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Hard Talk: When Speech is Difficult
Hard Talk: When Speech is Difficult Jonathan Cole 256 pps, MIT Press, May 2025 ISBN-10: 0262049562 ISBN-13: 978-0262049566 The effortless ability to comment, quip and contribute to a conversation is something we generally take for granted. Imagine if this were to become a struggle due to a poorly functioning voice, effortful articulation, or…
Read MoreAspects of the Vocal Package
Aspects of the Vocal Package Alison Mary Sutton Illustrations by Meg Pike 144 pps, published independently, November 2025 ISBN-13: 979-8271377358 Available from Amazon: Aspects of the Vocal Package by Alison Mary Sutton forms part of a wider series and reflects the breadth of her experience as a singer, teacher and clinician. What I particularly appreciated…
Read MoreVan Lawrence Prize Winner 2026
JUST ANNOUNCED! Jenna Brown is the winner of the Van Lawrence Prize 2026 for her research and presentation: Female Voices After Laryngectomy: Vulnerability, stigma and psychosocial impact. She is a UKRI-ESRC funded doctoral researcher at the UCL Institute of Education. Her research unites rigorous qualitative and mixed-methods inquiry with innovative pedagogy and practice. As a voice…
Read MoreBVA Research Forum January 2026
Saturday 24 January 2026 – Online 10.30 -17.00 GMT The new year launches the first British Voice Association Research Forum. This online event includes both the prestigious Gunnar Rugheimer Lecture (given by Professor Kittie Verdolini Abbott) and presentations from the four Van Lawrence Prize finalists. Multidisciplinary voice is the theme of the day with the…
Read MoreLooking After Children’s Voices – by Jenevora Williams
Looking After Children’s Voices Jenevora Williams is an international authority on children’s voice and teaching singing. She was the first singing teacher in the UK to be awarded a PhD in voice science and won the BVA Van Lawrence Prize in 2010. Her book Teaching Singing to Children and Young Adults is now in its 3rd (updated)…
Read More“Air-Writing” Alternative Communication Project
“Air-Writing” Alternative Communication Project Sam Gray I’m a Master’s student of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, and spending my last year designing and developing a wearable device to enable a new method of communication: “Air-Writing”- scrawling words in the air with your finger. The device will use a camera to track your finger, read…
Read MoreVisual Imagery in Vocal Pedagogy
Visual Imagery in vocal pedagogy Tanya Holt Are you a singing teacher? I’m conducting research on how singing teachers use imagery in training, and your insights would add untold value. While there is some valuable research in this area, there is little evidence drawn directly from the teaching community. If you have approaches you’re willing…
Read MoreThe Multi-Genre Singing Teacher – Event Review
BVA Training Day – Saturday 26 July 2025 The Multi-Genre Singing Teacher: What tools do we need? Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher, Lucinda Allen, Jo Walling Mountview Theatre School, London SE15 5JT Opportunities to watch Dr Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher at work are always worth taking. Fisher and Kayes are renowned in the UK…
Read MoreThe Heart of the Breath – Vocal Health and Rehabilitation
The Heart of the Breath – Vocal Health and Rehabilitation: Clinical Pathways and Practical Applications Series Alison Mary Sutton 142 pps, Illustrations by Meg Pike, Compton Publishing, 2023 ISBN 978-1-909082-67-0 Available from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heart-Breath-Vocal-Health-Rehabilitation/dp/1909082678 The first two titles deal with complaints that present frequently in voice clinics, and which will also be familiar to many…
Read MorePresident’s Day Event – Words, Words, Words
EVENT REVIEW BVA President’s Day – 6 September 2025 For one day I joined 30+ other voice-geeks with the British Voice Association at my old haunt, the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, for a Conference called “Words, Words, Words – Voice, body and text in performance”. Why did this theme resonate? Because in…
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