An assessment of the relevance of primary school choir directors’ musical competencies on quality performances

Abstract

Choir directors are key players in the role of choral music training and performance. The quality of a choral performance is highly dependent on their musical competencies among other factors. This exploratory qualitative case study argues that the development of musicians’ expressive communication of a composer’s intentions to an audience hinges on the directors’ ability to interpret choral music scores. Without proficiencies, no meaningful teaching of the songs is achieved, resulting in substandard performances. Informed by Bower’s theory on choral practice, this study assesses the Shamva primary school trainers’ musical competencies. The relevance of the proficiencies on quality performances is also assessed. Data were gathered from [N=10] ten purposefully sampled choir trainers with a wide range of experiences in choral music participation and school competitions through non-participant observation, document analysis, and face-to-face interviews. Findings reveal that the majority of choir trainers had very limited music theoretical knowledge, which made it difficult to apply to performances. The study established a relationship between the significance of competencies to individual capability levels. The recommendation of intensive regular competency upgrading courses, workshops, and seminars for trainers to improve levels of knowledge, skills, and performance is made. Performance standards and the choral music quality are creative entrepreneurship products.