Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T15:14:27.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Theoretical perspectives on the education of choral conductors: A suggested framework

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2011

Maria Varvarigou*
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL, London, UKm.varvarigou@ioe.ac.uk, c.durrant@ioe.ac.uk
Colin Durrant
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL, London, UKm.varvarigou@ioe.ac.uk, c.durrant@ioe.ac.uk
*
Corresponding author: Maria Varvarigou

Abstract

This paper presents theoretical perspectives for choral conducting education. A wide range of related literature on choral practice and education in higher education contexts, as well as training in the workplace is reviewed. Whilst various attributes for effective choral conducting practice have been identified by research studies, there has been no systematic research on the process of choral conductor education and the contexts in which it occurs, particularly in the UK. The proposed framework consists of six interconnected parameters: (i) the tutor(s), (ii) the learner(s), (iii) the music repertoire and the singers, (iv) the sequence and amount of training, (v) the learning outcomes and (vi) the socio-cultural context(s), including teaching context(s) where practice takes place. The framework itself offers insights and related approaches for the development of choral conducting education.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

APFELSTADT, H. (1997) Applying leadership models in teaching choral conductors. Choral Journal of the American Choral Directors’ Association, 37 (8), 2330.Google Scholar
ARMSTRONG, S. & ARMSTRONG, S. (1996) The conductor as transformational leader. Music Educators Journal, 82 (6), 2225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BARRESI, A. L. (2000) The successful middle school choral teacher. Music Educators Journal, 86 (4), 2328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BILLINGHAM, L. (2008) The Complete Conductor's Guide to Laban movement theory. Chicago: GIA PublicationsGoogle Scholar
BRUNNER, D. (1996) Carefully crafting the choral rehearsal. Music Educators Journal, 83 (3), 3739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHI, M. T. H. (2006) Two approaches to the study of experts’ characteristics. In Ericsson, A. K., Charness, N., Feltovitch, P. J. & Hoffman, R. R. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (pp. 2130). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHORUS AMERICA (2003) America's Performing Art: A study of choruses, choral singers and their impact. [Online]. http://chorusamerica.org/chorustudy.cfm 1–27 [Last accessed April 2007].Google Scholar
CHORUS AMERICA (2009) The Chorus Impact Study – How children, adults and communities benefit from choruses. [Online]. www.chorusamerica.org, 1–28 [Last accessed August 2009].Google Scholar
CLIFT, S. M. & HANCOX, G. (2001) The perceived benefits of singing: findings from preliminary surveys of a college choral society. Journal of the Royal Society of Health, 121 (4), 248256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
CLIFT, S. & HANCOX, G. (2010) The significance of choral singing for sustaining psychological wellbeing: findings from a survey of choristers in England, Australia and Germany. Music Performance Research, 3 (1), 7996.Google Scholar
COFER, S. R. (1998) Effects of conducting-gesture instruction on seventh-grade band students’ performance response to conducting emblems. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 360373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
COLLINS, A., BROWN, J. S. & NEWMAN, S. E. (1989) Cognitive apprenticeship: teaching the crafts of reading, writing and mathematics. In Resnick, L. B. (Ed.), Knowing, Learning and Instruction – Essays in Honour of Robert Glaser (pp. 453494). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
CORBIN, L. A. (1995) Building a positive choral attitude. Music Educators Journal, 81 (4), 2426, 49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DURRANT, C. (1994) Towards a model of effective communication: a case for structured teaching of conducting. British Journal of Music education, 11, 5776.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DURRANT, C. (2003) Choral Conducting: Philosophy and Practice. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
DURRANT, C. (2005) Shaping identity through choral activity. Singers’ and conductors’ perceptions. Research Studies in Music Education, 24, 8898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DURRANT, C. & VARVARIGOU, M. (2008) Real time and virtual: tracking the professional development and reflections of choral conductors. Reflecting Education Journal, 4 (1), 7280.Google Scholar
ENTWISTLE, N. (2007) Research into student learning and university teaching. In Entwistle, N. & Tomlinson, P. (Eds.), Student Learning and University Teaching – Monograph Series II: Psychological Aspects of Education – Current Trends (Vol. 4, pp. 118). Leicester: The British Psychological Society.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ERAUT, M. (2004) Informal learning in the workplace. Studies in Continuing Education, 26, 247273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ERAUT, M. (2007) Early career learning at work and its implications for universities. In Entwistle, N. & Tomlinson, P. (Eds.), Student Learning and University Teaching – Monograph Series II: Psychological Aspects of Education – Current Trends (Vol. 4, pp. 113133). Leicester: The British Psychological Society.Google Scholar
