Seven community children's choirs in Florida : function in the community, organizational patterns, and conductors' theories and practices

187 Pages·1999·6.5 MB·English

by  Howle, Mary Jeanette McGregor

SEVENCOMMUNITYCHILDREN'SCHOIRSINFLORIDA:
FUNCTIONINTHECOMMUNITY,
ORGANIZATIONALPATTERNS,
ANDCONDUCTORS'THEORIESANDPRACTICES
BY
MARYJEANETTEMCGREGORHOWLE
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
1999

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Agreatmanypeoplehaveallowedmetospendtime,moneyandlaboronthis
study.WhileIhavetriedtoremembertoexpressmyappreciationoneachoccasion,there
isnodoubtthatIhaveoftenbeenremiss.
Myadvisor,Dr.PhyllisE.Dorman,hasbeenverypatientandsupportive.Her
goodadvice,loanofbooks,andwillingnesstogobeyondthecallofdutyhavebeenof
tremendoushelpandhavebeenamodelofgoodteaching.
Othercommitteemembershavealsoreadilyloanedbooks,answeredquestions,
andprovidedadvice,andforthatIamgrateful.ToDr.RussellRobinson,Dr.Charles
Hoffer,Dr.ArthurJennings,Dr.BuddUdellandDr.LindaLammeIoffermysincere
appreciation.
RobenaCornwellandherstaffinthemusiclibraryhaveoftenbeenofgreathelp.
Theirwillingnesstostoptheirownprojectsandhelpapatronindistressishighly
commendable.
Myparents,ClaraandAngusMcGregor,areduegratitudeandlove.Theywere
unfailingintheirencouragementoftheirchildren,advocatingthatweaspiretoworthy
goalsand doingwhateverwasnecessarytohelpusrealizethoseambitions.Thehigh
valuetheyplacedonagoodandcontinuingeducationplantedtheseedforthiswork.
m...
Myhusband,John,hasgiventime,money,andinterest,thatImaygobackto
school.Hisexpertisewiththecomputerhasbeeninvaluable,but,withoutdoubt,ithas
beenhisloveandsupportthathavemadethisworkpossible.
Mydaughters,VirginiaandKatherine,havealsobeensupportiveand
uncomplaining.Mydesiretoteachthemtostrivetorealizetheirdreamshasbeenoneof
theprimemotivatorsofthiswork.
Specialthanksgotofriendswhokeptproddingmetocompletion.Dr.Janice
Haworth,PaulandPeggyMains,andDianneandLamarWalkerhaveprovided
unwaveringfriendshipthroughmanyofthejoysandsorrowsofmylife,andtheyare
specialpeople.
Toeachofthesepeople,Ioffermywarmestandmostsincereappreciation.
IV
TABLEOFCONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
iii
LISTOFTABLES vii
ABSTRACT
viii
CHAPTERS
I INTRODUCTION 1
StatementofPurpose 1
StatementoftheProblem 2
QuestionsInvestigated 8
Delimitations 10
Assumptions 11
Definitions 11
CommunityChildren'sChoirs 13
II REVIEWOFTHELITERATURE 15
Introduction 15
HistoricalOverview 15
VocalPhilosophies 26
RelatedResearch 39
Summary 46
HI METHODOLOGY 48
Introduction 48
OverviewoftheStudy 48
Procedures 49
TreatmentoftheData 57
IV RESULTSANDANALYSES 59
Introduction 59
SummaryofResults 61
Summary 102
V CONCLUSIONS,RECOMMENDATIONSANDIMPLICATIONS 105
StatementoftheProblemandProcedures 105
Discussion 106
RecommendationsandImplications 115
DirectionsforFutureResearch 117
APPENDICES
A QUESTIONNAIREAANDRELATEDMATERIALS 119
B QUESTIONNAIREBANDRELATEDMATERIALS 125
C REPERTOIRE 157
D COMMUNITYCHILDREN'SCHOIRSINFLORIDA 161
REFERENCES 164
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 175
VI
LISTOFTABLES
Table page
1. AreasofConcern 60
2. NumberofSingers 70
3. GenderofSingers 71
4. ChoirBudgets 95
5. AnnualTuitionperStudent 97
