Catholic church music festivals and the development of musicianship in Ediofe vicariate, Arua diocese (Uganda)

Abstract

This study explores how the Catholic Church music festivals in Ediofe Vicariate, Arua diocese, an annual event, became a platform for the development of musicianship among the members. In other words, the study is an investigation of how these festivals enable different people (especially the choir members) to acquire skills of conducting, performance, composition, analysis, adjudication, reading and writing of music as well as playing and tuning instruments thus becoming musicians. Although there are various vicariates that organize and participate in these festivals, I chose Ediofe Vicariate in Arua District as my Case Study, to investigate how these festivals started, developed and how they have enabled the participants to develop musicianship. The study was conducted against the background that although music festivals bring together different people, there is inadequate research on how they become a platform for taping the development of musicianship in the people who engage in them. Moreover, there was need to document the process through which these festivals were started, how they are organized and the different stakeholders who organize and participate in them. As such, I adopted a qualitative methodology, under a case study approach, to examine how these festivals are organized, the nature of repertoire and stakeholders and explore how they act as a platform through which musicianship is developed. The study has revealed that indeed music festivals in Ediofe Vicariate act as a site where participants develop musicianship. This musicianship is manifested through the acquired skills to read and write music, choir training, conducting, analyzing, adjudication, composing as well as instrumental making/playing and tuning. The choir members I interacted with during fieldwork had participated in these festivals during previous years and had acquired experience through singing, dancing and playing instruments thus becoming musicians.The objectives of this study in this study are; To examine the background of music festivals in development of musicianship among choir members of Ediofe Vicariate, Arua Diocese. To discuss the items constituting the repertoire for music festivals in development of musicianship among choir members of Ediofe Vicariate, Arua diocese. To examine the contribution of the different stakeholders in the development of musicianship among choir members of Ediofe Vicariate, Arua Diocese and to explore how music festivals can become a platform for developing musicianship in Ediofe Vicariate, Arua Diocese. The implications of the study reveals that indeed over the years there are annual festivals organized in Ediofe Vicariate Arua Diocese and these festivals have a set syllabus. Stakeholders are involved in the organization of these festival and all their roles enhance the development of musicianship among the choir members at various levels and with various capacities in understanding what is entailed in musicianship in Ediofe Vicariate Arua Diocese.