Repertoire and Program Planning
Planning as a skill
Program planning is assessed because it reveals judgement. You must demonstrate that you can build a recital that is varied, achievable, and appropriate to the occasion. Know the vocabulary: program note, set, contrast, balance, pacing, encore, and duration budget.
Concepts to understand
Understand historical spread (Renaissance through contemporary, including Australian works where relevant), genre variety (sonata movement, art song, character piece, étude), transcription and arrangement ethics (acknowledge arrangements), and audience and venue awareness (a school hall rewards different repertoire from a church). Learn duration budgeting: allocate rehearsal time in proportion to difficulty, not length. Understand program notes as evidence of research: composer, date, context, and one interpretive point.
Traps
Questions often reward candidates who can justify a choice, not those who pick the hardest piece. A frequent trap is a program where every work is from the same era - the diagnosis is narrow historical range. Another is a program that exceeds the time limit because the candidate counted only the music, forgetting pauses and tuning. A third is presenting an arrangement as an original work.
Worked rule of thumb
Build a three-column check: era, duration, technical peak. Aim for at least three eras, no single work over half the total time, and a technical peak placed before the final item so the close is secure. Rule: plan the program you can deliver at your best on the day, then write notes that prove you understand it.