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Pasted Below is a notice of a seminar at Glasgow Caledonian University
**All Welcome**
Cheers
Raymond MacDonald


Glasgow Caledonian University
Department of Psychology Research seminar Series

Researching Gendered Voice in the Cathedral Choir

Prof. Graham Welch, Head, School of Arts and Humanities, Institute of
Education, University of London

Friday 14th March at 3 p.m. in room M.404. George Moore Building

Prof. Welch is currently Head, School of Arts and Humanities, University of
London; Chair of the Research Commission of the International Society for
Music Education (ISME) and Chair of the Society for Research in the
Psychology of Music and Music Education  (SRPMME).

Abstract
The centuries-old tradition of all-male choirs in English Cathedrals has
been challenged over the past decade by the introduction of female
choristers. There has been a gradual increase in the number of English
Cathedrals with female choristers, but this is still seen as a controversial
innovation. One major traditionalist concern is the perceived threat to the
survival of a 'unique' male chorister vocal timbre.
Key research questions for the research teams have been: Is there acoustic
evidence for a generic and unique male chorister vocal sound? Is there
acoustic evidence for a generic and unique female chorister vocal sound? Are
females choristers capable of producing male chorister vocal sounds? Can
listeners perceive differences between male and female choristers?
The (ongoing) research has focused on two elements: (i) comparative studies
of the nature of the vocal output by female and male choristers (both
collectively and individual in a variety of contexts) from sampled cathedral
choirs; (ii) perceptual studies concerning listeners' abilities to
discriminate between male and female choristers.

Tea/coffee/biscuits will be provided before the seminars.  For further
details/information contact: Dr Raymond MacDonald, Department of Psychology,
Glasgow Caledonian University. Email: [log in to unmask]; Tel.
0141 331 3971; Fax: 0141 331 3636.