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[1] Early Childhood Conference ~ 10-13 October 2016

Dr Mignon van Vreden presented a paper at an international conference titled “Teaching and learning mathematics, sciences, design and technology in the Early Years (0-10 years)” hosted by the Early Childhood Subject Group of the Faculty of Education Sciences of the NWU. The topic of her paper was Music-inspired play to foster scientific literacy in early childhood.

 


[2] Yvonne-Marié Brand received her DMus!  ~ 21 October 2016

Dr Yvonne-Marié Brand played four outstanding trumpet concerts that were supervised by Dr Mike Blake, and wrote a formal assignment titled Communicating social return on investment to investors in community music development programmes that was supervised by Dr Chris van Rhyn and Dr Liesl van der Merwe.

Yvonne-Marié Brand DMus

 


[3] ITUKU award ~ 28 October 2016

Prof Piet Koornhof received an institutional prize for excellence in creative outputs for his Delos CD “On Fire”. The promotional material from Delos states that “Piet’s jaw-dropping virtuosity and fiery interpretations are sensitively supported by his compatriot, pianist Bernarda Vorster.” Congratulations!

On FIre

 


[4] Community Service Award ~ 28 October 2016

Ms Dirkie Nell received a community service award from the University for her 20 years of dedication to the Musikhane community programme, a programme that involves our students and staff in teaching children from disadvantaged backgrounds various musical instruments for free. She is retiring at the end of 2016. We will miss her dearly.

Musikhane

Dirkie Nell

 


[5] Colloquium ~ 10 November 2016

Dr Urvi Drummond presented an intriguing colloquium paper titled: Music education and social transformation: the post-apartheid South African school music curriculum. The paper draws on her doctoral research and stimulated an engaging debate on the role of transformation on various levels in music education.

Urvi Drummond

 


[6] Finishing strong ~ 11-21 November 2016

Eleven postgraduate students submitted their dissertations and theses! This team set out to finish together and they did.

(a) Augusto Arias — MMus Composition — San music in the works of Pops Mohamed between 1996 and 2014 & Composition portfolio: Vocal-dramatic music and large forms. Supervisor: Prof Hannes Taljaard.

(b) Engela Conradie — MMus — Verhoogvrees vanuit die pianis se perspektief: ‘n interpretatiewe fenomenologiese analise. Supervisor: Dr Waldo Weyer.

Engela Conradie

(c) Anri Hanekom — MMus — The musical construction of identity among students at the Potchefstroom campus of North-West University. Supervisor: Prof Jaco Kruger.

Anri Hanekom

(d) Debra Joubert — PhD — Qualitative strategies of inquiry in five music education journals: recent use and future directions. Supervisor: Dr Liesl van der Merwe. Co-supervisor: Dr Albi Odendaal. Assistant supervisor: Dr Chris van Rhyn.

Debra Joubert

(e) Kenny Kakoma — PhD — The meaning of Zambian indigenous songs for early childhood teachers and learners. Supervisor: Prof Hetta Potgieter. Co-supervisor: Dr Chris van Rhyn.

Kenny Kakoma

(f) Joy Meyer — MMus — Adaptation of the Suzuki violin method in three community music programmes in South Africa. Supervisor: Dr Liesl van der Merwe.

Joy Meyer

(g) Armand Moolman — MMus Composition — Analytical perspectives on selected South African compositions, with a focus on Aural Sonology & composition portfolio. Supervisors: Prof Hannes Taljaard (portfolio) & Dr Chris van Rhyn (dissertation).

Armand Moolman

(h) Andrew Olsen — MMus — “Saartjie” by Hendrik Hofmeyr: sign systems and contexts. Supervisor: Prof Daleen Kruger. Co-supervisor: Dr Santisa Viljoen.

(i) Nadine Pretorius — MMus — The attention span of young piano beginners: an instrumental case study. Supervisor: Dr Mignon van Vreden.

Nadine Pretorius

(j) Selmarie Quinn — MMus — Exploring the meaning of cooperative learning in four Grade 3 Music classrooms. Supervisor: Dr Liesl van der Merwe. Co-supervisor: Dr Mignon van Vreden.

Selmarie Quinn

(k) Marietjie Schoeman — MMus — Narratives of teaching and learning music in the Grade 7 classroom. Supervisor: Dr Liesl van der Merwe. Co-supervisor: Prof Hetta Potgieter.

Marietjie Schoeman

 

 


[7] Promotions ~ 17 November 2016

Dr Albi Odendaal has been promoted to Senior Lecturer and Dr Liesl van der Merwe to Associate Professor, effective from 1 January 2017.

 


[8] Symposium in using a codebook in analysis ~ 17 November 2016

Seven MASARA members attended the a symposium on how to construct and use a codebook in qualitative data analysis that was hosted by Prof Seugnet Blignaut of TELIT-SA at the Vaal Triangle campus. The seven are: Ms Ewie Erasmus, Dr Liesl van der Merwe, Ms Dalien Ahlers, Ms Leonie Human, Dr Albi Odendaal, Dr Etienne Viviers, and Ms Corlia Fourie.

