Musical dialogues: Narrative explorations of Buber's ideas of 'Meeting' and 'Living Center' within the creative musical collaborations of a professional singing group and a children's after-school music program

A major influence in the contemporary understanding of dialogue has been Martin Buber’s seminal book I and Thou, first published in 1923. In this book Buber points to a relational approach in our interactions with others, with nature and with God. In my own daily interactions I have noticed the profound effects of dialogue, particularly in educational and musical contexts. Musical interactions can be viewed as dialogical, with some of the most meaningful encounters (meetings) occurring with a common understanding of music as living center. That music can be seen as the living center, and that we can find dialogical meeting through music is something that is supported by Buber’s philosophy. In exploring moments of meeting and mismeeting, an understanding of how the dialogical values of listening and voicing are realized in musical contexts, and an understanding of the limitless possibilities of dialogue, may be revealed. In this thesis I inquire into the meaning of Buber’s ideas of meeting and living center, and seek to understand how these key concepts can be realized in music making environments.