Beyond disciplinary boundaries: Language-aware choirs driving transformative change in music education

Lehtinen-Schnabel, Johanna
Title: Beyond disciplinary boundaries: Language-aware choirs driving transformative change in music education
Authors: Lehtinen-Schnabel, Johanna (Author)
Product number: 9789523294318
Product form: Paperback
Availability: Delivery in 1-3 workdays
Publication date: 25.9.2026
Price per piece: 25,00 € (22,03 € vat 0 %)

Publisher: Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia
Series: Studia Musica 100
Edition: 1. edition, 2026
Publication year: 2026
Language: English
Pages: 299
Product family: Sibelius Academy's publication
Finnish library classification: 78.1 Musiikin tutkimus
Key words: activity theory, choir, music education, second language, systems change, systems praxis, transdisciplinarity
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This article-based dissertation explores inclusive, multilingual choirs where music and second-language learning are non-hierarchically and reciprocally merged, to respond to the needs of participants who have migrated to Finland as adults for various reasons. Through multi-/mixed-methods approaches and using a variety of research materials, the research asks: How can second-language learning be supported within a multilingual choir practice? and What new insights can a language-aware choir generate for music educational thinking and actions? The research draws from activity theory, activity systems thinking, and the theorisation of systems praxis.

The findings show that a language-aware approach in a choir reconfigures both choir practice and engagement with language learning, with varied potentials to support language development, while also requiring the choir conductor to expand professional boundaries. The study argues that transdisciplinary transitions and systems awareness are needed for professional practices in music and music education to be able to respond to new societal needs and advance socially sustainable collective futures.