This ethnography aimed to describe the culture and philosophy of the Northwestern Community Ensemble (NCE), a predominantly Black gospel choir at a predominantly White institution. Data collection comprised standard ethnographic procedures—31 hours of observation at rehearsals and concerts as a non-participant observer, 28 hours as a participant observer, and 15 semi-structured interviews with ensemble members […]
IJRCS
Music Teachers’ Perceptions of Nonverbal Conducting Technique Items in Teaching Choir in the Classroom
The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine music teachers’ perceptions of nonverbal conducting technique items based on their classroom choral teaching experiences. One hundred and fifty classroom choral music educators (N = 150) participated in this study. I employed two procedures. First, using a seven-point Likert-type scale, participants rated 15 nonverbal conducting technique […]
Male adolescents’ narratives about their choral (non)participation in public secondary music schools of Greece
The purpose of the present study was to investigate boys’ views about their participation insecondary school music ensembles with emphasis on the factors which influenced their decisionwhether to join school choirs. To fulfill this aim, the researcher conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 17 boys, students and graduates of two provincial public secondary music schools in […]
Assessment in the Choral Classroom: A Case Study of a Secondary Choral Program
Assessment in the large choral ensemble classroom continues to be a widely examined topicamong music education practitioners and scholars. Scholars have dedicated a significant body ofresearch to identifying and examining the assessment practices of music educators (Denis, 2016; McQuarrie & Sherwin, 2013) However, due to their design, a number of the studies did not thoroughly […]
Validating and Piloting a Choral Educator Questionnaire: The Use of Culture Bearers and Pedagogical Implications of Singing in Multiple Timbres
Many educators strive to enact culturally relevant practices by introducing repertoire of various cultures and genres. One major barrier to this implementation includes the variety of vocal sounds inherent in traditions outside those generally presented in choral environments within the United States of America. In this study, I validated and piloted a choral educator questionnaire. […]
Undergraduate Singers’ Voice Use During an Intensive Week of Choir and Musical Rehearsals: A Case Study
The purpose of this case study was to document undergraduate students’ (N = 2) voice use before, during, and after an intensive week of choral and musical theatre rehearsals through (a) acquired voice dosimeter data; (b) daily surveys, (c) participant activity logs, (d) 3 administrations of the Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI), and (e) administrations […]
