‘Broadening a horizon of expectations': a qualitative investigation of The Mangaung String Programme

Abstract

This essay describes the establishment and development of the Mangaung String Programme, while focusing in more detail on its impact on the participants and their community. Drawing on qualitative methodology, surveys were conducted amongst the different community stakeholders involved in the programme. The findings were contextualised within the framework of the reception theory of Hans Robert Jauss, drawing on his principles of the ‘horizon of expectations', the progressiveness and affirmativeness of art, and his claim for a ‘communitive aesthetics'.
The interpretative tools applied to the data brought to light that both the learners and their
community were at first unfamiliar with Western classical violin music. Through the impact of
the programme, however, their ‘horizon of expectations' gradually broadened, rendering them more open to cultural interchange. Also, the programme influenced those involved not only on a musical level, but also on various other socio-cultural levels.

Journal for the Musical Arts in Africa Vol. 3 2007: pp. 16-38