2024 Fellowship Awardee,
Ana Flavia Zuim, PhD

The primary purpose of Ana Flavia’s research proposal is to explore thresholds of safe vocal dosing via dosimetry and singers’ perception of vocal fatigue via the EASE score. Data will be pursued by creating a catalog of vocal doses, from song and dialogue, of individual Broadway roles as sung by Broadway professionals. The secondary purpose is to conduct an analysis of the acoustical strategies utilized by the singers during key moments of heavy vocal intensity. This would/will inform how acoustical strategies impact the overall vocal dose. Having published two papers in dosimetry in recent years alongside Dr. Celia Stewart and Dr. Ingo Titze, this subsequent investigation will allow them to continue exploring this field more in depth. These data can serve as a baseline for the distance dose required for each role, which alongside self reported measures of vocal fatigue can prove helpful in generating energy-dissipation-dose (EDD: calculated from amplitude, frequency, and duration) aiming to establish recommended singing thresholds for performers.

The Voice Foundation and NATS Foundation present the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship

The Van Lawrence Fellowship Award is given jointly by the National Association of Teachers of Singing Foundation
(NATS Foundation) and The Voice Foundation. Application submission deadline November 15^th, 2024.

The fellowship was created by The Voice Foundation and the NATS Foundation to honor Van L. Lawrence, M.D., for his outstanding contribution to voice, and particularly to recognize the importance of the interdisciplinary education he fostered among laryngologists and singing teachers.

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates for the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship must be members of National Association of Teachers of Singing and actively engaged in teaching. The Fellowship will be awarded to candidates who have demonstrated excellence in their professions as singing teachers, and who have shown interest in, and knowledge of, voice science. The Fellowship is intended to provide opportunities for the Fellow to become more thoroughly acquainted with practices, techniques, technology, and people involved in laryngology and voice science. It is hoped that the opportunities and contacts provided through the Fellowship experience will enhance the teacher’s ability to do meaningful interdisciplinary research, and will encourage the teacher to apply appropriate voice science advances in the studio.

Award Amount

The amount of the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship award is determined annually by The Voice Foundation and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS Foundation) . In recent years it has been $2,000.  The funds are to be used to defray expenses for the Fellowship winner to attend the annual Symposium on Care of the Professional Voice (tuition shall be waived). Following the Symposium, the Fellow will be provided with the opportunity to visit laryngologists, speech pathologists, voice scientists, and research centers associated with The Voice Foundation during the fellowship year. Specific locations and durations of stay will be arranged in accordance with the Fellow’s interests and needs and the availability of the centers to be visited.

Following completion of the Fellowship experience, it is anticipated that the Fellow will have opportunities to consult with the scientists he or she has visited, and to apply his or her newly acquired knowledge in designing and executing a research project to help advance the field of voice teaching. The Voice Foundation will help provide review of the resulting paper and counseling regarding its improvement. When appropriate, the paper will be considered for expedited publication in the Journal of Voice or Journal of Singing.

Selection Process

The Van L. Lawrence Fellowship shall be awarded by the Board of Directors of The Voice Foundation and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS Foundation) . The Fellowship Committee shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Board of The Voice Foundation and the President of National Association of Teachers of Singing Foundation and shall include at least one representative from the Board of Directors of The Voice Foundation and one representative from National Association of Teachers of Singing. Additional members shall be appointed at the discretion of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Voice Foundation and the President of National Association of Teachers of Singing Foundation.

Application

Members of NATS wishing to apply for the fellowship should write a letter of intent to The Voice Foundation along with your CV – combined into one PDF. Include the area and methods of your proposed study plan.

The Voice Foundation
219 N. Broad St. – Philadelphia, PA 19107
Telephone: (215)735-7999 Fax (215) 762-5572
E-mail: office@voicefoundation.org

The letter should include the following topics (as well as others which the applicant believes will strengthen his/her application, but please be as succinct as possible): All in one PDF:

(a) Current application of scientific knowledge in the studio
(b) The area of intended study and/or research project and the study plan and methods.
(c) How the Fellowship and research project will benefit your teaching
(d) NATS Chapter to which you belong
(e) A detailed curriculum vita.

The fellowship will be awarded at the next Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, scheduled for May 28 – June 1, 2025 in Philadelphia, PA. The award presentation will take place on Friday, May 30, 2025.

The application deadline for the following year is November 15th, 2024.

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact The Voice Foundation. E-mail: office@voicefoundation.org

Past Fellowship Recipients

• 2024 – Ana Flavia Zuim
• 2023 – Christian Herbst
• 2022 – Ian Howell
• 2021 – Edrie Means Weekly
• 2020 – Angelika Nair
• 2019 – Amanda Flynn
• 2018 – Amelia Rollings (Richard Lissemore, Honorable Mention)
• 2017 – Matthew Schloneger, Matthew Edwards
• 2016 – Matthew Hoch
• 2015 – Filipa Martins Baptista Lã
• 2014 – Katherine Osborne
• 2013 – Bonnie Draina
• 2012 – Kari Ragan
• 2011 – Brian Gill
• 2010 – David Meyer
• 2009 – Donald Bell
• 2008 – Margaret Baroody
• 2007 – Kathryn Barnes-Burroughs
• 2006 – John Nix
• 2005 – Lynn Helding
• 2003 – Katherine Eberle, Norman Spivey
• 2002 – Jan Prokop
• 2001 – Meribeth Bunch
• 2000- Brenda Smith
• 1999 – Stephen Austin, Jeannette Lo Vetri
• 1998 – Kathleen Wilson, Marvin Keenze
• 1997 – Freda Herseth
• 1996 – Ruth Golden
• 1995 – Sue W. Snyder, Thomas Houser
• 1994 – Kenneth Bozeman, Janette Ogg
• 1993 – Karen Peeler, Lynelle F. Wiens
• 1992 – Raquel Cortina
• 1991 – Lois Yadeau