Women’s Choir Choral Rep

Since becoming the Women’s R&S Chair, the most frequest question I get asked is, “Where do I even begin looking for women’s choral repertoire?” If you are a new director to a women’s ensemble, it is hard to weed through the re-arranged SATB repertoire and the sparkly schmaltz to find works specifically written for women that are either new and thought-provoking, or have stood the test of time.

Below is a list of resources I have passed along to fellow conductors, as well as a list of “chesnnuts” that I have personally compiled:

Shrock, Dennis. Choral Repertoire. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

This comprehensive book surveys choral music repertoire from the Medieval Era to present day, including many classic works for women’s chorus. If you don’t even know where to begin looking for women’s choral music, this book gives you a context of what is available, especially for those eras like the Renaissance and Baroque when there was very little written for women’s voices.

Chestnuts for Women’s Choir: Repertoire that has Stood the Test of Time

This list includes mini-lists of favorite pieces by esteemed conductors of women’s choirs. It’s interesting to notice the overlap of favorite pieces between conductors’ choices. I keep this list in my pile of repertoire I have yet to program, and come back to it every summer when I am programming for the coming academic year.

http://acda.org/files/ChestnutsList.pdf

ACDA Women’s Choir Resource List

 Also available on the ACDA website is this lengthy list of selections. While not definitive, it includes many of the popular pieces, and is another great place to start your programming research.

http://acda.org/files/ChestnutsList.pdf

Lindsay’s List of Choral Gems

Below are pieces that I have programmed in my four years at Mount Holyoke that I have just loved teaching and performing. Some of these pieces will look familiar, while others are less performed for no good reason! Please contact me directly if you are looking to perform any of these pieces, and need additional information.