ABSTRACT
Students attending the neighborhood’s public schools spoke over 40 languages, evidencing the cultural diversity present in the community. The university at which the choir rehearsed contributed a college-town atmosphere to the neighborhood. In contrast, Ms. Rose’s pedagogical approach included varied terms of engagement, depending on the cultural context of the music studied. The diversity of learning experiences Ms. Rose provided opened avenues for students to engage with music in culturally preferred ways and build upon cultural assets they brought to the classroom, thus promoting cultural congruity. Ms. Rose was also able to deepen and extend Sarah’s understanding of “Arirang,” as evidenced by Sarah’s observation that she never fully understood the song’s meaning until she sang it with the choir. Notational fluency was such a pervasive discourse norm in the North Side Choir’s environment that it figured prominently in students’ definitions of musician and singer.
