Name
1281 - COMMUNITY CHORAL SINGING WITH YOUNG APPRENTICES: CHALLENGES AND EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Date & Time
Friday, July 31, 2026, 11:20 AM - 11:35 AM
Description
Community choral practice has been consolidated as a musical activity capable of fostering social inclusion, community integration, and the development of cognitive, emotional, and social skills (Amato, 2007; Campbell, 2018). This study presents reflections on the work of a youth choir offered as one of the arts education workshops of the PIEW Program (Program for Initiation and Encouragement to Work) of the Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Plant in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. The group is composed of adolescents between sixteen and eighteen years old, as well as company interns, approximately twenty-one years old, who participate mainly during the period of their contracts. The PIEW Choir performs at Family Day at the Family Day at the Cine Teatro Barrageiros of Itaipu Binational, the International Choral Festival, Christmas events within the company, the Executive Center, and other internal and external occasions. Working with these young apprentices brings specific challenges, such as the ethnic and cultural diversity of the tri-border region, the short participation period in the program, and the social vulnerability experienced by many members. These factors directly affect the group’s emotional, relational, and performative aspects, making the process of building collective singing more complex. Pedagogical work involves developing individual and ensemble tuning, organizing voice divisions, ensuring regular attendance, and selecting a repertoire that is contextualized and motivating. This paper aims to present pedagogical tools and initiatives designed to enhance the performance of this amateur choir, focusing both on musical growth and on the personal and community empowerment of its participants. Understanding musical practice in social projects as a social practice, music education in these contexts intersects with inclusive education, social education, special education, and music therapy, each with distinct specificities (Souza, 2014; França, 2005). In this perspective, pedagogical practices in social contexts often assign music a secondary role, subordinated to the personal and social conditions of participants, especially in situations of risk. Nevertheless, music retains its independence and vitality as a phenomenon of artistic expression (Wickel, 1998). Grounded in a humanizing approach to music education, the choral activity within the PIEW Program becomes a collective musical practice with potential for intervention in contexts of vulnerability. It serves as a space of diversity and inclusion, where educational purposes emerge from the relationships among students and their engagement with music. The choir fosters collective learning, collaboration, autonomy, problem-solving, and the sense of accomplishment. Based on three years of teaching experience, this study demonstrates that, even in adverse conditions, choral singing can be consolidated as a tool of artistic expression, social inclusion, and community development.
Location Name
512E
Session Type
Short Paper Presentation
Presenter(s)
Renee Cicarelli