This is the sound of one voice: singing to see beyond boundaries in a university community choir

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore their experiences as singers in a community choir called Arrkula (a Yanyuwa word meaning “one voice”) based in the School of Education at the University of Queensland as performance of song, self, social justice and seeing beyond boundaries. Performing at “gigs” inside and outside the university, Arrkula has been singing together since 2011, and despite an environment replete with neo-liberal ideals of individualism, competitiveness and capitalist driven research agendas, at the centre of their song remains a yearning for social connection, equality and renewed consciousness.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors take an autoethnographic creative approach and bring performance of song together with their stories and interviews with choir members to link the “secret space” of the rehearsal with the “public space” of staged performances.

Findings

The authors’ aim is to think and perform the potential the voice and voices of Arrkula hold in terms of heightening senses of agency, provoking and empowering a pursuit of freedom and transforming lived worlds through song.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is the authors’ take up of Maxine Greene’s (2005, p. 38) question, “if we can link imagination to our sense of possibility and our ability to respond to other human beings, can we link it to the making of community as well?” to consider what singing for democracy and difference might mean individually and collectively in the current climate of higher education.

Citation

Monk, S. and Mackinlay, E. (2015), "This is the sound of one voice: singing to see beyond boundaries in a university community choir", Qualitative Research Journal, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 166-177. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-01-2015-0004