The right choice of choral repertoire - a weakness or good opportunity for encouraging students’ musical talent development

Abstract

This study investigates the views and practices of teachers on the way of selecting the choral repertoire and the opportunities that this repertoire offers for encouraging musical development of from primary and lower secondary schools students within the framework of general education in Kosovo. In this aspect, the experiences during the practical work of choir teachers and the technical or professional difficulties they encounter during the selection of choral songs have been studied. Among other things, the research aims to identify and analyze these factors, through which it is intended to pave the way for further improvement in this matter. The design of this research was carried out through semi- structured interviews, including the detailed analysis of choral songs, both in terms of musical content and pedagogical aspects. The research was carried out with choir teachers of different schools in Kosovo and satisfactory results were achieved, which highlight the real situation regarding the selection of the repertoire, its quality in terms of musical and textual content and the opportunities it offers to students in encouraging and developing musical talent. The recommendations from this study are addressed to the relevant institutions which should aim to encourage and support the work with choral ensembles and the improvement of practices regarding work with choir within general education.

Keywords

• choir teacher
• choral repertoire
• choral singing
• chorister
• musical talent

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