Sing Stronger for Longer

Working with the mature voice requires a holistic understanding of vocal change and its impacts on health and wellbeing. This event presents a comprehensive overview of tips and techniques for working with the older voice supported by the latest evidence-based research, pedagogical practice and clinical experience. Our expert presenters are: Professor Stephen Clift, Dr Filipa Lã, and Rebecca Moseley-Morgan.

Specialist mature voice singing teacher and researcher, Rebecca Moseley-Morgan, starts the study day with an overview of how age-related changes impact the voice and how to mitigate them. In the afternoon she will conduct a masterclass with four mature singers, demonstrating her top tips for overcoming age-related changes to the voice.

Professor Stephen Clift’s presentation ‘Singing, wellbeing and health: The need for robust critique in evidence reviews’ will give advice on singing, wellbeing, and health, with a cautionary message of taking care to examine all the evidence one receives.

Our keynote speaker and Researcher at the Faculty of Education of the National Distance Education University (UNED), in Madrid, Dr. Filipa Lã, will give a presentation: 1) ‘Menopause: a friend or a threat’; and 2) a workshop: ‘Real-time visual feedback of phonatory airflow with a semi-occluded vocal tract’ on using a flowball to improve respiratory function

No lunch will be provided for this event.

9.30 Registration

10.00 Introduction and housekeeping

What are the age-related changes which affect the voice and how to mitigate them? Rebecca Moseley-Morgan

10.30 ‘Singing, wellbeing and health: The need for robust critique in evidence reviews’ Professor Stephen Clift

11.30 Break

11.45 Menopause: a friend or a threat Dr Filipa Lã

12.45 Lunch (There are outlets nearby for lunch or you may stay in the venue and eat your own food)

13.45 ‘Sing stronger for longer’ masterclass with four mature singers Rebecca Moseley-Morgan

15.15 Break

15.30 Workshop: Real-time visual feedback of phonatory airflow with a semi-occluded vocal tract

Dr Filipa Lã

16.30 Final Q&A

17.00 CLOSE

Rebecca Moseley-Morgan is a former professional opera singer turned musicologist and researcher, and Chair of the BVA Education Working party. She has worked with the older voice for over 30 years and her PhD thesis has revealed some fascinating results on optimum ways to teach the older singer and the enormous health benefits that can be gained from maintaining the functionality of the voice from midlife and beyond. Rebecca is also involved in research on vibrational therapy for vocal fatigue and on old and new approaches to breath management. Her book, a teaching method for the mature, is due to be published next year. In addition to her busy voice studio in Oxford, she gives workshops throughout the UK on the functionality of the voice and voice science, tips and techniques for choral singers, maintaining the mature voice and breathing.

Stephen Clift, BA, PhD is Professor Emeritus, Canterbury Christ Church University, and former Director of the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health. He is a Visiting Professor in the International Centre for Community Music, York St John University and the School of Music, University of Leeds. Stephen has worked in the field of health promotion and public health for over thirty years, and has made contributions to research, practice and training on HIV/AIDS prevention and sex education, international travel and health, and the health promoting school in Europe. Since 2000 he has pursued research in arts and heath and particularly the potential value of group singing for health and wellbeing. Stephen was one of the founding editors of Arts & Health: An international journal for research, policy and practice. He is joint editor with Professor Paul Camic of the Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health and Wellbeing. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5442-267X

Filipa M.B Lã (soprano) holds a Ph.D. and Master’s Degree in Music (Singing), University of Sheffield, and a Licentiate in Biology (Education), Coimbra University, Portugal. The interdisciplinary nature of her background encouraged her to pursue research in voice-related gender studies and health education, focussing on singers and technological interfaces to optimise music performance. Currently, she is senior researcher and teacher the National Distance Education University (UNED), in Madrid, Spain. She lead a research project on the Effects of Menopause on the Voice of Professional Voice Users and is director of a distance learning course on Pedagogy and Technology of Voice and Singing (delivered in English, Spanish and Portuguese). Dr Lã is Associate Editor of Logopaedics Phoniatrics Vocology, and permanent member of scientific committees of PEVOC, Voice Science Advisory Committee of NATS and CoMeT. She has received several national and international awards, including The Hamdan International Award (Voice Foundation, 2020), The Van Lawrence Award (NATS, 2015). She has been invited to deliver courses to singing teachers and speech and language therapists in Germany, Spain, USA, Finland, France, Portugal, Sweden and UK.

In the event an applicant cancels their place at a BVA course or conference, they are entitled to the following refund

4 weeks or more = 90% refund Between 4 -1 weeks = 25% refund

From 1 week to the day of event = no refund (under any circumstances, including illness)

Should the BVA cancel a course, a full refund will be offered.

Event Venue

St Bride Foundation, 14 Bride Lane, London, United Kingdom