Executive Overview
In a joint announcement that bridges the often-sundered worlds of vocal pedagogy and rigorous voice science, the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and The Voice Foundation have named Dr. Nicholas Perna as the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship Award. This high-profile accolade carries deep significance within the global vocal arts community, providing foundational support for cutting-edge empirical research while celebrating individuals who exemplify leadership, scholarship, and pedagogy of the highest order.
The fellowship package includes a direct research grant of $2,000 and a featured platform at the upcoming 54th Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, scheduled to take place from May 28 to June 1, 2025, in Philadelphia. At this premier international gathering, Dr. Perna will present findings and methodology related to his ongoing, highly anticipated investigation into velopharyngeal opening (VPO) variability among collegiate treble singers across Western Classical and Musical Theater vocal styles.
Beyond his laboratory investigations, Dr. Perna’s recognition underscores a prolific career defined by institutional leadership, mentorship, and public engagement. A prominent figure within NATS—currently serving as Vice President for Outreach for the 2022–2026 term—and an associate professor of voice and director of vocal pedagogy at the University of Colorado Boulder, Perna sits at the intersection of academic administration, scientific inquiry, and artistic application. This comprehensive profile explores the dimensions of his award-winning research, charts his professional journey, contextualizes the historical importance of the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship, and examines the broader implications of his work for the future of professional voice training.
Detailed Chronology and Institutional Background
The Genesis of a Scholarly Career
Dr. Nicholas Perna’s trajectory toward the 20th Van L. Lawrence Fellowship is the result of decades of rigorous academic preparation, artistic dedication, and relentless scientific curiosity. A dedicated member of the NATS Colorado/Wyoming Chapter within the West Central Region, Perna has steadily built a reputation as a bridge-builder between the voice studio and the voice laboratory.
His appointment as the Director of Vocal Pedagogy at the University of Colorado Boulder marks a pivotal chapter in his professional life. Coincidentally, stepping into this role aligned with a deeply symbolic historical connection: Van Lawrence, the legendary laryngologist and co-founder of The Voice Foundation, frequently collaborated with Berton Coffin, the pioneering founder of the voice program at the University of Colorado. For Perna to receive this specific fellowship during his inaugural year at CU Boulder represents a poetic alignment of historical legacy and contemporary academic advancement.
Leadership Within the National Association of Teachers of Singing
Perna’s influence extends far beyond the campus borders. Within NATS, he has been a tireless administrative and intellectual force. As the current Vice President for Outreach, he oversees initiatives designed to broaden the association’s demographic reach, engage underrepresented populations, and foster inclusive environments for voice educators globally.
Furthermore, Perna’s organizational footprint is clearly visible in his work as the poster paper coordinator for successive NATS national conferences, including the landmark 2024 gathering in Knoxville, Tennessee. In this capacity, he has helped shape the academic poster sessions—often the incubator for the field’s most innovative pilot studies—ensuring that emerging researchers have a visible, respected platform to share their data with veteran pedagogues.
Media and Public Pedagogy: The Voice of VocalFri
Recognizing that modern pedagogical insights must transcend traditional academic journals to truly impact the field, Perna co-hosts VocalFri alongside Sarah Welch Pigott. As a weekly podcast distributed through NATSCast—the official podcast network of NATS—VocalFri serves as an accessible, highly engaging audio forum where voice scientists, otolaryngologists, and master teachers deconstruct complex vocal mechanics, dispel persistent pedagogical myths, and discuss current research trends. Through this medium, Perna has helped democratize voice science, translating dense physiological concepts into actionable, real-world advice for studio teachers and independent vocal coaches worldwide.
Supporting Context & Metrics: The Science of Velopharyngeal Opening
Deconstructing the Research: Velopharyngeal Opening (VPO) in Collegiate Trebles
The core beneficiary of the $2,000 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship award is Perna’s ongoing, highly specialized empirical study investigating velopharyngeal opening (VPO) variability in collegiate treble singers. To the uninitiated, the velopharyngeal mechanism—the dynamic valve formed by the soft palate (velum) and the pharyngeal walls—controls the degree of acoustic coupling between the oral and nasal cavities. Managing this valve is crucial for controlling resonance, preventing unwanted nasal emission (hypernasality), and achieving stylistic authenticity across different musical genres.
"Investigating nasality, nasal airflow, and velopharyngeal opening have been central to my research agenda my entire career," Perna noted, outlining the deep roots of his current inquiry.