At the symposium it was decided that the various research entities represented at the symposium would create a forum for trans-disciplinary qualitative researchers to meet and discuss shared challenges. MASARA will host the next symposium in 2017.

 


[9] Research output unit subsidy for creative outputs — a breakthrough! ~ 5 December 2016

Following a change in university policy that rewards creative outputs in the same way as academic outputs, three of our staff members were the first to receive ITUN awards for creative outputs in music. We congratulate Prof Piet Koornhof, Ms Antoinette Olivier and Dr Tinus Botha.

 


[10] Summary of publications in MASARA in 2016

Published articles

CUPIDO, C. Learning from experience: exploring the well-being of professional opera singers. — Muziki.

FOURIE, C., VAN DER MERWE, L. & SWART, I. Frontal lobe brain damage and the lived piano-playing experiences of an older adult — Muziki.

HABRON, C.J. & VANDER MERWE, L. A conceptual study of spirituality in selected writings of Émile Jaques­Dalcroze — International Journal of Music Education.

NORTJE, E. & VAN DER MERWE, L. Young children and spirituality: understanding children’s connectedness in a group music class — International Journal of Children’s Spirituality.

ROY, M. Rumination and performance in dynamic, team sport — Frontiers in Psychology.

ROY, M., RADZEVICK, J. & GETZ, L. The manifestation of stress and rumination in musicians —Muziki.

SWART, I. Ego boundaries and self-­esteem: two elusive facets of the psyche of performing musicians — Psychology of Music.

VAN RHYN, C. The expatriate African composer as diplomat — Musicology Australia.

VAN VREDEN, M. Maestro for a moment: A conceptual framework for music integration in Grade R — South African Journal of Childhood Education.

 

Published book chapters and books

BOYCE-TILLMAN, J. Experiencing Music — Restoring the Spiritual: Music as Well-being — Peter Lang.

GREENHEAD, K., HABRON, J. & MATHIEU, L. Dalcroze Eurhythmics: bridging the gap between the academic and the practical through creative teaching and learning — Creative teaching for creative learning in Higher Music Education.

MORGAN, S. & BOYCE-TILLMAN, J. A river rather than a road. The community choir as spiritual experience — Peter Lang.

VAN VREDEN, M. Teaching foundation phase learners about music — In M. Naudé (ed.), Teaching life skills in the foundation phase, South Africa, Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.

 

Accepted articles

BASSON, D. & KRUGER, D. Persepsies oor die sinodebesluite en aard van die psalms binne die GKSA — Koers.

CUPIDO, C. From Song to Visual Art: Exploring Sehnsucht in the lived experiences of visual artists — The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa.

ERASMUS, E. & VAN DER MERWE, L. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the lived musical experiences of three Williams syndrome individuals — Psychology of Music.

FRIEDMANN, J. Songs from Sinai: The Origins of a Musical Category — European Journal of Jewish Studies.

FRIEDMANN, J. Sulzerism, Sulzermania, and the Shaping of the American Cantorate — American Jewish History.

KRUGER, D. Die kontrafaktuurpraktyk in die Liedboek — Koers.

MEYER, J. & VAN DER MERWE, L. Adapting the Suzuki method for two community music programmes in Atteridgeville  — Muziki.

ODENDAAL, A. Individual differences between the practising behaviours of six pianists: a challenge to Perceptual Learning Style Theory — Research Studies in Music Education.

ODENDAAL, A. Research dissemination and PhD thesis format at a South African university: the impact of policy on practice — Innovations in Education and Training International.

PRETORIUS, M. Determining suitable pedagogical approaches during the application of voce chiusa and the zygomatic arch — JMAA.

SPIES, B. Fusion of time and space through music : a pre-analytical strategy  — Music Perception.

SPIES, B. Peter Klatzow’s Words from a broken string: two cultures meet in the distant past — JMAA.

SWART, I. Benefits of music education to previously disadvantaged South African learners: perspectives of music teachers in the greater Tshwane — IJME.

VAN RHYN, C. From the incompatible to the provisionally synthesized in the music of Robert Fokkens — SAMUS South African Music Studies.

VERMEULEN, O. “Agter elke man” – onderweg na inklusiewe taal in die Afrikaanse kerklied — HTS (Hervormde Teologiese Studies).

VILJOEN, S. & WENTZEL, M. The same, yet different: re-encoding identity in U-carmen eKhayelitsha — Journal for musical arts in South Africa.

 


[11] Sad farewells

We would like to thank Prof Daleen Kruger (on the right) for her huge contribution to MASARA over the years. We hope you will enjoy your retirement. We will miss you very much.

Daleen Kruger

staff

 


 [12] Concluding thought

At the end of 2016 we agree with our rector, Prof Fika Janse van Rensburg – “my cup overflows”.

cup