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the british voice association

About the Association

Association awards & prizes

 

Fellowship of the British Voice Association

The BVA Council awards honorary lifetime membership to worthy recipients and the ceremonial presentation of this fellowship is made at the Association's Annual General Meeting. Here is the list of recipients of this prestigious award:

 

Fellows of the British Voice Association

John Rubin (2022)

Kristine Carroll-Porczynski (2022)

Sara Harris (2018)

Tom Harris (2015)

Neil Weir (2014)

Janice Chapman (2012)

Prof. Adrian Fourcin (2011)

Ingrid Rugheimer(2010)

 

The Van Lawrence Prize

Van L Lawrence (1928-1990) was an outstanding American otolaryngologist who was known and admired by all those specialising in voice. He was one of a number of generous professionals who supported the early Voice Research Society conferences, often at his own expense. He also allowed us to market his 1987 video "Suggested Criteria for Fibreoptic Diagnosis of Laryngeal Hyperfunction" to help raise money to support the new Society.

To honour his contribution to the voice world in the UK, the BVA has instituted an award in his name to be offered biennially, provided there are sufficient applicants of a suitable standard.

 

Van Lawrence Prize winners

2021
Natalie Watson
"Comparing Aerosol Concentrations and Particle Size Distributions Generated by Singing, Speaking and Breathing at Rest"
Read abstract

 

2018
Anna White
“Factors influencing pre- and post-operative voice therapy”
Read abstract


2016
Miss Abigail Walker, Dr Rachael Craig, Mr Nicholas Gibbins, Mr Tony Aymat, Dr Rehab Awad and Mrs Sara Harris
"Scaling up: revisiting singers’ pathologies"
Presented by: Miss Abigail Walker
Read abstract


2014
Cecilia Pemberston
"Efficiently and cost effectively managing teacher’s voice problems"
Read abstract


2012
Christian T Herbst
"Analyzing the female "middle register" with EGG wavegrams"
Read abstract


2010
Dr Jenevora Williams
"The implications of intensive singing training on the vocal health and development of boy choristers in an English cathedral choir"
Read abstract


2008
Jude Brereton
"The effect of different acoustic environments on singing voice performance"
Read abstract


2006
No prize awarded


2004
Sue Anderson
"The interaction of sensory modalities in the learning and memorisation procedures of professional and student singers"
Read submission


2003
Pauline Meek
"Voice Quality Following Thyroid Surgery"


2002
Jane Ginsborg
"Off by heart: expert singers' memorisation strategies and recall for the words and music of songs"

 

The Gunnar Rugheimer Award

Gunnar Rugheimer (1923-2003) was the individual behind the idea of a British Association dedicated to the subject of Voice. His original proposal resulted in the foundation of the Voice Research Society, which later amalgamated with "Care of the Professional Voice UK" to become The British Voice Association. Gunnar's drive, advice, skills, patience and generosity allowed the British Voice Association to flourish, becoming first a charity and then a charitable limited company. Gunnar was a strong and inspiring personality, full of ideas and with the energy to realise them, a consummate negotiator. He brought all of these extraordinary qualities to bear in his work for the BVA. He was also a major driving force behind the first Pan European Voice Conference (PEVoC) becoming its first Secretary-General.

Gunnar had a lifetime's commitment to communication, working first as a journalist and later in broadcasting where he helped shape the course of broadcasting history in Canada, Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia. To honour his name and his unique contribution to the British Voice Association the Association has established the Gunnar Rugheimer Lecture. The lectures take place bi-annually and are given by invited speakers eminent in the world of voice. We hope they will continue to reflect Gunnar's spirit, his enthusiasm and passion for voice and communication.

 

Gunnar Rugheimer lectures

2019
Jean Abitbol (ENT Surgeon, Paris)
The Female Voice and the Effects of Hormones

 

2017
Mel Churcher (Freelance Director/Actor/Writer. Acting & Voice coach for film and theatre)
"Voice: The Cinderella of the Film Industry"

 

2015
Professor Graham Welch (Chair of Music Education, UCL Institute of Education)
"The Emergence of Singer Identity in Childhood"

 

2013
Professor David Howard (Head of Dept of Electronics, University of York)
"The singing voice in performance – the shape of the vocal tract and its acoustics"

 

2011
Professor Paul Carding (Professor of Speech & Voice Pathology, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne)
"More Questions Than Answers - Current Controversies in the Management of Voice Disorders"

 

2009
Dr Evelyn Abberton
(Phonetician and Speech Language Therapist, London University)
"Don't Look at Me with That Tone of Voice!"

 

2007
Professor Bill Hardcastle (Director of the Speech Science, Queen Margaret's University, Edinburgh)
"Imaging the Tongue and other Articulators in Normal and Disordered Speech"

 

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