ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the tensions between fun (casual leisure) and formality (serious leisure) involved in the practices of two university multicultural song circles/choirs, in Charlottetown, PE and Sackville, NB, Canada. The focus is on the challenges involved in providing a satisfactory choir/song circle experience that aligns with the multiple, and often conflicting, needs and aspirations of its diverse members, in content, in rigor, as well as in format. The analysis ensues from data that were collected from 23 semi-structured interviews and two focus group sessions held during Spring 2013, as well as the personal and reflexive experiences of the three co-authors, themselves choir members.
