Conference Program

This paper analyzes the "Self-Managed Orchestra" project, developed within my school’s Music Department following the introduction of Civic Education as a cross-curricular subject (Law no. 92, August 20, 2019). This regulation mandates that the subject should not be restricted to a single discipline but should emerge from the synergy of the entire Class Council through shared competence goals. Moving beyond a purely content-based perspective—which often reduces Civic Education to the study of symbols or celebratory texts—this project distances itself from a notionistic approach. Instead, it embraces the spirit of the 2018 National Guidelines and New Scenarios, which promote "Arts for Citizenship" as tools for fostering active and aware citizens. The teaching unit enables third-year students (Grade 8) to experience firsthand the weight of individual and collective responsibility. The methodological approach is based on the deconstruction of the vertical hierarchy typical of traditional orchestras, placing all operational decisions in the hands of the students to perform a collective piece within a set timeframe. This model draws on Christopher Small’s concept of "Musicking," which defines music not as an object but as a relational and social action capable of shaping interactions between individuals. Through process observation, this study documents critical phases of negotiation:

• Repertoire Selection: Students mediate between identity-based tastes and technical feasibility, transforming the choice into a democratic act.
• Peer Tutoring: The establishment of "section leaders" redefines group dynamics, promoting informal learning and exposing—in a rare way—the "underground life of the classroom" (Benadusi, 2012).
• Collective Arrangement: Participatory composition redefines the "cultural product" as a synthesis of the group’s demands, turning musical practice into an exercise in micro-politics (Laes et al., 2025).

Through participant observation, musical practice is reinterpreted as a space of resistance against the pressures of evaluative standardization. It promotes a socio-historical understanding of music-making as an act of democratic co-creation and an awakening of power dynamics. Ultimately, the Self-Managed Orchestra addresses the challenge of forming citizens capable of critically inhabiting conflict.