High school choral directors’ habitus and the choral editions of Maynard Klein

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe how an editor of choral editions, Maynard Klein (1910–1990), influenced the formation of the educational choral canon and educators’ practices. A secondary purpose is to investigate the choral literature selection practices of educators from 1950–1975. The questions that were used to guide the study were: 1. How did the editions of Maynard Klein influence choral directors at the time? 2. How do choral directors who were active during 1950–1975 describe how they selected choral literature? What were the influences on their selection? To answer these questions, three choral directors who were active during 1950–1975 were interviewed about their selection processes for their materials. The interviews were analyzed using two theoretical concepts of Pierre Bourdieu, habitus and field. The present study used the editions of Maynard Klein to determine whether an editor impacted the habitus of choral directors active prior to 1975 and the field of educational choral literature. An analysis of Klein’s editorial work and the interview transcripts showed that as an editor, Klein impacted directors as well as the educational choral canon by making his editions accessible in several ways. Klein provided tools such as a piano reduction and English translation that made their classroom work easier. These tools influenced the repertoire decisions of teachers and impacted the canon of educational choral music at an important time in its formation.