More Than Just Singing? An Exploratory Pilot Study of Long-Term Perceptions of Choir Leadership

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 4:20 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Issues in Music Education (Table 12)

Abstract

The philosophical justification of music education in schools is well documented in the literature (Elliott, 2014; Reimer, 2022). In addition, music’s role in the development of adolescent psychology has also been explored (Elpus, 2013; Barrett and Bond, 2015). Underrepresented are explorations of leadership in secondary ensembles and the dispositions and skills this may foster in adolescent musicians. In this study, I extend Arasi’s (2006) design to high school choir leaders and use elements of positive youth development (Lerner et al., 2009) to frame participant observations of the long-term impact of this leadership. The purpose of this study is to better understand the value of participation in choir and Tri-M as a contributor to the high school experience through these observations.

Author

• Justin M. Caithaml, University of Bridgeport