Community music making and philanthropy: with One Voice choirs

Across the globe there are numerous philanthropic organizations that support community music engagement. Philanthropy is the desire to promote the welfare of others and is generally supported by the generous donation of money to good causes. One such group situated in Melbourne is Creativity Australia who oversees the With One Voice choirs. This program offers weekly community choirs that are led by a professional conductor. Each meeting is followed by supper. The choirs are supported by public sponsorship and currently around 68% of the choir members are subsidised. In this multiple case study we interviewed stakeholders, conductors and members of several of the choirs. This research is part of a larger joint research project, begun in 2008, Well-being and ageing: community, diversity and the arts in Victoria. Data were gathered from documentary sources and by individual and focus group semi-structured interviews (2014-2015) and were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. This paper explores the intersections of community music making and philanthropy

Surf and turf: music education riding the wave and/or planted firmly in teacher education arts courses across two Australian universities

Tertiary Arts educators are exhorted to offer The Australian Curriculum: The Arts (Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts) in their teacher education programs. This paper situates itself across two interstate universities (Deakin in Victoria and Griffith in Queensland) where both authors are music educators at these institutions. They discuss the two different ways that primary Arts education is offered at their universities by focusing on the Bachelor of Primary course (program/degree). The focus at Griffith University is on integrating the Arts whereas at Deakin University, the Arts are taught as a discipline within the unit (subject). Across both universities two teaching units for primary Arts education is core within the four-year program. Drawing on the author’s narrative reflection, observation, student questionnaire data, anecdotal feedback and student end of semester evaluations we discuss two different methods of delivery, assessment and challenges the units present to the authors and students. Though tertiary Arts educators are challenged to be inclusive of a rich and diverse arts curriculum as music educators we question whether the students are merely surfing the crest of the wave or being firmly planted in the ground to effectively implement music education in their future primary classrooms. We invite dialogue with other music educators who face similar situations where the delivery of music education is not located within the Arts and is dependent on staffing, resourcing and time limits and in some situations is almost drowning.

Community music: making social, community and music connections in Australia

Choirs are an important part of the social and cultural tapestry of any community. Participating, learning music and performing are key factors to joining music organisations such as choirs. Singing in a choir as a music activity within communities is found to be participatory and voluntary, providing an opportunity for civil expression, identity and connectedness. The focus of this paper involves three choirs from my wider research project ‘Spirituality and Wellbeing: Music in the community’ that started in 2013, in Melbourne (Australia). In May 2014, I visited three choirs for a week in the city of Warnnambool, a regional district in Victoria (Australia). I draw on Yin’s (2003) categorisation of case study methodology that is explanatory, exploratory and descriptive. I draw on observation notes and focus group semi-structured interviews to analyse and code the data using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The findings include why people join choirs in regional towns, what they enjoyed that contributed to their wellbeing and why they want to sing about issues that make connections to social justice, the environment and the community. Though generalisations cannot be made to other towns or choirs, it is hoped that the findings may provide a vehicle for further dialogue where

Music purchase behaviour : the effect of emotional loyalty on intention to purchase.

This paper explores the influence of emotional loyalty on music purchase behaviour. Specifically, it examines whether emotional attachment to an artist's music influences loyalty to that artist, and how emotional loyalty influences a consumer's decision to purchase music. Data collection involved fifteen semi-structured interviews with young (18-30) subjects recruited through non-probability convenience sampling. Findings show that consumers who are emotionally loyal to an artistes) are more inclined to purchase the music rather than download free of charge.

Technical support and professional development : using remote desktops to address bottlenecks in music technology

This paper presents research findings about the use of remote desktop applications to teach music sequencing software. It highlights the successes, shortcomings and interactive issues encountered during a pilot project with a theoretical focus on a specific interactive bottleneck. The paper proposes a new delivery and partnership model to widen this bottleneck, which currently hinders interactions between the technical support, education and professional development communities in music technology.

Seeing music performance : visual influences on perception and experience

Drawing from ethnographic, empirical, and historical / cultural perspectives, we examine the extent to which visual aspects of music contribute to the communication that takes place between performers and their listeners. First, we introduce a framework for understanding how media and genres shape aural and visual experiences of music. Second, we present case studies of two performances, and describe the relation between visual and aural aspects of performance. Third, we report empirical evidence that visual aspects of performance reliably influence perceptions of musical structure (pitch related features) and affective interpretations of music. Finally, we trace new and old media trajectories of aural and visual dimensions of music, and highlight how our conceptions, perceptions and appreciation of music are intertwined with technological innovation and media deployment strategies.

Public sector evaluation of festivals and special events

This research project set out to explore Unitary Authority (UA) involvement in festivals and special events across Wales. It considers the level and nature of UA involvement and investigates activity by event purpose; reasons for, and characteristics of, UA engagement; and, crucially, the extent and nature of event evaluation. The study’s aim was to begin the development of a baseline of information for further research into the growing use of festivals and special events as a strategy for local economic development in Wales. A quantitative survey approach facilitated a comprehensive snapshot of UA responses whilst also incorporating discursive elements. A telephone survey was designed and undertaken with representatives of all 22 UA departments responsible for festivals and events in Wales. The research reveals a significant level of festival and special event activity across Wales, supported primarily for its perceived socio-cultural value. However, evaluation would appear to be focused on improving processes and measuring economic outputs rather than assessing whether socio-cultural objectives are being achieved. Whilst overwhelmingly positive about efforts to improve approaches to evaluation, respondents held clear views about the complications most likely to hamper any such efforts. These responses focused upon the need for flexibility, cost effectiveness and comparability across festival and special event typologies.