Weekly ’84 Receives 2021 Van Lawrence Fellowship Award
Auxiliary Adjunct Associate Professor of Voice and Co-Founder of the CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute Edrie Means Weekly ’84, M.M., was awarded the 2021 Van Lawrence Fellowship Award. As the highest honor given to a voice teacher engaged in voice research, the award is jointly presented by The Voice Foundation and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Foundation.
“This award has been presented to so many of the voice researchers and pedagogues I have greatly admired throughout the years, to include my own amazing voice teacher, friend and mentor Professor Emerita of Voice Janette Ogg, D.M.” said Weekly. “On a personal note, Dr. Van Lawrence, for which the award was named, was my otolaryngologist while I lived in Houston and sang with the Houston Grand Opera!”
The award includes a one-year fellowship where Weekly will plan to research the impact of COVID-19 on breath stamina and compensatory tensions in singers.
“It is a recognized fact COVID-19 is affecting lung function, which plays an important part in functional singing and this can significantly impact a singer’s career,” continued Weekly. “Singers are reporting overall vocal weakness, loss of breath stamina and presence of compensatory muscle tension. I would like to explore the underlying physical parameters of professional musical theatre singers post-COVID-19 to see what their current respiratory stamina and muscle tension presents and how or if it changes over time with a protocol to follow.”
Weekly will also present at The Voice Foundation’s virtual 50th Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice in June. Her workshop session, “Restoring Balance Post Heavy Voice Load: Vocal Cool Down,” will be presented virtually on Friday, June 4, 2021.
Visit www.voicefoundation.org to learn more.
About the Award
The Van L. Lawrence Fellowship was created 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. It is awarded jointly by The Voice Foundation and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Foundation. The fellowship winner will be provided with the opportunity to attend the annual Symposium on Care of the Professional Voice and visit laryngologists, speech pathologists, voice scientists and research centers associated with The Voice Foundation during the fellowship year, with resulting research to be considered for expedited publication in the Journal of Voice or Journal of Singing. The fellowship winners are members of NATS who are actively engaged in teaching, have demonstrated excellence in their profession as singing teachers, and have shown interest in and knowledge of voice science. The fellowship and $2,000 award are 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.
Description courtesy of The Voice Foundation