ERICSSON, A. K., PRIETULA, M. J. & COOKERY, E. T. (2007) The making of an expert. Harvard Business Review, July – August, 115–121.Google Scholar
FELTOVITCH, P. J., PRIETULA, M. J. & HOFFMAN, R. R. (2006) Studies of expertise from psychological perspectives. In Ericsson, A. K., Charness, N., Feltovitch, P. J. & Hoffman, R. R. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (pp. 4168). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FUELBERTH, R. J. V. (2004). The effects of various left hand conducting gestures on perception of anticipated vocal tension in singers. International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, 2, 2738.Google Scholar
GRAHAM, M., SHEDD, J. & WALKER, L. B. (2003) Gospel music. Music Educators Journal, 89 (5), 1012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GUMM, A. J. (1993) The development of a model and assessment instrument of choral music teaching styles. Journal of Research in Music Education, 41, 181199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GUMM, A. J. (2004) The effect of choral student learning style and motivation for music on perception for music teaching style. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 159, 1122.Google Scholar
GUMM, A. J. (2007) Using a generic students opinion survey to evaluate college conductors: investigation of validity, dimensionality and variability. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 171, 3750.Google Scholar
HUNT, E. (2006) Expertise, talent and social encouragement. In Ericsson, A. K., Charness, N., Feltovitch, P. J. & Hoffman, R. R. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (pp. 3138). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JENNINGS, S. E. (1994) Cognitive Apprenticeship in Teacher Education. Exeter: Exeter University, School of Education.Google Scholar
KENNEDY, M. C. (2002) It's cool because we like to sing: ‘Junior High school Boys’ experiences of choral music as an elective. Research Studies in Music Education, 18, 2434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LEBRECHT, N. (1991) The Maestro Myth. London: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
LEHMANN, A. C. & GRUBER, H. (2006) Music. In Ericsson, A. K., Charness, N., Feltovitch, P. J. & Hoffman, R. R. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (pp. 457470). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LEMAN, J. (2000) Redesigning traditional conducting patterns to enhance vocal efficiency and expressive choral singing. In Thurman, L. & Welch, G. F. (Eds.), Bodymind and Voice: Foundation of Voice Education (Revised Edition, Vol. 5, pp. 842847). Iowa City: National Centre for Voice and Speech.Google Scholar
MIEG, H. A. (2006) Social and sociological factors in the development of expertise. In Ericsson, A. K., Charness, N., Feltovitch, P. J. & Hoffman, R. R. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (pp. 743760). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MUNSON, M. (1998) Ready for rehearsal?. Teaching Music, 6, 3233.Google Scholar
PERSELLIN, D. (2000). The importance of high-quality literature. Music Educators Journal, 87 (1), 1718.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PRICE, H. E. & CHANG, C. (2005) Conductor and ensemble performance expressivity and state festival rating. Journal of Research in Music Education, 53, 6677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PROSSER, M., MARTIN, E. & TRIGWELL, K. (2007) Academics’ experiences of teaching and of their subject matter understanding. In Entwistle, N. & Tomlinson, P. (Eds.), Student Learning and University Teaching – Monograph Series II: Psychological Aspects of Education – Current Trends (Vol. 4, pp. 4959). Leicester: The British Psychological Society.Google Scholar
RICHARDSON, J. (2007) Variations in student learning and perceptions of academic quality. In Entwistle, N. J. & Tomlinson, P. (Eds.), Student Learning and University Teaching – Monograph Series II: Psychological Aspects of Education – Current Trends (Vol. 4, pp. 6171). Leicester: The British Psychological Society.Google Scholar
ROGERS, L., HALLAM, S., CREECH, A. & PRETI, C. (2008) Learning about what constitutes effective training from a pilot programme to improve music education in primary schools. Music Education Research, 10, 485497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RUOCCO, J. (2008) Leading from the Front – The Evaluation of a ‘Sing Up’ Project. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Roehampton, London.Google Scholar
STUFFT, W. D. (1998) Hands-off approaches to teaching breath support. Teaching Music, 5 (6), 3031, 48.Google Scholar
UNWIN, M. M., KENNY, D. T. & DAVIS, P. J. (2002) The effect of groups singing on mood. Psychology of Music, 30, 175185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VARVARIGOU, M. (2009) Modelling Effective Choral Conducting Education through an Exploration of Example Teaching and Learning in England. Unpublished PhD, Institute of Education, London.Google Scholar
ZIELINSKI, R. (2005) The performance pyramid: building blocks for a successful choral performance. Music Educators Journal, 92 (1), 4449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ZIMMERMAN, B. J. (2006) Development and adaptation of expertise: the role of self-regulatory processes and beliefs. In Ericsson, A. K., Charness, N., Feltovitch, P. J. & Hoffman, R. R. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (pp. 705722). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar