Brian Kremer, assistant professor of music theatre, presented "The Singing Teacher's Guide to Transgender Voices" at the 47th Annual Voice Foundation Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice in Philadelphia.
Brian Kremer, assistant professor of music theatre, along with his research partner, Liz Jackson Hearns of The Voice Lab in Chicago, presented their research, “The Singing Teacher’s Guide to Transgender Voices,” at the 47th Annual Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia. From May 31 through June 4, the symposium featured advanced programming presented by leading professionals in the voice care field including surgeons, scientists, speech language pathologists, voice teachers and performing artists. The Voice Foundation says that the symposium is attended by representatives from about 35 states and 30 countries.
With “The Singing Teacher’s Guide to Transgender Voices,” Kremer and Jackson hope to aid in the development of a successful vocal pedagogy for the training of transgender singers, help the academic community understand the needs of transgender students as it pertains to vocal training and engage the education community in a broader discussion on the presence of transgender students in classes and how this will affect teaching, curriculum and classroom environment.
The symposium presentation address the differences necessary for training transgender and gender nonconforming singers. This included discussion about singing training through medical transition and hormone treatment when applicable, the importance of creating a trans-affirming voice studio, the correct use of transgender-specific terminology and the appropriate use of pronouns and names, how to take a student history, and how to identify voice type and repertoire selection. The presentation also featured a panel of transgender identified singers who performed for the attendees and participated in a panel discussion.