Meyer Delivers Keynote Lecture and Guest Solo Performance in Salzburg, Austria

Director of the Janette Ogg Voice Research Center and Associate Professor of Voice (Baritone) and Voice Pedagogy David Meyer, D.M., delivered a keynote talk, “Breathing Strategies for Singing: Diagnosing and Addressing Respiratory Hyperfunction,” to the 2023 International Voice Symposium in Salzburg, Austria. The lecture addressed how performers may overuse the breath in singing, specifically in hyperpnea, hyperventilation, and hyper-pressurization. Over-breathing is little addressed in the voice science literature and may be as problematic to the performer as respiratory hypofunction (underusing the breath).

Following the symposium, Dr. Meyer performed excerpts from Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elijah” in the Dom zu Salzburg on Sunday, Aug. 20. This cathedral was previously home to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Heinrich Biber and many other notable composers. It is one of Europe’s most important centers for sacred music.

Meyer is an active performer, pedagogue and voice scientist. During the 2022–2023 academic year, he co-authored eight peer-reviewed publications in three journals. Meyer serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Voice and the Australian Voice Journal, and is an associate editor of the Journal of Singing. Visit www.davidmeyerbaritone.com or tinyurl.com/Meyer-Google Scholar to learn more.