Motivation for continuing involvement in a leisure‐based choir: The lived experiences of university choir members

Abstract

This study explored the lived experience of participating in a non‐competitive choir as a leisure activity. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviewing was used to collect data from nine university choir members. Analysis, informed by Giorgi (1985), revealed four major themes: that choir members had previous musical experience, experienced a sense of community and social bonding, desired personal and group accomplishment, and felt that being in a choir offered stress relief and improved mood. Some aspects of the experience of choir were unique to small groups or individual participants leading to the discrimination of 11 additional themes. The study suggests that choir participation is a personal experience with varying effects on individuals’ feelings and motivation to engage in choir.