Musical and Cultural Negotiations Within Three Chinese Orchestras in Toronto

Chinese orchestras have been active in Toronto, Canada since at least 1969, but their activity has rarely been documented; as a genre, Chinese orchestras in the diaspora are largely unrepresented in musical scholarship. In addressing this significant gap, my dissertation explores the question: how do Chinese diasporic musicians negotiate internal musical and cultural spaces within their orchestras? It traces the roots and development of Chinese orchestras in Toronto, situating them within discourses of diasporic and transnational histories and development.

Using interviews, questionnaires, participant-observation, and document analysis, I examine three primary topics: music education, repertoire, and musical and cultural interactions. First, I discuss how Chinese instrument education in the GTA, especially for youths and seniors, assists Chinese immigrants in staying linked to their culture and teaches successive generations about their heritage. Chinese instrument education has undergone significant changes over the past seven decades, broadening from “internal” transmission of music knowledge and skills within private lessons, ensembles and orchestras to a broader community engagement. I then analyze the patterns of repertoire among Toronto Chinese orchestras and learn that these orchestras have frequently cooperated and exchanged ideas with musicians and composers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan over the years, and their main target audience is the Chinese communities within the GTA. Finally, I explore the cultural, social and musical interactions that occur within Chinese orchestras. I discover that the identities and self-positioning of Chinese orchestra members are expressed through the choices they make in relation to musical notation, competence, membership, and social interaction. Chinese orchestras serve as a microcosm of society, revealing how Chinese social and cultural practices in the diaspora operate in Toronto’s Chinese communities.

Through a systematic study of three Chinese orchestras in the Greater Toronto Area of Canada, this study explores the rich history of Chinese musical involvement in the region that connects homeland to new Canadian contexts, demonstrating the musical and cultural complexity of engaging Chinese musicians and music in a specific diaspora setting.