1. Giving your small-school choir wings
By Matthew McDaniel

2. Overview A brief history
Life in the day, week, semester, and year of a successful small-school choir
5 year planning for your ensemble
Repertoire and performance ladder from year 1 to year 5
Ensemble Culture
Stakeholder relationships

3. A Brief History My first ensemble
Coming to terms with the limitations of of my non-auditioned, Y’all Come Sing, 9-12 grade ensemble
Goal setting
Proving self-sustainability → Earn respect from administration and stakeholders
Challenging myself and my ensemble to be better each year
Growth over 5 years

4. A Systematic Approach to Ensemble-Building
After year 1, it was clear that a predictable system could boost production
Predictable development at multiple levels:
Day
Week
Semester
Year

5. A Day in the Life of the Choir
Arrival, warm up, aural and theory skills - 10 minutes total
Daily goals
Dependent upon the music learning process:
New music
Mid-way through ink-reading
Ink-learned
Give examples of goals within each of the process sections above.

6. A Week in the Life of the Choir
Weekly focus on one piece of music with other pieces supplementing rehearsal time
Checkoffs - singing tests, each Friday on weekly target piece
Quartets or octets - score based only on correct notes and rhythms
Unlimited individual retesting
Practice time due each Monday by midnight (Google Form) minutes per week

7. A Semester in the Life of the Choir
First Semester
Accessible masterwork, multi-movement piece, or themed compilation functioning as a single performance unit
One school concert in the fall (Nov. or early Dec.)
Supplement with one or two additional performance opportunities (community relationships, visibility)
Holiday caroling (community relationships, visibility)
National Anthem at sporting events (VISIBILITY!)

8. A Semester in the Life of the Choir
Second Semester
Singing valentines (repertoire distributed in the fall)
Festival/competition (repertoire distributed in the fall)
One school concert in the spring (mid-late May)
Senior-directed repertoire
Pops (student buy-in!)
Supplement with one or two additional performance opportunities
Graduation performance - with instrumental ensemble

9. A Year in the Life of the Choir
Repertoire planning (begins the year before)
Digital list of a wide variety of possible repertoire accessible by varying ability levels and ensemble makeups
Travel planning (begins the year before)
Performance opportunities near and far, financial considerations
Fundraising planning (begins the summer before)
How much $ does my group need to be self-sufficient?
Build stakeholder trust through visibility and ensemble success (↑$)

10. 5 Year Plan
Ask yourself what your ideal choir would be like in 5 years - set goals
How many students do I want in my ensemble?
How often and where do I want the ensemble performing?
What difficulty levels do I expect my ensemble to reach?
What skills do I want students to have before leaving my ensemble?
How can I teach to the highest students in the ensemble while still providing a meaningful experience for new students?

11. 5 Year Plan My 5 year plan goals today:
Have a steady enrollment of singers (part distribution must be director led)
Travel out of state every other year - compete
Be competitive in every performance and classroom outcome with the 4A & 5A schools that surround my school
Build a substantial music library
Provide meaningful student development opportunities (as an ensemble) beyond my classroom and my baton at least 2x per year

12. Repertoire and Performance Ladder
YEAR 1
Two part, accompanied literature, easy and medium easy repertoire
Participate in a non-scored festival opportunity or do a college visit with an understanding and growth-oriented professor
YEAR 2
Introduce three-part literature (SAB), easy and medium-easy repertoire
Introduce simple a cappella repertoire
Participate in a non-scored festival opportunity or do a college visit and also attend a festival as observers only

13. Repertoire and Performance Ladder
YEAR 3
Three-part accompanied and a capella literature, medium difficulty
Introduce four-part literature
Seek a competitive festival opportunity and community exposure
YEAR 4
Four-part literature with minimal divisi - never choose anything easier than a ‘medium’ difficulty, lean towards a capella literature
Regular festival performance, community exposure, open the door to advanced constructive criticism of the ensemble

14. Repertoire and Performance Ladder
YEAR 5
All HS-level and introductory collegiate-level repertoire, at least four- part, some divisi should be accessible
Regular festival performance, community exposure, seek advanced constructive criticism of the ensemble, competitive performance opportunities outside of district-level festivals
HANDOUT
Not inclusive, but shows an abbreviated path my ensembles took through this ladder

15. Ensemble Culture Student Leadership: Roles & Expectations
Section Leadership is the coveted position, not ensemble presidency → the glue!
Ensemble Leadership → administrative tasks
Director/Ensemble Interaction
‘Coach’-like mentality - What do coaches do to motivate their teams and make them successful?
Environment of safety in making mistakes and willingness to accept constant constructive criticism

16. Ensemble Culture Music development beyond ‘me’ as the director
Invite guest clinicians (don’t underestimate your peers!)
Utilize an online classroom
Exchange with other directors & groups
Listen to other groups (good & improving)
Student buy-in
One-on-one conversations and work, build individual confidence
Enjoyable, challenging, engaging, successful

17. Working with Stakeholders
Developing appropriate relationships with each stakeholder group to build the ensemble:
Students
Parents
Administrators
Community