University of the Pacific

Work with singing in the brain expert, Heidi Moss Erickson, in a fun and informative master class. Singing involves the coordination of over 100 muscles in the span of milliseconds. Integrating targeted play based on the neuroscience of vocalization can give insight into both expression and technique in a more wholistic way.

Heidi Moss Erickson received a dual biology and voice degree at Oberlin College, where she worked in the voice lab of Richard Miller. Her more than 20 year performing career spans both opera and concert repertoire, with a focus on new music. Her scientific achievements include a landmark paper in Cell. In 2007 she came down with a rare CNVII nerve injury which resurrected her passion for how the brain controls the voice. Her courses and lectures have been featured both nationally and internationally at conferences and universities. Her many published writings link neuroscience with vocal pedagogy and she uses these ideas in vocal pedagogy and rehabilitation.