Stuart Maunder has been directing musical theatre and opera in Australia for over 40 years. He joined The Australian Opera as Stage Manager in 1978, becoming a Resident Director in 1981. 

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In October 2023, Stuart became Artistic Director of Victorian Opera. His past productions for Victorian Opera have included Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music and The Cunning Little Vixen. Most recently he directed English Eccentrics for the VO Emerges Programme.

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Keynote Address Saturday 5th Oct: 'Opera in Oz: Our Australian Challenges'

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Masterclass Sunday 6th Oct: Working directly with singers focussing on text/storytelling in the classical and music theatre genres

Annie Strauch is a passionate Performance Physiotherapist with extensive experience working with professional performers and athletes. Annie is the Australian pioneer of Vocal Physical Therapy.  She works in a multidisciplinary team in conjunction with ENT specialists, speech pathologists and vocal coaches. This passion for the voice, larynx and performance physiotherapy developed on London's West End and she is now the Managing Director and founder of Performance Medicine, a private practice that provides physiotherapy and medical services for national and international touring companies, dancers, performers and singers. 

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Keynote Address Sat 5th Oct: 'The Science of Voice Use and Care: A Harmony of Manual Therapy and Physical Sciences'

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Keynote Address Sun 6th Oct: 'Power Source Filter: The Myofascial Paradigm'

As the co-founder of Vocal Health Education, Stephen has overseen the education of over 3,000 Vocal Health First Aiders and several industry-leaving Voice Rehabilitation Specialists. He has trained in, presented at conferences, and delivered courses in Vocal Manual Therapy, Vocal Acupuncture, and the Psychology of Voice Disorders across Europe, China, and Japan, as well as written and delivered the UK’s only intensive vocal massage training qualifications. He is responsible for the conception of the Voice Care model, hoping to enable greater access to private voice therapy services from a biopsychosocial, person-centered perspective. Since 2017, he has been the Director of London’s Voice Care Centre, consulting online on complex voice cases.

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Presentation Sat 5th Oct: 'The Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Vocal Massage'

Kenneth Bozeman, Professor Emeritus of Music at Lawrence University, holds performance degrees from Baylor University and the University of Arizona, and also studied at the Conservatory of Music in Munich. He has received two Lawrence awards for excellence in teaching, the Van Lawrence Fellowship by the Voice Foundation, and was inducted into the American Academy of Teachers of Singing in 2019 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute in 2024. He is the author of numerous articles and the books, Practical Vocal Acoustics: Pedagogic Applications for Teachers and Singers and Kinesthetic Voice Pedagogy 2: Motivating Acoustic Efficiency. ​

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Presentation Sat 5th Oct: 'Why bother with Acoustic Vocal Pedagogy?'

Dr Debbie Phyland is a speech pathologist having primarily worked in acute hospital and private practice settings, universities lecturing and supervising and undertaking research. As well as being a co-founder and owner of the multi-disciplinary Melbourne Voice Analysis Centre team, Debbie is the principal speech pathologist (SP) for Voice Medicine Australia. She is appointed as Associate Professor for the School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University working part-time as Director of Clinical Research Director for the ENT, Head and Neck Department of Monash Health.

 

Her research and clinical interests include gender affirming voice care, laryngology, performance voice, occupational voice disorders, outcome measurement, voice assessment and rehabilitation. ​

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Presentation Sun 6th Oct: Paediatric Voice - 'Enhancing and Maintaining Vocal Resilience in Child Performers'

Peter is a musical director, composer, and voice teacher. Musical Director credits include Australian and international productions of: A Christmas Carol (MD), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (MD), Jagged Little Pill (Australasian Musical Supervisor/MD), amongst others. His shows have been produced across Australia, New York, London and many other cities in the world to critical and award-winning acclaim. He was twice the fortunate recipient of the Jeanne Pratt Artist in Residence at Monash University. Additionally, he is Voice Consultant for Hamilton in Australia and now the International tour, and also voice coaches other shows. Most recently, he was the singing coach on the upcoming feature release of the live-action version of Disney’s Moana. Proudly, he has joined the Music Theatre faculty as a Lecturer at the Victorian College of the Arts, The University Of Melbourne.​

