkCity is one of the
world's great music centers; know selectionofthematerial withwhichwe
tapes,musiclists,and, above all, new teach our students.There has never
andideas. what is happening there. You will
compositions been a timewhen therehas been so
Aside frompersonalfriends,con- learn about composers,performers,
ensembles,trends,and repertoire and muchexcellentrepertoire fromwhich
tactsmade with colleaguesin music
storeshaveprovedinvaluable.Even if will generallybe a more up-to-date to choose.At thesametime,an enor-
musicianand person. mousamountof questionable musicis
you don'thave a specificcontact,the
bestmusicstorescan be of enormous * Attendhigh-quality concerts.If beingproduced as well.Oftenthe most
help because their personnel keep are fortunate music
superficial is bythe
you enough be a part
to accompanied
abreastof the profession and changes of a communitythat attractshigh- mostsophisticated and pro-
advertising
in repertoire.
They alwaysseemto be qualityconcerts-go! If you have to motion.When you choose music of
as much interested in knowledgeand travelto New York,Chicago, or San depthand substance,you will reward
professional as theyarein the
integrity Francisco-even if you can only go thepublishersand composers whopro-
musicbusiness. once or twice a year-do it. These duce qualityrepertoire. More impor-
experiences will deepen your own tant,however,you will rewardyour
toGrow
Continuing musicappreciation, whichwill enrich studentswiththe giftof a deepening
A framedplaque on myofficewall your life and the lives of your stu- appreciationformusic. It is a great
reads:"Changeis inevitable;
growthis dents. timeto be teachingmusic.*

JULY 2000 33
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