The Performer’s Voice Online aims to stimulate discussion, develop ideas, and disseminate research on music performance from the perspective of the professional performer. Taking the form of a refereed online multimedia journal, it’s uncompromising emphasis on the act of performance and the role of the performer gives it a distinct focus.

The Performer’s Voice Online was launched following the highly successful 2009 symposium, The Performer’s Voice: An International Forum for Music Performance & Scholarship, convened by Dr Anne Marshman. The symposium’s original conceptual foundations, title, themes and objectives are derived from Dr Marshman’s research, particularly her musical applications of the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin. The Performer’s Voice was Yong Siew Toh Conservatory’s inaugural international performance symposium. It attracted 170 delegates from 22 countries (6 continents) and featured 65 presentations on the themes:

Towards Performance:

A forum for exploring and presenting research into processes (musical, physical, intellectual, sensory, emotional, spiritual) that lead to music performance. Collaborations between composers and performers are encouraged.

Beyond the Score:

A forum for exploring and presenting research and reflections on factors that contribute to the uniqueness of every performance. Topics might include the performer’s relationship with the score and with the audience and dynamics of relationships between performers in rehearsal and performance.

My Instrument – My Voice:

A forum for the exchange of ideas and research on ways in which music performance is inherently and inevitably shaped by the idiosyncratic qualities, physical character, and demands of different instruments.

Asian Voices:

A forum for exploring the role of ‘Asian voices’ in music performance. Topics relate to (but are not limited to) the influence of Asian cultures, philosophies, religions, and pedagogical methods on performance. We would also like to consider the implications (philosophical and practical) for so-called ‘Western’ art music within the context of an increasingly globalized world and in light of the growing number of Asian voices currently making this body of repertoire their own.

Initially populated with content derived from presentations filmed at the 2009 symposium, The Performer’s Voice Online is envisioned to be an evolving resource centre for interdisciplinary performance research. Its priority is to create a space where performers can play, speak, reflect, share, and explore.

The editors welcome multimedia research presentations that contribute to further discussion and understanding of the above themes.

If you would like to contribute or comment on the Performers Voice Online, please email Dorothy Koh (Assistant Director, Strategic Planning and Research), at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory.

Editorial Committee

Stephen Emmerson (Griffith University, Queensland)

Helena Gaunt (Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London)

Anthony Gritten (Middlesex University, London)

Helena Marinho (University of Aveiro, Portugal)

Sabina Rakcheyeva (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)

Andrew Talle (Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore)

Anne Marshman (Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore)

Li-Wei Qin (Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore)

Craig De Wilde (Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore)

Bernard Lanskey (Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore)