Meet Our Students: Jo Warren

Jo Warren is a freelance community musician and singing group leader (and royalties consultant – very different!) who began her MA Voice Pedagogy studies with the Voice Study Centre in October 2023.

Jo had previously worked as Royalties Director for a literary agency (only pursuing musical interests such as songwriting and playing keys/singing in bands in her spare time) before everything changed in 2018 when she started volunteering as a music assistant at Share Community, a non-profit organisation that supports adults with learning disabilities, autism and mental health needs.

Since this point, Jo has been very passionate about facilitating access to music and singing, particularly for people that might not otherwise be able to access it due to the additional challenges they face. Her experience of facilitating sessions to date has been with adults (1-2-1 and groups), both in-person and online.

Jo has been freelancing with Chiltern Music Therapy since September 2018 and has had the opportunity to work with people with dementia, learning disabilities, autism, acquired brain injury and mental health needs. She also works with Sing Your Pain Away, whose group singing classes are designed to promote singing for wellbeing, health and fun. Ever committed to furthering her knowledge of the field, Jo is pleased to have recently passed the ITOL-accredited 'Singing for Health Practitioner: An Evidence-Based Perspective’ course delivered by Professor Stephen Clift at the end of last year, describing it as “insightful and thought-provoking”.

Jo found the Voice Study Centre through searching online for courses to help further inform her practice and was initially drawn in by good reviews and the opportunity to start her Voice Pedagogy pathway by undertaking the Foundation Course before the MA. It is early days, but Jo is excited to see where her MA research journey will take her. “The idea of a flexible pathway, particularly around singing for health, was very appealing. I’m looking forward to learning and researching areas of voice that are interesting to me and applying that to my practice”, she notes.

Looking ahead, Jo is keeping an open mind but hopes to continue and expand her work with people facing additional challenges in life. Despite her busy schedule, Jo tries to play keys, sing and write when she can, and is also a member of an acoustic trio called Luna Sees – keep an eye out for their debut album this year!