Title of Study:  Redefining Music Education

Title of Study:  An Investigation of the Impact of Physical Therapy for Students in Music Study

Title of Project: Survey of Ontario Community Bands

Title of Project: Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS)

Research Projects and Activities

Engage to Create with KNAER Funding. Please click here to visit the Engage to Create website.

Canadian Music Education Research Consortium
LcMc is home to the Canadian Music Education Research Consortium, a research body of the Canadian Music Educators’ Association. Dr. Willingham edits the Peer Review Corner in the Canadian Music Educator  journal, and peer reviewed articles are published quarterly. The peer review panel is comprised of distinguished academics from University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, University of Lethbridge, University of Alberta, University of Manitoba, University of Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Toronto, Laval University, University of Ottawa, Nipissing University, and Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

$5000, from the Canadian Music Educators Association is awarded through the LcMc office to peer reviewed research proposals exploring issues to advance teaching and learning in music.

Impact Study on Maxwell’s Music House and Laurier Community
This study explores the relationship that is being forged between Maxwell's Music House and Laurier's campus community, Maxwell's and the Faculty of Music, and Maxwell's and the community at large. What is the awareness level of Maxwell's both on-campus and beyond? What is the impact? What effects on the cultural/social life has Maxwell's had on those who have attended events or studied music there, as well as those who may not have had first hand experience but may have read or heard about Maxwell's?

Sing Fires of Justice: The Power of Song!  A model for a choral event that creates a community for a cause

Lee Willingham, Debbie Lou Ludolph, Wilfrid Laurier University

ABSTRACT
A Saturday morning choral workshop for church music leaders in 2005 has mushroomed into a full-blown community choral event that raises funds and sheds a spotlight on a social justice cause. In this paper we provide the rationale and the strategic planning that has seen Sing Fires of Justice grow from a scheduled choral conductors’ clinic and celebration of Reformation Sunday into an annual ecumenical event. Sing Fires brings together church choir singers and their directors from various denominations, the Faculty of Music and the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary of Wilfrid Laurier University, Royal Canadian College of Organists, Conrad Grebel University (Mennonite) of the University of Waterloo, community choirs, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the K-W Youth Symphony, and carefully selected guest speakers who animate the cause that is being supported and challenge the perspectives of those in attendance. Causes that have been addressed include Out of the Cold shelter for homeless people, Project Ploughshares peace initiatives, KAIROS environmental justice, and ISARC interfaith coalition that addresses poverty issues.

We outline the process that starts each year with a small representative planning committee and culminates in a weekend of workshops , rehearsals, and finally a public service featuring chamber choirs and a massed choral ensemble with a guest conductor. This presentation will address artistry and leadership, volunteering, partnerships, social justice, liturgy, and community building through choral music.

Community of Voices: A qualitative study of the effects of being a member of a community choir
Extracted from the story of people who come together regularly to sing, this study focuses on a community of singers who partake in a meaningful artmaking experience. Why do people spend time and money on arts activities when current economic and educational values suggest that other pursuits are more worthy? Using case study, grounded theory, and narrative inquire methods, and the ethnographic tools of the video and audio recordings with transcribed field experiences, individual and focus group interviews, the individual voices of the participants were captured, studied, and analyzed. A number of conclusions were drawn, and were introduced in the form of hypotheses. "Canticles," or clusters of common response and thought emerged, leading the researcher to conclude that the actual accomplishment of ensemble singing at a high standard was only part of the value of participation in a structured choral ensemble. The study yields insights for education and community music making.

Widening the Boundaries of: Teacher Preparation and Classroom Practices in Music Education
The preparation for teachers for professional service in the music classroom is a matter for national consideration. Teacher education has been the topic of a number of papers, round table discussions, and posters during previous Pan Can symposia as well as in provincial conferences and journal publications. The quality and relevance of teacher education programs has been the subject of considerable previous research. However, this proposal uniquely focuses on music education.  

LcMc Partners in Research