Choosing Music

True story: I like to challenge a choir a bit, so for Easter one year I chose a very difficult, but sublimely beautiful arrangement. We worked on it for weeks, and I was so excited about it, but I began to notice that our crowd got a little slimmer every time. I didn't pay much attention because the arrangement was so good, the 8-part harmony so rich, the very difficult piano part so beautiful. When the moment of performance came, the speaker said "Amen" and my choir assembled in the chapel. The collection of scared-looking faces before me was kind of scary. Where did everyone go? Had I really scared them all off? These were the moments when one prays for those special angels that flesh out rinky-dink choirs.

Choosing the right music for a ward choir can be rather difficult sometimes, especially because we are often limited by what music we have access to. However, here are some tips and suggestions in choosing music:

• Music should be appropriate for sacrament meeting. It seems simple enough, but unfamiliar songs, highly complex arrangements (even of familiar hymns), or a lot of classical pieces can leave a congregation confused rather than uplifted. You don't have to sing straight from the hymnbook by any means, but it should be easy to feel the Spirit. You're trying to enlighten, not educate the congregation.
  
• Make sure the difficulty of the piece is appropriate for your choir. Learning challenging music can be highly rewarding for a choir, but if it's too difficult it can scare a lot of people away. 8-part splits, polyphony, deviations from the familiar tune, complex harmonies, super high or low ranges, and a capella sections need to be considered in advance. Remember, this isn't a professional or auditioned choir: it should be open to all who want to participate.
  
• Also, take your own skill level into consideration. Don't frustrate yourself by choosing sometime too difficult for you.
• Consider the piano part: some choir pieces can have challenging piano accompaniments. If it's above the ability of your pianist, it can be frustrating for everyone and embarrassing to your pianist. Always go over the music in advance with your pianist.
• Pick contrasting pieces. Alternate slow, lyrical pieces with loud anthems. It will be exciting for your choir to develop different skills as you practice different skills.

Even after all these warnings, I would still say that you should trust your choir with a challenge every now and again to choose a difficult piece, work on for a while, and stretch. Good luck!