“We sing to touch hearts”: Choral musical culture in Pretoria East, South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the culture of choral singing among children and youth in Pretoria East, South Africa. The philosophical underpinnings of the choirs, the roles of choirs within local and national communities, and the perceived values and benefits of participation were examined. This collective case study required the integration of standard ethnographic strategies employed over the course of a month-long period of fieldwork and two shorter follow-up visits. I observed approximately 40 hours of rehearsal and 25 hours of performance, focusing on five choirs in and around the University of Pretoria. I also conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with choristers, directors, staff members, and parents. Participants identified a philosophy of “message bearing” as the primary goal of choral performance. Innovation and diversity in programming and competition were additional emergent themes related to this philosophy. Choirs were found to have multiple roles, including recruiting and marketing, promoting diverse South African musical cultures, and cultivating a national, South African identity. Participants described a wide range of musical, social, educational, and personal benefits associated with participation, with choristers most commonly alluding to choir as a means of “relaxing.” Choir emerged as a source of bridging social capital, encouraging cooperation among participants from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, promoting intercultural understanding and trust, and cultivating a broadened sense of national South African identity.

“I did not know what to expect”: Music as a means to achieving work-life balance

“…As a pilot study, the workshops were offered as a break from work, and participants felt renewed, refreshed, relaxed, invigorated, and inspired to return to their workstations (Carlson et al, 2009; Tariq et al, 2012). Many participants mentioned they came to the workshops “not knowing what to expect”, yet all participants found engaging with African music “energizing” and “relaxing” (Bartolome, 2018; Silverman, 2018). It was also “informative” and “fun”.…”

“…. .” and “intercultural learning experience” both Chris and myself provided (Bartolome, 2018, p. 279). Learning about music from other lands provided an opportunity for participants to sing in someone else’s language; it taught them to develop a sense of understanding of people from other cultures.…”

“…Since immigrating in 2000, I have continued my professional learning on African music. South Africa is known for its choral music tradition (Bartolome, 2018), so in the workshops, I focused on teaching songs.Chris is an Anglo-Australian, but he studied under master musicians and dancers from Ghana since the mid-1980s. Over the years, he has conducted several field trips to Ghana and continues to research, teach, and perform traditional music from West Africa.…”

“…As a pilot study, the workshops were only offered to professional and academic staff at one campus and to members in one faculty. There were no indigenous participants from Australia or Africa, resulting in a potential researcher bias in the way participants engaged and experienced South African and West African music, culture, language, songs, and drumming (Bartolome, 2018). The findings may have been richer if I had also included professional staff from the central student services at University as they interact with a range of students from diverse cultures and backgrounds.…”

”Kun ihminen ihminen on”

“…Kuorolaulua on tutkittu muun muassa aktiivisen kansalaisuuden (Baggetta 2009), monikulttuurisen yhteisöllisyyden (Barrett & Vermeulen 2019), identiteetin rakentamisen (Durrant 2005) sekä sosiaalisen pääoman ja hyvinvoinnin (Bartolome 2018;Hyyppä 2002) näkökulmista. Kuorot ovat välittäneet sosiaalisia ja poliittisia viestejä tukemalla tiettyä puoluetta tai vahvistamalla vähemmistöryhmien ääntä tasa-arvon puolesta.…”