本地华族合唱团发展考——以新加坡南洋客属总会合唱团与星市合唱团为研究案例 = THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL CHINESE CHOIRS – A CASE STUDY ON THE NANYANG KHEK COMMUNITY GUILD CHINESE CHOIR AND THE METRO PHILHARMONIC CHOIR

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the development of local Chinese choirs, focusing on two exemplars - The Nanyang Khek Community Guild Chinese Choir and Metro Philharmonic Choir. This investigation will note the distinct developmental trajectories of the two choirs, representing the larger dichotomy between those choirs whose focus is on the bonding of communities and preservation of their cultural and dialectic heritage vis-à-vis those who focuses on the pursuit of aesthetic standards. Studying these distinct groups will provide greater insight into the roles local performing arts groups play in the preservation and transmission of Chinese culture, and in building the Singaporean Chinese identity and communities. Through interviewing key figures within these choirs, surveying organizational publications, and referencing secondary scholarship on the local choral sector. I investigate the choirs’ unique histories and their conduct of music-making activities. I uncover how their very inception, as well as the key decisions that they have made at pivotal moments, have shaped the choirs into the ensembles that they are today. I examine the local choral scene as a field of cultural production. Local Chinese choirs hold a distinct position within the choral sector to produce and transmit culture through choral performance, through a combination of membership composition and aesthetic qualities, such as repertoire choice and musical leadership. As they attempt to maintain their position and relevance within the community over the years, I also note how cultural and social capital, as invaluable resources for these choirs, sustain them in the face of increased competition for resources within the choral sector. Choirs are singing communities. This thesis uncovers how local Chinese choirs balances the “Singing”, that is their musical pursuits, and their nature “communities”, their inherent function to unite choral practitioners and audiences within the wider society. It must be noted here that “musical pursuits” is a subjective measure in which these organizations view and evaluate their music-making activities, which may nevertheless be supplemented by objective standards, such as competition awards and individual musicianship. It must be also said that these choirs are in a state of decline, exemplified primarily by reduced membership numbers and declining audience figures. I uncover key reasons behind their self-admitted decline and assess their attempts, if any, to evolve in the face of challenging circumstances. These choirs are founded under with a core group of dedicated music makers, dedicating themselves in the performance of a select type of repertoire, even when they have full autonomy over their music-making processes. It is this set of parameters that produces a culture and an identity that is increasingly losing its touch with the Chinese community in Singapore. For choirs that were founded and close affiliated with a core personality, the mortal demise of that personality significantly reduced their cultural capital and their position within the local choral landscape. In addition, innovation notwithstanding, there has also been a lack of willingness by the key appointment holders of these choirs to fundamentally transform to maintain relevance in the changing cultural landscape of the Singaporean society.