Globalization pervades every facet of life in Singapore but the term continues to be poorly understood in relation to the everyday life of people who live here. Our National Art Council-sponsored project, “Global Identities in Transition,” aims to understand what globalization means for the musical life of diverse constituencies, whether citizens, PRs, or work permit/pass holders. It is a study of the musical landscape of Singapore through interviews with music listeners, diversified in terms of citizenship, age, gender, and ethnicity. The goal is to publish a large database of interviews about musical listeners, which may be used for further research by academics. This database will enable further study that proceeds via in-depth understanding of personal lives, in order to shed light on the complex relationship between multiple global, social and musical factors. By tracking the musical stories of listeners, we can gain a better understanding of their social attitudes, and this will lead to insights about the impact of globalization on the cultural life of Singapore. Such insights may guide the future work of music-makers and educators who wish to respond to the global community within Singapore. Topic covered include ethnicity- and language-based identities, preferences in relation to multiple genres of classical, traditional and popular musics, and musical values and associations (importance assigned to and perceived social significance of particular musics). Among the various Asian musics covered, particular focus is placed on Chinese music, revealing multiple relationalities (involving both the Chinese majority and ethnic minorities): elective or coercive assimilation, appropriation, resistance, group dis/affiliation, and musical dis/affinity. While the majority of interviews are conducted with ordinary Singaporeans, a number of interviews were conducted with rock band members, secondary school students, piano teachers, and professional music makers and scholars. These interviews respectively are labeled “Band,” “Student,” “Teacher,” and "Viewpoint," and can be viewed further down in the menu on the left. Interviews with professional music makers and scholars were included to obtain their expert viewpoints on past and future developments in musical culture and music education. All interviews (except Viewpoints) were conducted and transcribed by Amanda Lee. The research report for the National Arts Council was co-authored with Shawn Loh.
Our team comprises:
Gavin Lee, Project Director
Amanda Lee, Shawn Loh, Research Associates