vu
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool
oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
SEVENCOMMUNITYCHILDREN'SCHOIRSINFLORIDA:
FUNCTIONINTHECOMMUNITY,ORGANIZATIONALPATTERNS,
ANDCONDUCTORS'THEORIESANDPRACTICES
By
MaryJeanetteMcGregorHowie
May1999
Chairperson:Dr.PhyllisE.Dorman
MajorDepartment:Music
Thepurposeofthisstudywastoinvestigateaspectsofcommunitychildren's
choirsinFlorida.Specificaspectsoftheinvestigationincluded(1)thenameandlocation
ofeachchoir;(2)thevocaltrainingphilosophyofthedirector;(3)thedirector'spractices
thatsupportthevocaltrainingphilosophy;(4)theuseofvocalises;(5)theuseof
auditions;(6)theuseoftrainingchoirs;(7)theinclusionofacomprehensivemusic
education;(8)concertrepertoire;(9)parentalroles;(10)racial,genderandsocio-
economiccomponentsofthecommunityreflectedinthechoir;(11)funding;(12)
directoralmotivationandcommitment;and(13)wheredirectorslearn theskillsneededto
viii
directachildren'scommunitychoir.
Theinvestigationincludedadirectmailingofaquestionnairetosevenchildren's
communitychoirdirectorsinFlorida.Informationwasalsoobtainedfrominterviewsand
concertattendance.Resultsindicatedthatmaledirectorsattractedmoremalesingers;girls
faroutnumberedboysincommunitychildren'schoirs;minoritychildrenweretheleast
represented;and,inorderforrecruitingtobesuccessful,awell-educatedcommunity
populationofatleast200,000thatsupportstheartswasnecessary.
Themostfrequentlycitedreasonfordisbandingchoirswastheinabilityofthe
directorstobalancethedemandsofthechoirwiththoseofothercommitments.Directors
focusedonsinging,notontheconceptsnormallyassociatedwithmusiceducation,and
theyselectedmusicforitsaestheticappealmorethananyotherreason. Directors
reportedverylittleundergraduatetraininginteachingchildrentosing,andtheylearnedto
conductachildren'schoirthroughindependentstudyandpracticalexperience.
Eachdirectorinthestudyauditionedallsingers;andnodirectoracceptedchildren
whocouldnotmatchpitch.Noprovisionwasmadeforpoorsingers.Individualtuition
rangedbetween$170and$500peryear;travel,uniformsandregistrationfeeswerepaid
inadditiontotuition.Scholarshipswereoftenprovidedforlow-incomechildren.
IX
CHAPTERI
INTRODUCTION
TheAmericancommunitychildren'schoirisarelativelynewphenomenoninthe
longhistoryofchoralmusic.Thecommunitychildren'schoir, comprisingbothboysand
girls,isuniqueinthatitdrawsitsmembershipfromabroaderconstituency,ratherthan
fromasinglesocial,religious,orculturalorganization. Thistypeoforganizationisa
relativelyrecentadditiontothepreviouschoralorganizationsforchildren.Separatechoirs
forboysandforgirlshavebeeninexistenceforcenturies(Shaffer,1992),andsuchchoirs
haveparticipatedinbothsacredandsecularmusicinworshipservices andconcerts.
Thesechoirshavemostcommonlybeenchurchorschool-based,ratherthen community-
based.
StatementofPurpose
Thepurposeofthisstudywastoinvestigatefacetsofcommunitychildren'schoirs
inthestateofFlorida.Itgatheredinformationon(1)thepreparationandtrainingofchoir
directors,particularlyintheareasofchildvoicetraining;(2)funding;(3)parentalroles;
(4)concertrepertoire;(5)thedevelopmentofsingingskills;(6)corporatechoir
organization;(7)thegeneralmusiceducationofthesingers;(8)schedulingrehearsalsand