Excellence, inclusion and intervention in music: navigating contexts and building sustainable working practices for musicians

In this article, we present an overview and summary of the work undertaken by the Music and Social Intervention Network. Exploring the themes of ‘excellence’ and ‘inclusion’, we begin with a consideration of the four articles presented within this special issue and then proceed onto a reflection surrounding wider discussions prevalent at the public events held as part of the project. Following this, we outline five key discourses that emerged through the research process: value, context, measurement, process/product and pedagogy. These fields were then used to identify three underlying issues that affect the way the concepts of excellence and inclusion manifest. After proposing a common understanding of the terms under scrutiny, we suggest that the research points towards a reformation that reads: excellence is the process within community music and inclusion is the product of that process. Reflective questions pertaining to this idea are left open for further discussion.