Quien Canta, Sus Males Espanta: Latin American Choirs in Canada
Date
2022-03-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
0000-0002-1122-8073
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Among the great variety of choirs developing in Canada (Abbott and Meredith, 2012), Latin American choirs represent an important group since the beginning of this century. This research addresses eight previously unstudied Latin American choirs in five Canadian cities, most of which were founded after 2000 and are still active today: Ágora Ibero-American Choir, Cantares Latin Choir, Canto Vivo, Fusión Latina, Los Parranderos de Vancouver, Nuestras Voces, UNAM-Canada Choir, and Viene Sonando. The aim of this study is to examine how these choirs function in the Canadian musical context. The methods used to carry out this research were interviews and questionnaires with the conductors of these choirs and the analysis of videos of their performances and other primary sources related to the choirs.
Informed by works that approach choral activity from a viewpoint related to society, traditions, cultures, and identity - which propose an effective way of dealing with Canadian multiculturalism (Bradley, 2006 & 2017; Diamond, 2000); and through studies that address the identity quest of Latin American musicians in Canada and the U.S. - who must deal with the possible hybridization of their music (Galván 1996 & 2010; Pacini, 2010), I examine the strategies used by Latin American choirs to preserve their tradition, maintain authenticity, and reaffirm their identity in the multicultural Canadian context.
My findings suggest that these choirs place great value on the preservation of Latin American cultural traditions, while preserving their authenticity. To achieve this, they have developed preservation strategies to ensure the persistence of their tradition and the choirs themselves. Moreover, these choirs have not had the need to resort to processes of musical hybridization, but on the contrary, they preserve the performance of their repertoire as authentically as possible. All of this contributes to reaffirming the Latin American identity of both conductors and choristers. From my research, I can suggest that these choirs have been able to successfully maintain and shape their identity in the Canadian musical context through the preservation of Latin American musical tradition and authenticity.
Description
Keywords
Choirs, Latin American, choral music, immigration, authenticity, identity.
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Music
Program
Musicology