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Community Songwriting

When a listener is moved by music, it creates an emotional bond between listener and composer. This bond is usually anonymous and accidental. HKU’s Community Songwriting project makes the connection between composer and listener personal and a conscious choice.

What is Community Songwriting?

In this project, two individuals from different cultures come together to tell a story. This takes place in the form of an artistic product inspired by a central theme. HKU Music and Media students work together on creating a music and media performance that revolves around the stories of care home residents. During the project, the students link up with residents from a care home. This contact gives rise to the content and development of the composition, libretto (text) and images, so that the performance shows the story of the resident in question. The music students have their composition performed on location by professional or semi-professional musicians.

Each encounter revolves around a theme that is relevant to both cultures, such as happiness, love or time travel. The duos start off as strangers, often seeming to each other as if they “come from another world”. At the beginning of the project, differences like age, interests and media use are noticeable. The introduction of the theme to the project forms a shared basis of associations and memories for the participants. From this basis, the final product is developed over the course of a series of talks. The result is performed once in the surroundings of the culture that has contributed the story.

History

The first Community Songwriting project took place in 2009. Since then, it has been carried out successfully at various locations in Utrecht and in Rembang (Indonesia). An important role is played in the body of ideas by reciprocity, cultural exchange, accessibility of musical compositions and the power of storytelling. Individual participants and participating organisations experience scope for reflection and interaction when they come into contact with another reality. In addition, the project ensures that a sometimes forgotten piece of individual history is highlighted. It also contributes to the preservation of unique local cultures.

Future

The ambition is to hold the Community Songwriting project every year, involving the HKU composition students. There is also the possibility of organising special/incidental joint ventures. The project’s way of working is ideally suited to performance in a variety of environments and cultures.

Contact

The project is devised and led by Ferdinand Boland, composer and arranger of music for the TV series "Annie M.G.", the film "Ja zuster, nee zuster" and the Metropole Orkest, among others. He also works with orchestras and film orchestras in Sofia, Prague and Moscow. Alongside his independent work, he is a lecturer and researcher with HKU.