Short Courses & Events / Archive

Hormones and female voices: an overview across life span

Wednesday 8th October 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)

The larynx is a sex steroid hormonal target organ. Besides sex-related morphological specificities (e.g., smaller lung volume, vocal folds and vocal tract), the female voice is also particularly affected by variations in concentrations of sex steroid hormones (i.e., oestrogens, progesterone and testosterone), especially during the menstrual cycle and the menopausal transition. In the latter case, the significant depletion in concentrations of sex hormones leads to physical, psychological and neurological symptoms that affect voice and speech. Depending on the severity of these symptoms, female’s quality of life and working ability may be impaired, especially in the case of female professional voice users (FPVUs). However, as menopause corresponds to the onset of biological aging, the extent to which these symptoms are solely related to menopause is difficult to determine.

This seminar provides an overview of how sex steroid hormones affect the morphology and function of the female voice across life span. Special emphasis will be given to menopause and aging and how associated changes may affect respiratory, phonatory and resonatory subsystems of the vocal apparatus and, consequently, voice quality and speech.

🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available

Filipa M.B. Lã

Filipa M.B La (soprano) holds a Ph.D. and Master’s Degree in Music (Singing) and a Licentiate in Biology (Education). The interdisciplinary nature of her background encouraged...

CPD Course Logo

Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.

Learn More

Sorry, this is an archived short course...

We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.

Trauma-Sensitive Voice Professional Certificate with Dr Elisa Monti
Thursday 15th January 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 22nd January 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 29th January 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 5th February 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 12th February 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)

Trauma-Sensitive Voice Professional Certificate with Dr Elisa Monti

Dr Elisa Monti

Updated for 2026, this five-part certificate course is designed to help participants learn the theory and practice of trauma-sensitive approaches. The concepts and activities included are tailored to meet the needs of voice specialists who want to acquire more specific tools to navigate the space with their students and colleagues.

Simultaneous Singing and Dancing in Musical Theatre: A Cross-Disciplinary Evidence Review
Tuesday 17th February 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(London Time)

Simultaneous Singing and Dancing in Musical Theatre: A Cross-Disciplinary Evidence Review

Debbie Winter

This short course invites participants to critically examine the latest cross-disciplinary evidence on the physical and vocal demands of musical theatre performance. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review conducted by Debbie Winter and Claire Thomas (Voice Study Centre, University of Essex), the course explores research from voice science, dance medicine, sports science, and performance pedagogy.

It’s not a virus! Reconceptualizing and De-pathologizing Music Performance Anxiety
Thursday 19th February 2026
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
(London Time)

It’s not a virus! Reconceptualizing and De-pathologizing Music Performance Anxiety

Rebecca Herman

Performance Anxiety is one of the most widespread and debilitating challenges facing musicians across all ages, nationalities and musical genres. Despite decades of research and the development of numerous interventions, we do not yet have an established way of supporting performers experiencing performance anxiety. Aimed at performers, teachers, researchers and students, this presentation will first summarise the current state of play in performance anxiety research, before exploring alternative ways to think about performance anxiety, drawing on new research outside of performance psychology...