Australian Primary Principals Association: The Heart Of Leadership and Maryborough Music Conference Gospel Choir

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxP-Nv8bo38&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eIoNwKw_3A&feature=youtu.be

APPA commissioned myself and Mr Frank Bansel to produce a 'cutting edge keynote address as a demonstration of the "heart of leadership". My research under the title "The Transculturalisation of African American gospel music" produced a refereed journal article in 2010 (Cambridge Popular Music) that focussed on the relationship of my Taxonomy of Musical Gesture, the pedagogical practice that underpinned it, and the re contextualised gospel music that delivers it. This article honed in on the capacity of these performative experiences to build communities and leadership models. As a result, APPA's commission asked me to demonstrate this, using the national delegates as the choir. The results across the three days are obvious as you examine the video footage. The impact of these sessions for the delegates was, in their words: 'Profound', 'life-changing', 'inspirational'. Building in my research, these performances, and the contextualising keynote addresses that accompanied them, provide significant evidence as to effectiveness of this music, and the techniques I have developed in translating it into an Australian cultural context.

Maryborough Music Conference Gospel Choir project forms part of the portfolio research project, "The Transculturalisation of African American Gospel Music". The techniques used for the translation of key musical and socio-cultural concepts are outlined in my research publications under the "Taxonomy". These same techniques, modified for this specific context, have been employed again to achieve a successful cultural, community building and music set of prescribed outcomes. The impact of this facet of the research is seen in the 800 strong audience who attended the concert: the request online for access to the Taxonomy, and suggested repertoire, from 120 of the 300 participants for use in their own school choirs.