What I Did For Love (from A Chorus Line) (arr. Audrey Snyder): SSA Choral Octavo

Audrey Snyder's arrangement respects the song's emotional core while opening it up for SSA ensembles to own completely. The voicing sits comfortably across a range of abilities, yet the harmonization rewards careful listening and blend. Programming this alongside other contemporary Broadway selections or pairing it with art song repertoire creates a meaningful conversation about how theatrical writing can live in concert settings.

Honest. A moment of reckoning wrapped in a melody so clean it feels inevitable. The song asks a simple, devastating question and sits with the answer, which is why Snyder's arrangement never needs to oversell it. Singers feel the weight of the lyrics even as they're singing something genuinely singable.

Choirs seeking repertoire that speaks directly without artifice will find this essential. It works for intermediate to advanced ensembles that can sustain legit singing and handle the interpretive demands of a mature text.

• Let the text breathe. This song lives in quiet moments and earned confessions; resist the urge to fill silence with vibrato or pushed volume.
• Blend the inner voices as carefully as you balance the melody line. The accompaniment's harmonic color depends on precise attacks and releases from the second and third parts.
• Shape phrases by listening to how Hamlisch's melody moves, not by default dynamics. Some phrases ascend to a peak; others settle into acceptance. Follow the emotional arc, not a mechanical crescendo pattern.
• Balance vulnerability with vocal line independence. The SSA texture means three distinct parts throughout; make sure each section can hear itself without sacrificing ensemble cohesion.

Reserve this for a concert where it can land with full emotional impact rather than as a novelty or closer. It pairs naturally with other reflective American repertoire, or it can anchor a set exploring how musical theater writing addresses themes of sacrifice and purpose. Early spring programming often gives this song room to resonate without competing for attention.

• Legit, sustained singing with minimal vibrato
• Harmonic listening and blend across SSA texture
• Phrasing driven by text meaning rather than breath marks
• Balancing individual vocal line clarity with ensemble unity
• Performing contemporary music with emotional specificity