At home, song, and fika – portraits of Swedish choral initiatives amidst the refugee crisis

Abstract

ABSTRACTWith the unprecedented worldwide refugee crisis, to what extent can music play a role in welcoming? In particular, how does choral music have a role in mobilising communities, generating intercultural understanding, and lifting some of the barriers that confront refugees and asylum seekers? How can such activity be seen as a benefit to the welcomers rather than only the outsider others? The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to study how selected Swedish choral directors seek to include refugees into their choirs or musical groups. Additionally, the study seeks to understand how such efforts at inclusion are received, understood, and enacted. In other words, ‘What does it mean to refugees to sing choral music in a Swedish context, how is this perceived by the Swedish musical leaders, and how is this contextualized against Swedish government policy?’ We interview five Swedish choral directors and use the data to dig deeper into the multilayered and complex matter of welcoming refugees through community music. We contend that the work of these choral directors, as genuine acts of goodwill, is a powerful way to welcome new arrivals. However, the medium of the Western European choir may be culturally remote for refugees, and these initiatives may need new models of community music engagement.