Let the perusal begin...

The perusal of music has begun.....I was doing it today while my students took part of their choir final exam. Looking at music, listening to recordings, scouring the PML, etc. I need to like the PML selections more than I do. I dig into it this summer. Fortunately, I have made notes on pieces that were perused in the past few years. Post-it tags are ready. A pile of books began to form today. When school is out for the summer, the stacks of music will begin to form. Folding tables will be needed. I LOVE this part of my job - finding choral literature.

There is only 1 piece that I want on the program, but I don't know if it will make the cut. I am trying to emotionally detach from it, which is difficult. I taught the piece 7 yrs ago and did a good job with it. I want to do it again, but transcribe the piano accompaniment to a string quartet. It'll work, but will it FIT in the final program? I do not know that answer.

Fortunately, publishers are taking full advantage of the internet by letting customers peruse digital copies and recordings. Wonderful, valuable resources. Carl Fischer/BriLee probably is the best with this service. Santa Barbara Music Publishing - you can look at most everything online - Scorch viewer is needed to see the printed music. And they have a good audio player onscreen. Colla Voce and Alliance give you titles, but not audio or digital viewing options. I called Colla Voce and they are sending a perusal packet. SBMP - not willing to send perusal packet b/c of everything online. I ended up calling their distributor, Lorenz Corp, and buying single copies for perusal. My music dealer, RBC, won't order single copies for music they don't already have in stock. Understandable. I will need to call Alliance next.

Perusing the PML will take some time. I have done a mix of Grade 1, 2, & 3 literature over the last few years. I am surprised at how much Grade 3 I have done and I find Grade 2 very easy or not appealing. Hmmmm.....I need look at these pieces again.

Next week, I will focus on finding the singers needed for this group. One by one, I will listen to every choir student next week. I love this part. It is exciting.

The rest of the evening is for my daughter. All of tomorrow will be spent at Schlitterbahn Galveston with my students. This is the final big event of the year.