Choral Singers’ Perceptions of Musical Leadership

Abstract

The conductor role has only been researched to a limited degree. Even less attention has been given to the impact view: how choral singers perceive the conductor's role and how musical leadership is experienced by those who produce the sounding music. This chapter investigates these questions with a qualitative approach to understanding the lived experience of choral singers. Three conceptualizations of choral leadership are proposed: (1) the legitimacy model—the why; (2) the enactment model—the how; and (3) the notion of elusive perfection—the balancing acts that conductors are continuously faced with. The holistic view of the singer viewpoint sheds new light on several ideals and conceptions about choral conducting that are often taken for granted.

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