Classic Express Research project by Ilona Sie Dhian Ho

In a combined qualitative and quantitative research the influence of storytelling in concerts for children is analyzed. In a controlled setting, The Classic Express (mobile concert hall), groups of schoolchildren attend either a concert with or a concert without storytelling. The groups, similar in socio- economic background and age, are compared. In a quantitative research the involved listening, the felt emotional intensity, the interest in classical music and the interest in actively playing an instrument, will be measured. For quantification new grading systems are developed by scientists and musicians in a collaborative process. In a qualitative research on the influence of storytelling the focus is on children with severe learning disorders. The emotional responses of these children in concerts with and without storyelling, and in combination with participatory elements (moving, gestures) are observed by teachers and caretakers, They compare their observations in the concert to the normal behaviour of their pupils. Both Interviews with the teachers and their grading of arousal, attention and emotional levels in the concert will provide data that will be analyzed by the reserachers. This research is the first study of The Classic Expression Research Group, a group of researchers from the Royal Conservatoire and Leiden University, collaborating to provide new insights on the impact of presentation techniques in classical concerts.

Louise Meyser

What is my main task in the research group?

My role in the research group is to assist with various activities concerning the collection and interpretation of the data collected in the classic express research. I will be coding the behavior of the children being filmed, based on their level of engagement. For this I have received a training to be able to interpret the children’s level of engagement and an engagement scale is used. In addition I will closely work together with Camilla, as we will focus on the qualitative part of the research. We will do this by conducting interviews with the musicians who performed as well as the researchers present on the research days. The interviews will concern topics such as group differences, the influence of the teachers on the groups and the influence of the conditions on the musicians. Furthermore I will assist with the analysis of the interviews.

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