Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning

This chapter discusses the relationship of community engagement through music and the concept of lifelong learning, which is a dynamic concept of learning that enables us to respond to change. Underpinning the work of community musicians is the notion that artistic processes can have transformative potential that can bring about a sense of community, inclusion, and collective identity. Three case studies of community engagement will be explored with different aims and points of departure but with shared values and approaches, comprising important aspects of the concept of lifelong learning. Outcomes of the case studies are discussed and key issues on community engagement in these examples are reflected. In addition, implications for the training and education of community musicians are discussed in this light, aiming at considerable artistic and personal development of the musicians involved. This involves a strong plea to demarginalize community engagement in the curricula of music colleges.