Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OXFORDCHOIRS (CULTURAL POLICY AND CHORAL-HISTORICAL IDENTITY IN THE CHORAL/MUSICAL LIFEOF OXFORD UNIVERSITY COLLEGES AND HALLS IN THE 21ST CENTURY)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2016-09-01 do 2017-08-31
The Oxford colleges were originally established to distinguish the ‘gown’ from the ‘town’ (Lee De-Amici, 1999, p. v; The History of University of Oxford). Hence, the musical life at Oxford colleges and halls reflected its socio-demographic context and thus affected by the Anglican choral tradition, historically predominantly (and exclusively) male-oriented, with men in the back rows (tenors, basses and counter tenors) and a boy treble line in the front rows (Harrison, Welch & Adler, 2012). As a result, the presence of women in Oxford colleges and halls is a relatively recent phenomenon.
This project is focused on the collegiate choirs with three main aspects in mind:
1) The traditional form of men in the back rows and boys in the front rows dates back 1400 years and the all-male choir is considered (by some) as a cultural institution that should be preserved. Within the Church of England, choristerships were only available to boys (aged 6-13) until early 1990s. The arrival of girl trebles was by some considered threat to the traditional male-voice choral sound (Mould, 2007, p. 268-268).
2) The aspect of gender politics and equal opportunities: Girls are still not permitted to join the three choral foundations (Christ Church, Magdalen and New) and the choral foundations seem to be perceived as the most prestigious choirs in terms of musical quality and international reputation. This is linked to the historical context and perspective of preservation, economic aspect (access to funding and perks and benefits / salaries for the singers), administrative and cultural policy issues, competition in terms of musical talent and the politics of vocal auditions.
3) The socio-economic perspective: The demography of UK students at Oxford demonstrates that around 45% are private school educated (compared to 7% of all pupils in UK). State schools have in the last decades been forced to decrease options for their students in terms of music education. Hence, private school educated students are better equipped obtain choral scholarships or lay clerkships. This development indicates that scholarships and choral opportunities in Oxford, Cambridge and English cathedrals might be less available to students from poor socioeconomic backgrounds and be an increasing elitist venue.
The purpose of this project is to raise an awareness of the unique historic collegiate choral tradition in Oxford as a cultural phenomenon. In addition, this project will provide a useful insight for policy makers regarding the importance of access to music education on all school levels.
A) Academic dissemination through e conference presentations and 4 guest lectures in 4 European countries
B) Dissemination to stakeholders of the project and public dissemination: As a response to participants’ request of having access to the results of the survey, a draft of statistics report will be launched to stakeholders no later than end of January 2018, followed by a wide public dissemination through social media and non-academic publication
C) Dissemination through academic publication. According to the project plan, the final deliverables of the project consist of the following: I) A journal article submitted to the journal Music Education Research (Taylor & Francis). II) A book proposal submitted to Oxford University Press. The proposed title for the book is ‘I was a choral scholar in Oxford’: A collegiate choral tradition in the city of the dreaming spires.
Stakeholders of this project are:
A) Academic staff who deal with policy and decision making within Oxford Colleges and Halls; particularly colleges with a rich choral tradition
B) Music directors and church musicians
C) Organ scholars and future church musicians / directors
C) Present members of collegiate choirs
D) University alumni; particularly former members of the collegiate choirs
E) Policy makers (in terms of funding to music education)
F) Amateur choral singers and public readers
G) Music directors, academics in interdisciplinary music studies and other related disciplines
For exploitation, the findings of this project will serve as a contribution to strategic actions for Oxford colleges and halls, and other academic institutions throughout Europe for future policy making in terms of extracurricular musical activities. Furthermore, the project will provide some useful aspects regarding music education in schools in general, especially at the level of informal, extra-curricular music education for educational and cultural policy makers (both within EU and on national level in UK)