Abstract
This study aimed to uncover potential effects on and meanings experienced by
audience members who participated in performances (‘participants’) of intentional
efforts to integrate participatory elements in art music practice. We document a recent
project in which two contemporary composers were commissioned to write new
pieces including parts for audience participants. We analysed observational and
questionnaire data from three concerts that interrogated the experiences of participants
at three participatory performances in different countries (n = 273), and identified key
emergent themes from participant responses: special group experience, interactive
musical experience, experiencing shifting power relationships as well as an evaluative
theme about the consequences of participatory elements. These categories connected
substantially to concepts of active/passive, empowerment and community prevalent in
discourses about participatory theatre. Quantitative analysis of participants’ ratings
showed high levels of affective and cognitive engagement, moderated most by prior
attendance at a preparatory workshop, and least by demographics or levels of prior
musical engagement/experience.
audience members who participated in performances (‘participants’) of intentional
efforts to integrate participatory elements in art music practice. We document a recent
project in which two contemporary composers were commissioned to write new
pieces including parts for audience participants. We analysed observational and
questionnaire data from three concerts that interrogated the experiences of participants
at three participatory performances in different countries (n = 273), and identified key
emergent themes from participant responses: special group experience, interactive
musical experience, experiencing shifting power relationships as well as an evaluative
theme about the consequences of participatory elements. These categories connected
substantially to concepts of active/passive, empowerment and community prevalent in
discourses about participatory theatre. Quantitative analysis of participants’ ratings
showed high levels of affective and cognitive engagement, moderated most by prior
attendance at a preparatory workshop, and least by demographics or levels of prior
musical engagement/experience.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Musicae Scientiae |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2019 |
Keywords
- audience research, contemporary music, participation, performance studies