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A Community Choir falls within one broad definition of Community
Arts [10] being an inclusive enterprise which encourages creative
expression by presenting the ‘culture’ of a collectively shared
identity.
A Community Choir:
Open to all
A community choir is open to
anybody who wants to come and sing. Basically, everyone is treated
equally and nobody is excluded. This means that:
-
there are no auditions (the principle being that everyone is able
to sing)
-
the choir is not affiliated to any particular idea, culture or
organisation (e.g. church or other faith group, particular style
of music)
-
no prior musical knowledge is required (e.g. the ability to read
music)
-
people are not excluded on the basis of age, race, gender,
disability, sexual orientation, etc.
Artistic Expression
In Western culture we are exposed to a whole raft of commercial
enterprises based around the music we ‘use’ in everyday life, but
these are almost exclusively in the domain of music consumption for
listeners . The “star”
system is a construct of the market economy which propels
individuals who promote product for commercial consumption. As a
result, many people believe they cannot sing when they compare
themselves to these so-called gifted and talented individuals. Thus,
musical self-expression in public has become the domain of
professional musicians and the less gifted amateurs are left with
the private domain (eg humming-along to CDs and shower-singing).
Within the community choir people are provided with an ideal
situation for self-expression.
A Sense of community
The Cultural Plan for Canada Bay notes that “Canada
Bay is not perceived as a place with a cohesive identity”.
It
points to differences in the community:
between those who were in the Drummoyne LGA and those who were in
the Concord LGA, and between those who live in the established areas
and those who live in the new developments. The community choir
would draw its singers from all areas and help to foster a stronger
sense of community.
A group of people singing together, united by
their love of music, will inevitably create a strong sense of
community. This is definitely something that any community choir
should strive for instead of being a group of anonymous voices who
are simply there to serve the needs of the music and/ or the musical
director. To this end, many community choirs often have some kind of
organising committee which represents the views of the choir as a
whole, and which also helps to run social events for the choir.
A community choir also exists within the wider
community from which it draws its members. Such a choir can become a
focal point for a local community by offering public performances,
raising money for local charities, setting up concerts for local
schools, care homes, etc., and representing the local community on a
wider stage by, for example, entering choir competitions or
performing at national choir festivals.
1.
Jane W. Davidson, The University of Western Australia;
University of Sheffield Valuing musical participation: Music for
self-healing, health and wellbeing
Australian Society for Music
Education ASME_XVI_015
2.
Elizabeth Slottje INVESTIGATING THE COMMUNITY CHOIR
3.
Sing Australia, Why You Should Sing
http://www.singaustralia.com.au/
4.
Chris Rowbury, How to Start Your Own Community Choir
http://blog.chrisrowbury.com/2008/11/how-to-start-your-own-community-choir-1.html
5.
City of Canada Bay Cultural Plan 2008-2013,
http://www.canadabay.nsw.gov.au/verve/_resources/Cultural_Plan_Final_2008-2013_(2).pdf
6.
City of Canada Bay Twenty-Year Futures Plan 2008
http://www.canadabay.nsw.gov.au/verve/_resources/FuturesPlan20_-_Section_3_A_Liveable_City.pdf
7.
http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/centres/sidney-de-haan-research/singing-on-prescription.asp
8.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/musical-youth-how-can-we-get-boys-singing-917732.html
9.
Eve Ruddock, The University of Western Australia
Musical Communities? I’m not even
in the ballpark!
Australian Society for Music Education
ASME_XVI_182
10.
Elizabeth Slottje, University of Western Sydney,
Creative Communities,
Australian Society for Music
Education ASME_XVI_195
11.
Leigh Vaughan, The missing
males:Low participation of adolescent boys singing in secondary
school Australian
Society for Music Education
ASME_XVI_188
12.
Dennis Siebenaler, California State University,
Music and Community Service: A
Australian Society
for Music Education
ASME_XV_229
13.
Deirdre Russell-Bowie, Academic
Service Learning enhancing Creative Arts Education,
http://www.aare.edu.au/06pap/rus06229.pdf
14.
Dean’s Report to the College Board 2007
15.
Elizabeth Slottje, University of Western Sydney,
Voices from the Community Choir,
Australian Society
for Music Education
ASME_XV_297
16.
Faye Dumont,
RMIT University,
Things that go bump in the throat, Victorian
Journal of Music Education VJME2004-2006_053
Anne Power and Robert Waters, University of Western Sydney,
Qualities of community learning:
Challenging classroom practices
www.uws.edu.au/download.php?file_id=10321&filename=Anne_Power_Rob_Waters.pdf&mimetype=application/pdf |
