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I recently stumbled across an interesting podcast episode about the power of voice, featuring world-renowned vocal coach Stewart Pearce. A fascinating guest and captivating speaker, Pearce’s celebrity clients have ranged all the way from Princess Diana to Margaret Thatcher, with a healthy dose of Oscar winners and accomplished theatre actors included in the middle.
One of the most intriguing things Pearce talked about, was women reclaiming the power of their voices in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, and now living a very spiritual and esoteric lifestyle, he claimed that the next chapter of history was more likely than not going to be told by women, rather than the patriarchal model. While that next chapter can at times seem elusive and out of reach observing all the pain, injustice, and oppression in the world around us, we can but hope that it’s on the horizon.
Pearce’s conviction and allyship with women had me intrigued, and so I investigated further into his work. As a taster for his online course, The Magnetic Voice, Stewart offers a three-part masterclass, so of course I delved in.
In addition to his apparent classical, Shakespearean training, there were also somewhat spiritual and less formal elements ingrained into his teachings. The second masterclasses covered: how to create a great voice, your breath power and how to relax, discovering the centre of your authentic voice, acquiring gravitas and personal sovereignty, how to create presence, and evolving your magnetic voice.
I was quite taken by Pearce’s holistic approach to emotional elements of self-confidence and breath work, not just in a performative and vocal speaking/singing sense, but in what felt much more akin to spiritual and yogic practices. Of course, the practical side of breathing from the diaphragm, tone, range, speaking, and singing from the belly and the chest as opposed to the nose or the head were covered, which I was expecting going into the masterclasses. The inclusion of elements such as alignment, grounding, energy work, inner stillness and awareness to become present, also found their place, much to my surprise.
In looking at Pearce’s other works, discovering his 2020 book Diana The Voice of Change illuminated where his passion lay in all of this, and it was clear that sharing the exercises that had worked so well in coaching the Princess during her final years, was a large part of his women’s empowerment mission:
“Diana The Voice of Change is a call to action for women everywhere, for it begins and ends with love. The essence of this book urges the heart of each woman or man to awaken, to heal any breakage within, and so commit to a flow of empathy as an opening impulse for the mighty voice of change. It was Diana’s greatest desire that through her example each woman or man of the world could find their own authentic voice, expressing their own unique purpose, liberating love to transcend enmity. Diana believed that wherever tyranny existed it would be freed by grace, that wherever cruelty existed it would be freed by bravery, and that wherever the voice of oppression occurred it would be freed by the voice of kindness. In this, Diana was a trailblazer!”
The parallels in Pearce’s work between finding your voice and building a strong voice are quite significant. Both are equally important for the transformation of self-discovery, growth, and empowerment. Both entail developing confidence, authenticity, and resilience in expressing oneself and making a meaningful impact in the world, particularly for women.
Speaking authentically, powerfully, and magnetically can certainly be helped with vocal training, mindfulness, breathing exercises, and practicing performance techniques, but is that enough? It became apparent to me that Pearce’s message of “our voices reflect the core of our being” means that we also therefore have to do some work on the core of our being.
Perhaps this inner training and reflection is what will accelerate the confidence in more of us to find our authentic voices, especially as women in a world that isn’t working as well as it should. And in doing so, maybe Pearce’s prediction that the next chapter will be told by the feminine is looking more likely.
The mission of SoundGirls.org is to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio. Our mission is to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers. SoundGirls.Org was formed in 2013 by veteran live sound engineers Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato and operates under the Fiscal Sponsorship of The California Women’s Music Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In 2012, Karrie and Michelle participated in the “Women of Professional Concert Sound” panel at the AES Conference in San Francisco. The panel was hosted by the Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) and moderated by WAM founder Terri Winston. Terri brought together five women working in live and broadcast audio. The groundbreaking panel (which also included Jeri Palumbo, Claudia Engelhart and Deanne Franklin), provided young women and men a glimpse into life on the road, tips and advice, and a Q & A with the panelists. More importantly though, was how incredibly powerful the experience was for the panelists. We had all been in the business for 20 years or more, yet most of us had never met before that day and within minutes we bonded like long-lost sisters. We were struck by how similar our experiences, work ethics, and passions were and wondered why our paths had never crossed and how our careers would have been different had we been there to support each other through the years. Each of us are strong on our own, but together we were even stronger and a powerful force. We were empowered. Each of us had been asked hundreds of times in our careers: Are there other women doing sound? How did you get into sound? How would a young woman go about getting into sound? Through creating SoundGirls.Org, we hope to establish a place for women working in professional audio to come for support and advice, to share our success and failures, our joys and frustrations, and for empowerment and inspiration.
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