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York World Voice Day explores the science of singing

Posted on 10 April 2015

The University of York will mark World Voice Day with a talk on the science of singing on Thursday 16 April.

A lecture from Dr Helena Daffern, Director of the York Centre for Singing Science, and Robert Hollingworth, Director of solo voice ensemble I Fagiolini, will accompany singing demonstrations and performances from York students.

World Voice Day is an annual global event designed to celebrate the incredible phenomenon, emotion and power of the voice, demonstrating its importance for communication in our daily lives.

The interactive lecture and performance will explore the scientific principles behind singing, including the basic physiology of the voice, and illustrate singing techniques used by different types of singers, from folk to opera.

Dr Daffern, UK National Representative for World Voice Day and Lecturer at York’s Department of Electronics, said: “Using modern technology and theoretical scientific principles, we will illustrate the huge potential of the human singing voice. Demonstrating different singing techniques and how they are produced, we will answer questions such as: How does the voice actually work? Are some people built to sing well and others badly? Why do some people have higher voices than others? What does training do to your voice?

“Modern technology and live singing performances will be used to illustrate the science behind the different techniques that are used by classical singers.” 

The Science of Singing will take place from 7 – 8pm on 16 April at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York. Tickets are free and can be booked at: www.worldvoicedayyork.eventbrite.co.uk.

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