The Repertoire Selection Practices of High School Choral Directors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to research the repertoire selection practices of high school choral directors. The 104 directors who participated in the study were selected from two groups: (a) directors identified as outstanding and (b) directors selected from the remaining population. Interviews, a written survey, and solicited programs were used to collect the data. Results suggest that the repertoire selection practices used by directors are not structured. Although directors consider a wide variety of criteria to be influential in the selection process, criteria do not seem to be consistently or systematically applied. The relative influence of individual criteria varies depending on the style of repertoire under consideration. Furthermore, demographic characteristics such as teaching experience, program size, and the socioeconomic composition of the school may also influence repertoire selection practices. Although similarities among directors regarding the selection process were identified, there were differences between the selection practices of “outstanding” directors and directors not so identified with respect to the balance of repertoire that directors believe students should sing and the relative importance and use of selection criteria.

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