The 2025 fellowship study is designed to answer several critical, previously under-explored questions regarding treble vocal mechanics:
- Pitch-Driven VPO Variability: Do collegiate treble singers systematically vary their velopharyngeal opening as vocal pitch increases?
- Genre-Specific Contrasts: How do Western Classical (WC) and Musical Theater (MT) treble singers differ in their VPO adjustments as they ascend into higher vocal registers?
- Contact Quotient Correlations: Is there a statistically significant correlative behavior between VPO adjustments and the singers’ vocal fold contact quotient (CQ) as pitch rises?
The Musical Theater "Mixed Voice" Hypothesis
Perhaps the most clinically and pedagogically provocative aspect of Perna’s study centers on the demands placed on contemporary Musical Theater performers. There is a strong body of anecdotal evidence suggesting that treble musical theater singers consciously or subconsciously increase their velopharyngeal opening as pitch increases, particularly when transitioning into their "mixed voice"—a vocal configuration that bridges chest and head registers to maintain speech-like acoustic brilliance at high fundamental frequencies.
If Perna’s research validates this hypothesis, the implications for the voice pedagogy community will be profound. For decades, traditional Western Classical training has often treated any unintentional nasal airflow as a technical defect to be aggressively eliminated. Conversely, contemporary commercial music (CCM) and musical theater styles frequently utilize controlled acoustic shaping of the vocal tract, including partial nasalization, to achieve stylistic authenticity, reduce laryngeal tension, and facilitate the execution of climactic, high-lying phrases.
By analyzing these physiological behaviors empirically, Perna’s study aims to provide singers and voice teachers with a clear roadmap for executing high-register notes safely, efficiently, and healthfully within musical theater styles.
Collaborative Framework and Institutional Support
A project of this magnitude requires robust interdisciplinary collaboration. Perna is quick to acknowledge the vital contributions of his research team. He received crucial assistance with experimental and research design from Dr. Joshua Glasner of the renowned Lions Voice Clinic, an institution globally recognized for its cutting-edge care of professional voice users. Furthermore, the daily data collection and analytical heavy lifting are being driven by two capable graduate research assistants, Alice Del Simone and Benjamin South, whose involvement highlights Perna’s parallel commitment to mentoring the next generation of voice scientists and pedagogues.
Official Statements and Institutional Acclaim
The announcement of the 2025 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship recipient has elicited widespread praise from the leadership of both sponsoring organizations. The award itself is named in honor of the late Van L. Lawrence, M.D., a pioneering otolaryngologist whose tireless advocacy for interdisciplinary dialogue between laryngologists, speech-language pathologists, singing teachers, and performing artists permanently transformed the landscape of voice care.
Representatives from the National Association of Teachers of Singing emphasize that Perna embodies the exact spirit of intellectual rigor and practical empathy that Dr. Lawrence championed throughout his life. By seamlessly integrating the white-coat precision of acoustic and aerodynamic measurement with the artistic sensibilities of the applied voice studio, Perna serves as a model for modern pedagogical leadership.
Similarly, executives at The Voice Foundation have lauded the selection, noting that Perna’s study on VPO variability addresses a vital, highly practical niche within professional voice rehabilitation and training. The annual symposium in Philadelphia—where Perna will take center stage—serves as the premier global nexus for voice science, annually drawing researchers from medicine, acoustics, linguistics, and the performing arts to share breakthroughs in vocal health and pedagogy.
Future Outlook: The Road to Philadelphia 2025 and Beyond
As the academic year progresses, attention now turns to the impending data collection phases of Perna’s study and his upcoming keynote presentation at the 54th Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice. The $2,000 fellowship fund will directly subsidize equipment calibration, subject participation, and data processing costs, ensuring that the project maintains the highest standards of scientific validity.
Looking toward the horizon, the impact of Perna’s research is poised to reverberate far beyond the confines of the University of Colorado Boulder laboratories. As musical theater training programs continue to proliferate within university music departments and conservatory settings, educators are increasingly desperate for evidence-based curricula that protect student vocal health while satisfying the intense aesthetic demands of the modern commercial stage.
By shedding empirical light on velopharyngeal mechanics in treble voices, Dr. Nicholas Perna is not merely answering a theoretical question; he is providing tangible tools that will help countless young singers navigate the vocal challenges of the 21st century with confidence, health, and artistic integrity. Both NATS and The Voice Foundation extend their warmest congratulations to Dr. Perna, eagerly anticipating the foundational insights his fellowship research will bring to light in Philadelphia this coming May.
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