ABSTRACT
After an opening narrative about a choral performance on race, lynching, and mass incarceration, the authors proceed to interrogate the normative practices in music education particularly as it refers to choral music. In an argumentative through-line, the authors discuss the compelling power of communal musicking, which has frequently been undervalued in favor of music that possesses sonic excellence. The “good” is redefined in this chapter to extend to social and justice-focused values. The chapter also draws attention to the ways in which conductors in the Western norms of music-making are positioned in a culture of monologue and exclusion rather than inclusion. Finally, the authors take on the thorny question of coloniality and carcerality in music education.