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Presentation Sun 6th Oct: Paediatric Voice

Alex Giannini is widely recognised as a leader in the assessment and treatment of paediatric voice disorders. She has a wealth of experience, working for decades as a voice clinician at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and now works in Private Practice as a clinician and supervisor/mentor for speech pathologists.​

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After completing her Speech Pathology degree in Melbourne, Alex continued postgraduate training in child communication, family therapy, research, clinical teaching and bioethics. Alex is a regular presenter at professional voice conferences, and as a guest lecturer at universities. She has received scholarships and research grants and has published in the area of voice and Vocal Cord Dysfunction / ILO.

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Presentation Sun 6th Oct: Paediatric Voice - 'Children’s Hoarse Voices: Towards a Better Understanding'

Emma Ball (she/her) is a lecturer (clinical education) at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and coordinates the Voice Clinic within La Trobe Communication Clinic. She is a member of the Australian Voice Association (AVA), World Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) and Australian Association of Transgender Health (AusPATH). Emma coordinates the Victorian working group for gender affirming voice and communication (GIIV), and the national forum for gender affirming speech pathologists across Australia. Through clinical services at La Trobe, Emma supports placements for Speech Pathology students, coordinates service provision for general voice and gender affirming clients, and advocates for accessible and inclusive services for those wishing to access Speech Pathology services. 

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Presentation Sat 5th Oct: Transgender Voice

Dr Sterling Quinn is a non-binary trans voice clinician, lecturer, and researcher based at La Trobe University in Victoria. In their various roles, Sterling works across a range of projects that aim to support the development and implementation of gender affirming voice and communication training for trans and gender diverse individuals both within Australia and overseas.

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Presentation Sat 5th Oct: Transgender Voice

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Panelist Sat 5th Oct: Transgender Voice Panel

Dr David Azul (they/them) is a researcher, educator, speech pathologist and art therapy student based in Naarm (Melbourne). For more than 20 years, David has been exploring the intersection between voice, communication, wellbeing and human diversity from a transdisciplinary perspective using theoretical, qualitative and creative approaches to knowledge production. They are a co-author of the voice and communication chapter included in the WPATH Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People (2022), the online short course Speech Pathology Practice with Trans and Gender Diverse People and of Working with your voice: A peer-to-peer resource by and for trans and gender-diverse people (2024).

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Presentation Sat 5th Oct: Transgender Voice

Dr Paddle is an ENT surgeon, Head & Neck (H&N) surgeon with fellowship training in laryngology. He completed his Bachelor of Medicine with honors at Melbourne University in 2003 as the top candidate in his class. In 2013, he gained fellowship to the RACS by completing his advanced training in otolaryngology and H&N surgery. Dr Paddle has completed fellowship in Laryngology at Harvard University where he gained expertise in all aspects of laryngology including the care of voice, airway and swallowing disorders, operative and office-based treatments, and the use of established and innovative diagnostic and surgical techniques. Dr Paddle has appointments as an ENT surgeon at Monash Health, Epworth Richmond, Waverley Private and Swan Hill District Hospitals. He is founder and director of the Melbourne ENT Group, Country ENT, and the Melbourne Swallow Analysis Centre. He also consults at the Melbourne Voice Analysis Centre. He holds an Associate Professor position at Charles Sturt University, and Senior lecturer positions at both Monash and LaTrobe Universities, and is the Supervisor of ENT training at Monash Health.

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Panelist Sat 5th Oct: Transgender Voice Panel

Nadine Manion is an experienced singing teacher specialising in contemporary and musical theatre styles. She is a Summer Vocology Institute trained vocologist with a special interest in vocal health and habilitation. As an Adjunct Research Fellow at Griffith University's Creative Arts Research Institute, she conducts research in transgender and gender diverse singing pedagogy. Her notable achievements include the prestigious Dr. Iain C. Medgett Churchill Fellowship in 2020, which enabled her to explore vocal technique and care for transgender voices in the US and UK. Additionally, she is a sessional academic at Macquarie University and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and serves as the National Vice-President of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing.

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Panelist Sat 5th Oct: Transgender Voice Panel