Voice Study Centre Online Symposium 2025
Wednesday 26th November 2025, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM (London Time)
Welcome to The Athletic Artist: Physical and Vocal Demands in Musical Theatre, a symposium dedicated to bridging the gap between artistic training and athletic conditioning for performers.
Musical Theatre performers are athletes balancing the demands of singing, dancing and acting. The purpose of this symposium is to ask important questions, share research and disseminate good practice. It is an opportunity for researchers and industry experts to come together as a hive mind to stimulate further research and work collaboratively as a network.
Schedule
5:00 pm (GMT) Welcome and Introduction, followed by:
| Time | Session Title |
|---|---|
5:05 pm |
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Amanda Flynn |
5:55 pm |
Simultaneous Singing and Dancing: A Cross-Disciplinary Review with Debbie Winter |
6:05 pm |
The Additional Demands on the Musical Theatre Performer and Potential Links to Increased Laryngeal Tension: A Rapid Review with Dr Claire Thomas |
6:20 pm |
Interactive Workshop: Excavating Emotionally Engaged Performance. What is the physical and mental toll for Musical Theatre singers? With Louisa Morgan |
6:50 pm |
The Vocal Athlete: A Literature Review of Physiological Resilience to Performance Adrenaline in Professional Singers with Dan Cassin |
7:00 pm |
Cross Training and Conditioning for Musical Theatre Performers: A Theoretical Framework with Jennifer Myers |
7:10 pm |
Psychological and emotional well-being of undergraduate theatre artists in Nigerian HEIs with Abimbola Adetola Stephen-Adesina |
7:20 pm |
Singing as a triple threat: A qualitative study of professional, semi-professional, and vocational trainee performers’ experiences of singing while simultaneously performing the three musical theatre disciplines of singing, acting, and dancing with Christine Descher. |
7:30 pm |
Integrating acting through song and extreme singing techniques for sustainable performance with Kaya Herstead–Carney |
|
|
Finding Wonderland: A case study of the teacher as coach in supporting undergraduate musical theatre students in an industry-facing production of Wildhorn's Wonderland with Racheal Owens and Frances Williams |
7:50 pm |
Vocal Health Practice for Musical Theatre Students with Catherine Kimmance |
8:00 pm |
Voice as Gesture and Experience: Two Performative Paradigms in Contemporary Musical Theatre with Anca Markos |
8:10 pm |
Technique You Can See with Jeremy Ryan Mossman |
8:20 pm |
And All That Jazz: How professional musical theatre performers experience and manage vocal challenges when executing Fosse choreography, and how these insights inform more integrated and sustainable voice and movement pedagogy in training institutions: A Practice-led investigation with Cathrine Hopkins |
8:30 pm |
Round Table DiscussionExpert Panel: Mary Saunders Barton, Besfort Williams and Scott Harrison.
|
The full symposium will be recorded for catch-up at a later date if you cannot attend live.
View the full programme:
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.
Tuesday 18th August 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 25th August 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 1st September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 8th September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 15th September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 22nd September 2026
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Musical Theatre Vocal Pedagogy Certificate
Kevin Wilson
Join Kevin Wilson for this six-part certificated course, offering an in‑depth, practical exploration of contemporary voice teaching for musical theatre. Across six focused classes, participants develop a systematic approach to vocal technique, diagnosis, and repertoire selection that reflects the stylistic, physical, and emotional demands of the genre. The curriculum integrates vocal science, embodied voice work, registration theory, and stylistic awareness across the five major sub‑genres of musical theatre.
Thursday 20th August 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
AI Assisted Voice Training and Business Development
John Henny
Join John Henny as he builds on the foundations of AI for voice educators by focusing on practical applications for running and growing a teaching studio. Designed specifically for voice teachers, the session shows how AI can support studio operations, content creation, research, and business development, with one foundational skill at its core: training AI in your own teaching voice, pedagogy, and communication style.
Wednesday 26th August 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Vocal Tract and Singing: A Research Overview!
Dr Brad Story
Fine control of the vocal tract shape is important for producing acoustic characteristics that may be targeted in singing. Join Dr Brad Story as he focuses on how the vocal tract shape can be tuned (i.e. modified) in both large and subtle ways to enhance the signal radiated from a singer to an audience. The session will include the vocal tract shape contributions to the ‘singing formant’, enhancement of vibrato, and harmonic/formant alignment.