Presenter Profile
Lucy Pool
Lucy Poole is currently completing a PhD in Music Education at University College, London. Her primary supervisor is Prof. Graham Welch. Lucy’s field of research is the changing voices of adolescent girls, and she is particularly interested in the impact of voice change on the singing experiences of professional cathedral choristers. Lucy works full-time as Director of Music at Thomas’s Kensington, and sings with several London-based chamber and church choirs.
Perceptions of the changing adolescent female singing voice
This study focuses on the development and transformation of singing voices as experienced by female adolescents, particularly those who are cathedral choristers and of equivalent standard. Research evidence was drawn primarily from interviews with 25 participants who varied widely in age and chorister experience. Data analyses focused on significant life experiences concerning perceived changes in participants’ singing voices, acknowledging that these experiences also had an impact on participants’ self-identity. Implications for vocal pedagogy across settings (including for the role of cathedral music departments) are drawn in the nurturing of healthy and continued vocal development, and a positive musical identity for female adolescent singers during and beyond their years as choristers.