Enduring impacts of cathedral choral training on choristers’ lives

ABSTRACT

Investigations of the English Cathedral Choral tradition have ranged from studies of the pedagogical practices and environmental affordances and constraints that support choral excellence to the introduction of female voices into a male-dominated musical practice. Studies of choral participation have investigated the health and wellbeing outcomes of choral participation across the lifespan, and the psychological benefits and life skills of teamwork and leadership that develop in choral settings. These studies have focused on perceptions of current participation. Less is known of the enduring impacts of early choral participation across the lifespan. This study investigates two former cathedral choristers’ experience through extended interview and narrative case studies. Both choristers reported participation in the cathedral choir as significant and life-changing, continuing to impact them many years later. Chorister habits of thought and practice including attention to detail, care of others, assuming leadership, and self-discipline were reported to endure in life beyond the choir. Being thrust into the midst of a politically charged policy change introducing female cathedral choristers created life-forming experiences for girls, in what was retrospectively described as a first act of feminism. This research provides insights into the ways in which extra-curricular ensembles and vocal tuition shape possible musical selves.

KEYWORDS:

• Cathedral choral training
• life-forming experience
• habits of thought
• possible musical selves

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The former choristers’ names have been changed and some of the details are deliberately obscured to protect their privacy.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Research Council: [Grant Number DP170103377].

Notes on contributors

Margaret S. Barrett

Margaret S. Barrett is Professor and Head of the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance at Monash University, and is Founding Director of the Pedagogies of Creativity, Collaboration, Expertise and Enterprise (PoCCEE) research group. She has investigated Music and the Arts in human cognition and social and cultural development addressing problems in aesthetic decision-making, the meaning and value of Arts engagement for young people, young children's musical thinking, young children's identity work in and through music, teaching and learning practices in the arts, and the pedagogy and practices of creativity, collaboration, and expertise. She was awarded the Fellowship of the Australian Society for Music Education in 2011. Recent awards include a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship (2018), Beaufort Visiting Research Fellow at St John’s College University of Cambridge (2019), and a Foundation de Maison des Sciences de l’Homme research residency at IRCAM (2019). She has led seven Australian Research Council grants, in addition to numerous other funded projects. She has served as President of the International Society for Music Education (2012-2014), Chair of the World Alliance for Arts Education (2013-2015), Chair of the Asia-Pacific Symposium for Music Education Research (2009-2011), and Editor of Research Studies in Music Education (2004-2012).

Katie Zhukov

Katie Zhukov Prior to working at Monash University and researching as a Visiting Fellow at UNSW, Katie Zhukov was a Music Research Fellow at the University of Queensland School of Music for 11 years, where she developed evidence-based pedagogical approaches for enhancing music sight-reading skills. Her publications demonstrate a strong record of interdisciplinary approach across music education, psychology and science, and include topics such as eye movement during music sight-reading, performance anxiety, skills for classical music careers, innovative approaches to teaching of music sight-reading, and teaching and learning in the studio setting, including gender issues. Zhukov has published numerous journal articles in high impact international journals such as Journal of Eye Movement Research, Music & Science, Musicae Scientiae, Psychology of Music, Medical Problems of Performing Artists, International Journal of Music Education, British Journal of Music Education, Music Education Research, Research Studies in Music Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, Australian Journal of Music Education, and also seven book chapters. She has served on the editorial board of International Journal of Music Education: Research for six years and is currently serving on the editorial board of Frontiers in Psychology: Performance Science.