Sisterhood and Place in One High School Treble Choir

Abstract School music programs represent dynamic contexts for developing social identity as adolescents define themselves according to group membership. In this case study, choir participants from one US high school auditioned treble choir share their meanings of place. A social construction, place centers the meanings and influence that individuals have on the contexts in which they interact. Twenty-six treble singers and two choral teachers engaged in interviews in two data waves. Field notes from observations and artifacts triangulated the data, and member checks verified emerging themes. Moving from the center of participants’ experiences outward, themes included growing within a sisterhood; sisterhood disrupted; and learning about and calling oneself an F-winger, which highlighted the complexities of belonging to the arts wing and membership in the treble choir. In the discussion, tensions, complexities, implications, and suggestions are offered for place-conscious music education.