Critical Factors influencing the Sustainability of Community Music Schools in the Greater Cape Town area: Two Case Studies.

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Community Music is a vibrant and growing field within the South African context and exists across various practices and settings. Community Music Programs in the Western Cape and more specifically the greater Cape Town area, are on the rise and often serve as outreach and educational initiatives to uplift participants from previously and currently disadvantaged communities by engaging in various musical activities. Though many Community Music Programs start successfully they fail to be sustainable due to various factors which are often never documented. Programs which include more formal aspects of music education such as those that function as Community Music Schools, experience unique successes and challenges that serve as factors which contribute towards their sustainability. Two Community Music Programs whose roots were established in outreach and whose goals also include that of providing quality music education are the Athlone Academy of Music and the Western Cape Music Education Project, which serve as case studies for this thesis. Both programs have evolved from outreach projects to currently serving as Community Music Schools within their respective areas of Athlone and Kuils River and have proven to be major contributors to the landscape of music education in the greater Cape Town area. Their contribution stems not only from their continued existence for almost two decades and their output of successful current and past students, but they also provide researchers with opportunities to document aspects of Community Music within the South African context.The Athlone Academy of Music and the Western Cape Music Education Project, in existence for twenty and eighteen years respectively, have witnessed significant changes to their infrastructure, management, and funding since the last studies conducted on them in 2009, and have continued to exist in a competitive funding environment which constantly poses a threat to their sustainability. Although both programs are faced with distinct funding shortages, their continued existence has shown that factors that contribute towards sustainability may not be related to funding.This study documents the current situation of both case studies, describing their challenges and successes from the viewpoint of key stakeholders. To achieve the objective of this research, qualitative methods of data collection were used and included semi-structured interviews, field notes and observations. The study established that there are multiple factors that influence the sustainability of the two Community Music Schools. Another important result is that this study provides documentation on the evolution of two established Community Music Schools as well as information vital to gaining a better understanding of the successes and challenges of such programs and their links to factors of sustainability. The results of this study provide opportunities for further areas of research regarding Community Music in the South African context.Keywords: Sustainability, Interaction, Community Music, Community Music School, funding, successes, challenges, project leaders, teachers, partnerships. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University