Selecting appropriate repertoire for smaller bands and orchestras will always be a challenge for ensemble directors. How do you challenge advanced students while fostering growth for those who are developing? How do you ensure the ensemble sounds full when you can barely cover the parts? How do you build quality without appropriate quantity?
I’ve taught and participated in many ensemble variations throughout my years as a band director. As ensemble directors, we all have different approaches to achieving success for our students. Common challenges for small band and orchestra programs specific to repertoire include instrumentation, varied levels of musicians within the ensemble, and limitations of resources and rehearsal time.
Where to Begin?
Evaluate Your Ensemble: For rookie teachers, it is tempting to program all the favorites you played as an undergraduate. Maybe you have a few years of experience under your belt, eyeing that well-developed, well-funded, and well-supported program that neighbors you. Better yet, you might have an amazing band program with three concert bands, but your middle band struggles with instrumentation due to the strong wind ensemble supported by a solid freshman band. Regardless, I urge you to build an understanding of your students as musicians and people, assess their level of musicianship, and make connections between their performance levels and needs within each section of the ensemble.
Self-Evaluation: Well done! You’re evaluating your ensemble. But don’t forget about self-evaluation. You need to understand your own biases and limitations as a teacher. This form of assessment goes deeper than the professional development required by your school district—those sessions you’d rather paint lines on a practice field than attend. After being forced to be there, the guest or speaker often admits that the session doesn’t provide much help for fine arts or elective teachers. You should assess your rehearsal abilities as they relate to the ensemble’s needs and challenges within the repertoire. Try not to make it about you, but instead focus on the quality experiences you are creating for your students. Find time to build knowledge of existing repertoire while exploring new literature that best suits your ensemble and their “right now” needs.
Choose the Right Repertoire: Avoid the temptation to push a piece on your group because you had an out-of-body experience when you heard the All-State band play it. Sometimes, you’ll have opportunities for these works, but ensure your ensemble is ready to handle them. Familiarize yourself with repertoire by relevance, grade level, instrumentation, and general challenges within the score, and ensure you have the parts properly covered. Having a player on each part doesn’t always mean parts are adequately covered. Often, it’s better to have multiple students on a part to inspire confidence.
Support Developing and Advanced Students: It is possible to support developing students while challenging advanced ones. Compare standard pieces that require larger instrumentation with flexible versions of the same selection. As an arranger and composer, I’ve taken the time to build authentic flexible ensemble arrangements that respect their original counterparts without reducing the difficulty. While some flexible arrangements are watered-down versions of the original, others can challenge your advanced students while providing growth opportunities for younger students. Consider moving past the idea of making sure every single part is covered with traditional instrumentation. Instead, focus on the process of making music. Flexible ensemble arrangements offer more adaptability and customization in covering parts with multiple performers. Through this setup, stronger musicians can serve as models for weaker musicians needing a confidence boost.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Many ensembles with limited instrumentation feel stuck playing easier literature or believe flexible ensemble arrangements are geared toward younger groups. Worse, they might butcher harder literature, not because they lack skilled players but because not all musicians have the needed skills to tackle challenging literature while being spread so thinly. The good news is that more authentic flexible literature is published each year for varying grade levels.
Embrace Your Unique Situation: Don’t feel the need to conform to what everyone else does if it doesn’t set your students up for success. You shouldn’t be intimidated by veteran teachers who dismiss flexible literature because they believe these works diminish the “classic” or “standard” repertoire. Your situation is probably much different from theirs, especially if they have a larger program with abundant resources. Many programs are still feeling the aftereffects of the pandemic or may have always been small; however, flexible arrangements provide more options to promote success.
Conclusion: Yes, a flexible ensemble arrangement of a piece intended for a band or orchestra will sound different from the original. However, it can still sound full and respect all the intentions of the original by maintaining the authenticity of its elements. Remember, you should strive to develop musicianship within the repertoire you are preparing. Flexible ensemble arrangements are merely another platform to cultivate student success when your instrumentation is limited.
