Name
Harmonizing Selves: An Exploration of Identity Among Collegiate Choir Members
Date & Time
Monday, July 27, 2026, 11:50 AM - 12:20 PM
Description
Group singing has been a part of the culture of music education in the United States since its inception (Keene, 1982). Choral singing has been a part of higher education since the beginning, serving as a tool for worship and as a support for other areas of academic learning (White & Heller, 1983). Today, choral ensembles play an important role on many collegiate campuses, performing at collegiate events and providing musical opportunities for a variety of students. Previous research on collegiate choirs has primarily focused on the experience of the conductor (Baughman, 2021; Major, 2017) instead of exploring the experiences of choir members. Little consideration has been given to a) the individuals who make up collegiate ensembles, b) the identities they hold and c) how these identities may impact their experiences with others in the ensemble, their conductor, and the repertoire performed by the ensemble. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore how collegiate choir students understand and navigate their own identities as members of a choral ensemble and how these identities impact their experience. Through this study, I hope to explore the ways in which students view their intersectional identities coinciding with or conflicting with their participation in the ensemble and thereby contribute to the large body of research on participation in collegiate choral ensembles. The research questions for this study are as follows:How do student choral members understand their own identities in relation to others in the ensemble? How do student choral members draw connections between their identities and their experience in the ensemble with other members, their choral director, and the repertoire? How can reflective tools such as group conversations and journal entries support choral students in connecting their identities to the ensemble and their overall experience in the ensemble?MethodParticipants in this case study (Yin, 2014) are students who are enrolled in a choral ensemble at a small private university in the eastern United States. Students who elect to be part of this study will participate in one individual interview, three focus group meetings, and submit journal entries throughout the spring semester. All data will be anonymized for student privacy. The data will be coded using an open coding process (Saldana, 2021) and emergent themes will be reported. This study is currently in progress but will be completed by the ISME conference. Findings and suggestions for future research and practice will be presented at the conference.
Location Name
510D
Full Address
Palais des Congres - Montréal Convention Centre
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
Session Type
Paper Presentation
Presenting Author(s)
Rachael Sanguinetti