Debbie Winter

Debbie Winter is the Director of the Voice Study Centre, where she oversees university partnerships, course creation, course design, and staff training. As the driving force behind the Voice Study Centre, her vision and passion for accessible learning have significantly shaped its success. She specialises in practitioner research methodologies, academic skills building, and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals on topics such as Methodology, Online Learning, and Music Performance Anxiety. Debbie holds an LLB (Hons) and an MA. Prior to her current role, she lectured in Law and performed professionally in the jazz scene. Recognizing a gap in high-quality training and certification opportunities, she transitioned to a career as a vocal coach, leading to the establishment of the Voice Study Centre.

In collaboration with Cardiff Metropolitan University and leading pedagogues, Debbie developed a unique training pathway in Professional Practice and Vocal Pedagogy. Subsequently, Voice Study centre offered a full Master's course in collaboration with University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) and is very proud of those 160+ students that have undertaken the programme. She has now also successfully elevated the Voice Study Centre to the status of an Associate College at the University of Essex.

Debbie has mentored and examined postgraduate students, recruited lecturing staff, designed and modified syllabi, lectured in qualitative research methods, and managed student projects. She was nominated for the Student-Led Teaching Fellowship awards at Cardiff Metropolitan University, making her the only external provider to receive such recognition. The programme was also shortlisted for the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence ‘Outstanding Music Educational Product’ in 2019. Additionally, Debbie founded the popular Facebook group Voice Geek, which boasts 6.7k+ members and serves as a platform for sharing and discussing new voice research. The Voice Geek conferences have provided a stage for new researchers to present alongside leading pedagogues. During the first pandemic lockdown, the Voice Geek Conference successfully transitioned online, raising £3,000 for Help Musicians.

Debbie is currently in the final stages of her PhD, further solidifying her expertise and commitment to the field of voice pedagogy. Her publications include:

Sole Author

• Winter, D. (2020). ‘Voicing a Practitioner Research Methodology: Further Framing the Conversation’, *Voice and Speech Review*, 14(1), pp. 45-60.
• Winter, D. (2022). ‘Exploring the Narrative: Voice Practitioner Research and the Literature Review Process’, *Voice and Speech Review*, 16(2), pp. 123-138.

Joint Authorship:

• Paul, A.E., Juncos, D.G., & Winter,D. (2024). ‘Acceptance and Commitment Coaching for Music Performance Anxiety in Adolescent Singers’, *Frontiers in Psychology*, 15, pp. 1-15.
• Shaw, T.A., Juncos, D.G., & Winter, D. (2020). ‘Piloting a New Model for Treating Music Performance Anxiety: Training a Singing Teacher to Use Acceptance and Commitment Coaching With a Student’, *Frontiers in Psychology*, 11, pp. 1-12.
• Mahony, S.E., Juncos, D.G., & Winter, D. (2022). ‘Acceptance and Commitment Coaching for Music Performance Anxiety: Piloting a 6-Week Group Course With Undergraduate Dance and Musical Theatre Students’, *Frontiers in Psychology*, 13, pp. 1-14. Conference Proceedings
• Kutsal, G., Winter, D., & Juncos, D. (2024). 'Acoustic spectrogram for evaluating the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) as a music performance anxiety management method in professional singers', *Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics*, Vol. 46, Pt. 2.

In Press:

Flynn, A., Price, K., and Winter D (2025) ‘Online Teaching of Voice Pedagogy’ in Welch, G.F., Howard, D.M. and Nix, J. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Singing. Oxford: Oxford University Press

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4870-2448