Bridging Scholarship and Practice in Community Music through Action Research

Kurzfassung/Abstract

This paper explores the process of an on-going community music action research
group, which I am facilitating as part of my PhD research. Called the “Munich
Community Music Action Research Group”, the purpose of the group is to bridge
community music practice, policy and research, part of a larger research project on
developing community music in Munich, Germany. In Munich, western classical
music is the most highly-funded high-art form, as reflected in the opera house and the
rich variety of orchestras. However, music is also the least developed of the
participatory arts in terms of engaging with the community. Those working as
community musicians largely work in isolation and there is currently no network to
bring them together. The City Council of Munich is currently developing cultural
education in an exemplary citywide strategy. For decades, it has been one of the
leading cities in Germany in terms of supporting cultural education. The council is
also participating in the action research group, having recognized that there is a need
to develop community music.
This research aims to enable a group of eleven community musicians, policy makers
and academics to co-construct a conceptual framework and develop perspectives for
community music practice and policy in Munich. I share the process and findings of
the group: the network that developed through the meetings; the space the group
provided for discussion to develop theory and practice; synergies that developed for
shared projects; and next steps in the development of the group itself.