Representing Musical Identities of Children with Migrant Background - An Example from the Research Project Music without Borders

Abstract

The growing presence of heterogeneous populations in most European countries has resulted in increased interest in rethinking systems of compulsory education for citizens, especially for pupils from migrant backgrounds. This was the starting point for the research project Music without Borders: Multilingualism in music (bi- and/or multi-musicality) and understanding the 'other' and the unfamiliar (2015-2017). Challenges and limitations that ethnomusicologists have encountered during the operation, as well as strategies for conducting research on musical identities of pupils with migrant background will be discussed. Thereafter, the audio- and songbook Sieben Blätter und ein Stein (Seven Leaves and one Stone), consisting of a printed story with drawings by pupils, and two music CDs will be presented as an outcome of this project. In the songbook, research findings are condensed into an artistic pedagogical product for a broader audience that aims to empower underprivileged Austrian pupils with migrant backgrounds.