ABOUT THE BRITISH VOICE ASSOCIATION (BVA)
Summary
Our remit is the encouragement of a healthy voice, vocal skills and communication in such areas as the performing arts, business and industry, medicine and education. The BVA recognises the human voice as an essential element of our communication and well-being. It is devoted to people with voice problems, ranging from severe pathology and cancer to subtle difficulties of artistic performance, all of whom are entitled to the best care available. To that end, the BVA is dedicated to supporting, informing and encouraging members of all professions who work with these individuals. The British Voice Association (BVA) is a registered charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee.
History of the BVA
In the early eighties, the BVA was devised, initially as a study group for individuals who were interested in learning more about the inter-workings of the voice. It was initially established as the Voice Research Society. It quickly became apparent that there was an enormous need for such an organisation and its membership rapidly increased. It became the current Charity, The British Voice Association, in 1991.
Its rooms were initially at Abbey Road and subsequently at the Royal College of Surgeons in Lincoln's Inn Fields in central London.The BVA is now located at 330 Gray's Inn Road also in central London.
PAST BVA PRESIDENTS (since the BVA formally became a Limited Company in 1999):
1999-2000 John Rubin MD FACS FRCS
(Consultant ENT Surgeon)
2000-2001 Rosemarie Morgan-Watson MRCSLT ASC (Voice) Dip. Psych. Couns.
(Specialist Speech & Language Therapist)
2001-2002 Anne-Marie Speed Hon ARAM MA ADVS CSSD BA PG Dip(DSL)
(Professor, Voice & Singing Teacher, Accent & Dialect Coach)
2002-2003 Lesley Mathieson FRCSLT
(Speech & Language Therapist, Visiting Lecturer in Voice Pathology, Honorary Research Adviser)
2003-2004 John Rubin MD FACS FRCS
(Consultant ENT Surgeon)
2004-2005 Ruth Epstein PhD MRCSLT
(Consultant Speech & Language Therapist)
2005-2006 Stephanie Martin PhD FRCSLT MA BA
(Speech & Language Therapist, Lecturer)
2006-2007 Janice Chapman OAM AUA FGSMD
(Singing Teacher, Pedagogue)
2007-2008 Linda Hutchison AGSM
(Vocal Consultant, Singing Teacher)
2008-2009 Sara Harris FRCSLT
(Voice-Specialist Speech & Language Therapist)
2009-2010 Stuart Barr MPhil MA(Cantab) PGAdvDip(RCM) HonARAM
(Musical Director & Singing Coach)
2010-2011 John Rubin MD FACS FRCS
(Consultant ENT Surgeon)
The Future
THE FOUR PILLARS - The BVA predominantly had an educational mission during its first decade of life. It has quite clearly had a positive impact on the level of knowledge of Voice and on interdisciplinary Voice work. The BVA will continue to expand on this mission, and will most likely focus on the following four Pillars:
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Education: this has traditionally been the BVA’s key role for its membership, and it will be continued as such. The education committee, a key subcommittee of the Council of the BVA meets regularly to propose and discuss educational events. We have recently polled our membership as to what they wish to hear, and have responded directly to their wishes. We will most likely continue with the formula of two large educational events, one in the autumn and one in the spring in association with the annual general meeting, and four tightly-focused small events at other times of the year.
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Prevention of vocal disability: This is an important focus, with precedents in European law, and will likely become a major issue for the next decade. This concept, preventing voice disability before it occurs, or preventing worsening of disability, applies to many arenas and fields of endeavour: school teachers, students in classrooms, aerobics teachers, barristers, brokers, administrators, telephone users, actors, singers, etc. Basically, occupational safety is the issue here. The Pan-European Voice Conference in Utrecht in 1999 (PEVOC3) had occupational voice disorders as its theme.
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Communication skills: This is an area that already has many proponents, both inside and outside of the BVA. Improvement of communication skills is crucial for management of almost any organization. The BVA should continue to emphasize this area.
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Research: This is an extremely important area. The population in the UK is currently undergoing marked growth in both extremes of life: there is a ‘baby boom’ and at the same time an ever-increasing life expectancy. Issues such as children’s voices, the role of in-classroom evaluation of vocal problems, the effects of ageing and endocrinological changes on the voice, etc., are each important areas for study and should be supported by the BVA.
