International Journal of Community Music - Volume 16, Issue 3, 2023

This article analyses reflections of two years of an opera creation project that integrated professional artists with community participants. The authors, who were involved as artists in the project, explore one line of inquiry guiding the larger project: can the perceived exclusive, high-cultured opera medium welcome amateur performers successfully? What is the nature of the collaboration? The authors integrated critical discourse studies (CDS) with arts-informed research practices to inform methodology. The analysis is presented as a scripted dialogue, focusing on three interconnected themes: the relationship of opera to community music; tensions of inclusivity in a creative project occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic; and considering creative and decision-making processes in co-creation. We examine how our experiences were organized though language and connected to discourses of inclusivity and excellence in community music.

Accessible music-related programmes are essential to the well-being of older adults. Although the role of music in the lives of older adults has been studied extensively in various settings, the purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to explore the meaning older adults ascribed to musicking at a care home. The participants were older adults from one residential care home who chose to attend the weekly musicking sessions on Monday afternoons. Data were collected through interviews and reflective field notes. Five women were interviewed; two preferred individual interviews, and three wanted to be together during their interviews. The community music facilitators recorded weekly reflective field notes directly after each musicking session. The transcribed interviews and reflective field notes were included in one heuristic unit in ATLAS.ti and thematically analysed. The findings revealed that older adults’ engagement in the musicking sessions was sometimes challenging. However, engagement positively affected memory and facilitated connection and positive emotions associated with aesthetic and spiritual experiences. Autonomy and resilience led to well-being. This study could encourage community members, nurses and carers to provide accessible opportunities for musicking at care homes for older adults.

Musicians have long worked with older adults and vulnerable populations across the lifespan to support emotional and social well-being. However, there is limited research concerning the experiences and preparation of professional musicians who work with social aims transitioning to working as community musicians. This project is unique in its attempt to further understand the motivations, skills and understanding of professional musicians working with social aims in a social outreach programme. Utilizing qualitative case study methodology, this study identified musicians’ experience, motivations and required skills to present a programme curated by an Australian performing arts organization for older adults, residents and care staff in aged care facilities and community centres. The participating musicians navigated challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic such as performing online, in PPE, and the unexpected emotional impact of working with vulnerable populations. The participating musicians addressed these challenges through developing a sense of connection through a digital medium, adaptability and by fostering a sense of shared hospitality. Additional research is needed to further explore and understand the experiences of community musicians’ skills, expertise and development.

This study sought to gain an understanding of: (a) the formation and operation of four instrumental music programmes active in prisons between 1973 and 2020 and (b) the meanings ascribed to those programmes by their directors and their perceptions of the meanings that incarcerated instrumentalists ascribed to their participation in those groups, focusing on aspects of the programming that might contribute to desistance. Four retired music educators completed an online, open-ended questionnaire, describing their experiences teaching instrumental music in prisons. Using inductive thematic analysis, the following themes in participants’ responses were identified: (a) the importance of support from those in power in starting and running prison-based music programmes; (b) the potential for participation in prison-based instrumental music programmes to help people overcome prejudice and establish community connections; and (c) satisfaction through the development of new abilities among incarcerated musicians. From these findings, I argue that prison-based instrumental music programmes can potentially foster activities and relationships that contribute to social rehabilitation and desistance. Furthermore, the finding that incarcerated musicians reportedly enjoyed a wide array of musical genres and pedagogical approaches invites further discussion about the potential inclusion of different kinds of instrumental music programmes in prison contexts.

Reviewe of: Community-Based Traditional Music in Scotland: A Pedagogy of Participation, Josephine L. Miller (2022)

London and New York: Routledge, 169 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-36724-274-9, h/bk, $120