Felicita Brusoni
Soprano – Vocal performer
PhD research project: “A Voice Beyond the Edge”
PhD supervisor: Kent Olofsson (main), Karin Johansson (second)
Institution: Malmö Academy of Music
Period: September 2020 – September 2026
What impresses you the most when getting the first time into the IAC is certainly the cozy atmosphere inside: people having a coffee, people talking, people going around with funny ideas in their head. It feels like you have another home, even because you have easy access to all the facilities you need and could ask for. The staff at the IAC in particular is strongly willing to help you with any kind of request or problem, even to answer simple every-day questions […].
My research project is situated within the topic of exploring new fields in the scenario of the extra-normal voice. Research and experiments in this area have already enhanced our knowledge of what humans can do going beyond the limits of voice. So far, not enough investigation has been devoted to devising a method to handle and improve the extended vocal techniques, and to find tools that could provide upgrades for singers who are approaching to extra-normal voice, for those who already practice some techniques and want to improve them or learn others, and for composers who could refer to a specific system of techniques. My research project will focus on developing a coaching method to learn some extended vocal techniques.
Many kinds of sounds will be considered and explored, since there are many still unconsidered and unidentified (for instance, different kinds of multiphonics or the glottal whistle known as M4 mechanism). These techniques will be explored as empirical material, with the aid of experts (doctors, physicians, logopedics) and dedicated laboratories (Human Lab and the medical department in Lund): the aim is to find different ways to produce these extra normal sounds and to train them. So, I will conduct a practical research on myself and, as an extension of that, on other singers through workshops and collaborations with existing institutions around extra-normal voice (Dresden).
One of the outputs of my research project is to build a strong experience around extra-normal voice, giving Malmö a leading place on the international map about this topic. I would like the Malmö Academy of Music to become the Multimedia Center for the Extra-normal Voice, the first one in Scandinavia.
The research outputs will be gathered into a new-born Archive of Extended Vocal Techniques, which will be part of the Multimedia Center. The aim is to communicate the artistic knowledge nationally and internationally using new technology, and to translate the research into directly applicable information. The Archive will have a physical presence inside the Library in the Malmö Academy of Music and a digital presence, using new technology possibilities in the most useful and clear way to enhance knowledge about the voice issue.
Since the aim is also to communicate new knowledge, my intention is to run a New music vocal ensemble with students from the singing classes of the MHM, and to organize concerts and calls for scores dedicated to pieces that involve the extra-normal voice. Singing students will be involved also in collaborations with professional contemporary music ensembles that will be invited in Malmö.
Workshops and lectures about some specific topics on extra-normal voice will be also held: they will involve experts of some techniques who don’t belong to Western traditional world, such as folk singers who routinely produce sounds that extend beyond the bounds of the standard vocal production.
Visit Felicita’s artist website – felicitabrusoni.com
Listen to Felicita Brusoni on YouTube
Read more about Felicita’s PhD in the Lund University Research Portal – portal.research.lu.se
