Charlene Santoni is a trained opera singer, voice educator, researcher, and clinician. She has a Master’s degree in Singing Voice Pedagogy and a PhD in Music and Health Science with a specialization in voice from The University of Toronto. In 2014, she was awarded The National Association of Teachers of Singing Voice Pedagogy Award.
Charlene’s doctoral research explored ways of influencing oral-nasal balance in speech and singing in typical speakers and speakers with hypernasality. This work earned publication in the Journal of Voice, Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, and The International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. Since completing her PhD, she has authored several chapters on singing- based voice rehabilitation featured in the Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain, and the Handbook of Neurologic Music Therapy (2nd ed.).
Charlene is currently a Neurologic Music Therapy® Allied Professional (NMT-AP) that specializes in voice rehabilitation, as well as an Assistant Faculty Member at The R.F. Unkefer Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy. She also teaches applied voice performance at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON), and at the University of Toronto (Toronto, ON), where she also teaches a course in clinical voice pedagogy and conducts voice research.
Charlene dedicated several years of her life to studying nasality in singing, so loves talking about it! She is also incredibly enthusiastic about singing-inspired voice therapy (Vocal Intonation Therapy, VIT®), and how our pedagogical singing knowledge can support clinical voice outcomes. She has always been wildly ambitious and hopes that by sharing her knowledge with the Voice Study Centre, that she can advance the impact of the VIT® technique for vulnerable populations worldwide: hypernasal, hyponasal and beyond.
Upcoming Short Courses
Tuesday 10th June 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Nasality in singing: a needed ingredient, a technical fault, or both?
Dr Charlene Santoni
Nasality refers to how much sound comes out of your nose when you speak or sing. It is an important concept in resonant singing instruction, and also one that has been privy to long standing debate. Some believe nasality is a needed ingredient in singing, while others consider nasality a technical fault. This presentation will provide three probable explanations for the opposing views, and a way forward. It will also highlight research that explores how a singing technique (voice focus) influences nasality, which may help to refine current rehabilitation strategies for individuals struggling with hyper- or hyponasal speech!
Past Short Courses
Thursday 27th June 2024
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Vocal Intonation Therapy®: the singing-inspired voice therapy technique demystified!
Dr Charlene Santoni
Vocal Intonation Therapy (VIT)® is a singing-inspired voice therapy technique that combines logic from the fields of speech-language pathology, music therapy, and singing voice pedagogy. This presentation will provide a working understanding of VIT®, highlighting relevant research that supports its basic translational procedures, its logic components, and its clinical application.