The Harana Singers of Nova Scotia: Transnationalism, cultural identity, and collective music-making in a Filipino choir

Abstract

The Harana Singers of Nova Scotia is a choir of mostly Filipinos, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Many studies have been conducted on Filipino migration and occupation (Gardiner Barber, 2008; Reyes, 2005), but little research has been done on other aspects of the lived experiences of Filipino-Canadians due to Filipinos being paradoxically both hypervisible and invisible in academic research (Coloma et al., 2012). As such, I explore the question of what it means to be in the Harana Singers and investigate the relationship between transnationalism, cultural identity, and collective music-making, hoping to make the invisible visible. Through a qualitative analysis of participant observation and eight semi-structured interviews with members of the Harana Singers, varying in age, gender, and musical experience, this study finds that despite their differences, members of the Harana Singers come together to learn, sing, and perform to share their music with the broader Canadian community. It finds that the choir stays together by providing its members individual benefits such as socialization, cultural enrichment, and the intrinsic value of learning, while also producing a collective sense of purpose and responsibility to share Filipino culture through music.