Grappling with inclusion: Ethnocultural diversity and socio-musical experiences in Common Thread Community Chorus of Toronto

Abstract

This pilot research study explored ethnocultural backgrounds of choristers and their socio-musical experiences participating in Common Thread Community Chorus of Toronto, a community choir that actively pursues cultural inclusion through policies of musical and financial accessibility, as well as choosing repertoire of diverse cultures. A survey of choristers investigated how Common Thread members’ ethnocultural backgrounds informed their perceptions of their musical and social experiences and of the choir’s cultural diversity, working from the assumption that all people have ethnocultural backgrounds. Research findings reveal complex and diverse cultures when singers reflect on their own experiences, but choristers tended to reduce cultural diversity to race and language when thinking about the choir as a whole, suggesting that perceptions may be operating from a white normative centre. The results of this pilot research raise significant questions about multicultural education and cultural inclusion efforts within community choral practices in ethnically diverse urban environments.