Music Making and Civic Imagination

In a world facing multiple existentialcrises, music might be seen as little morethan a distraction. However, in thissynthesis of ideas developed over adecade, a timely re-appraisal of thepotential of musicing for humanflourishing is presented, emphasising itsrole in the history of human evolutionalongside its potential as a resource forsustainable development. A holistic philosophy of music is outlinedwhich recognises the complex web ofmeaning which spreads acrosscomplementary musical dimensions ofperformance and participation, whilstemphasising the 'paramusical' benefitswhich arise from both. Highlighting thenotion that the social bonds which arisefrom musicing share much of theneurobiological underpinnings ofattachment and love, musicing ispresented as a resource with the potentialfor facilitating ethical human connection. The humanistic values which are therebymaterialised during musicing - love,reciprocity and justice - form theexperiential grounds for inhabitingalternative social realities.The book addresses how such a holisticphilosophy of music might beimplemented in practice, drawing on theauthor's professional praxis as aperformer, educator, community musician,composer and researcher, in particulartheir experience of musician education atSage Gateshead, Royal College of Musicand Trinity-Laban Conservatoire in theUK.