Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

DMA

College

College of Creative Arts

Department

School of Music

Committee Chair

Kym Scott

Committee Co-Chair

Jennifer Walker

Committee Member

Jennifer Walker

Committee Member

Cheldon Williams

Committee Member

Amy Alvarez

Abstract

Choral music and its conductors occupy a tenuous space in the 21st century. In a new cultural atmosphere influenced by Gen Z’s expectation of welcomed diversity and intolerance for injustice, TikTok’s rapid global dissemination of information and entertainment, and society’s desire for authentic connection following the Covid-19 pandemic, the dichotomies present in choral music are no longer being glossed over. Difficult conversations about race, gender, ableism, social location, and other intersectional identifiers are at the forefront of academic writing and conference presentations. Evidence of transformative pedagogy and culturally responsive practices are beginning to appear in classroom syllabi and rehearsal techniques in choral settings. The practice of collaborative social justice through choral musicking is becoming an accepted and successful model in schools, communities, prisons, rehabilitation centers, and many other places where individuals gather and become a collective. For many choral music educators, however, there is a sense of overwhelm with engagement related to social justice based concepts or subject matter and a lack of familiarity with the work of applied ethnomusicologists in music education. This creates a hesitancy that is easily supported by the trope that making music is not political. Inspiring change and equity in the communities around us through choral musicking is dependent on the encouragement of choral music educators to practice informed engagement with eventful programming, social and emotional learning, and understanding the functionalities of social justice in choral settings.

My research will define transformative pedagogy, discuss the practice of musicking, and examine various concepts with their roots in social justice and applied ethnomusicology. I will offer two case studies at the collegiate level for consideration of different applications of similar methodology. The result of each is collaborative social justice through choral musicking and transformative pedagogy. The term transformative pedagogy refers to both the action of the conductor to renovate their approach to choral music education and performance, and to the transforming experience for ensemble and audience members involved in the process. My practice of looking at the choral rehearsal and performance process as musicking is further informed by my understanding of decentering, decolonizing, anti-racism, and culturally relevant teaching. The methodology of the case studies selected aim to illustrate attainable means of bringing this practice of social justice engagement to choral music educators. By discussing concepts of decentering, collaborative social justice, social and emotional learning, and transformative pedagogy, this document offers knowledge I hope others can turn into understanding through their own experience.

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