Music Programming

Before I begin, a word of explanation is in order. Music programming is terminology that is used by musicians when referring to the process of constructing or putting together a concert.

In the seven and a half years I have been at Union, I have presented 22 major choral programs. Needless to say, one must come up with different programming ideas in order for concerts to maintain their appeal. The appeal I am talking about is three fold: the audience, the singers, and the conductor.

There are many ways to go about programming a concert. The conductor needs to think about his/her audience, the time of the year the concert is presented, the programming of previous concerts and the skill level of the singers. With those things in mind, the following list offers some ideas for choral programming..

1. Themed program. All the music for this kind of program is based on a theme. For instance, the theme of the music may be patriotic, romantic, love for our Creator, or perhaps is based on a season of the year (spring, winter, etc…). Taking this idea one step further and thinking outside of the proverbial box, one might design a choral program around the theme of flowers, birds, or the sea. Believe it or not, there is ample choral literature to build a program around these narrowly defined themes.

2. Music through the ages. A program of this nature would endeavor to include music from all periods of musical history. The concert might begin with music from the middle ages and then move on to the renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, and 20th- 21st century. Needless to say, there is a tremendous amount of literature from which to select.

3. Music from a specific composer. An entire program based on the music of one composer is a great idea, although not one that should be done too often. I’m not speaking here of selecting one major work by a composer (that idea will be discussed later). I am suggesting a program that features smaller works, all by the same composer. One can get a lot of variety in the music by selecting music of different styles and from different genres. Several years ago the Regional Chorus presented a program that I entitled “An Afternoon of Mozart.”

4. Music of a country, region, or city. One might decide to present a program of music from Italy, or an all American music program, or music of a specific region, or city. I have presented both a program of all American music and a program of music from the “Viennese Masters” which of course included the music of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.

5. Programming of a major choral work. There are so many incredible large-scale works from which to choose. All the major (and not so major) composers composed masses, requiems, passions, te deums, magnificats, cantatas, and missa brevi, among others. There is a wealth of repertoire by various composers and from different countries, eras, and genres.

I want to encourage all choral directors to be creative with their programming. The point is not to construct programs that are so peculiar that you lose your audience, but to look at your concert season as a whole and to “sprinkle” in an unexpected concert from time to time.