Education
- PhD, University of Toronto
- MMus, University of Toronto
- DiplMus, University of Manitoba
- BMus, Western University
Biography
Charlene Santoni received her Master's degree in Vocal Pedagogy and her PhD in Music and Health Science, specializing in voice, from the University of Toronto. Her doctoral research explored approaches to influencing oral-nasal balance in speech and singing in typical speakers and individuals with hypernasality. Her research has been published in Journal of Voice, Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, and Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. She also co-authored a chapter on music-based speech and language rehabilitation in The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain, as well as chapters on Vocal Intonation Therapy (VIT)® and Therapeutic Singing (TS)™ in The Handbook of Neurologic Music Therapy (2nd ed.), both published by Oxford University Press. In 2014, she received the National Association of Teachers of Singing Voice Pedagogy Award.
Alongside her academic work, Charlene's operatic performance career has included appearances with Edmonton Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Tapestry Opera, the Saskatoon Symphony, Soundstreams Canada, the Canadian Sinfonietta, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Boston Pops. In 2010, she performed at the Vancouver Cultural Olympiad and Toronto's Nuit Blanche Festival, the latter to received a Scotiabank People's Choice Award.
Charlene is currently a sessional voice instructor at the University of Toronto, where she also teaches Clinical Voice Pedagogy. She is also an international faculty member with Vocal Health Education in the UK, contributing to professional education in vocal health, voice pedagogy, and singing-informed voice rehabilitation. In addition, Charlene is a Neurologic Music Therapy® Allied Professional (NMT®-AP™) and serves as an educator and Advisory Council member with the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy®, providing international lectures and clinical supervision in the application of singing-based voice rehabilitation interventions, including Vocal Intonation Therapy (VIT)®, Therapeutic Singing (TS)™, and Oral Motor and Respiratory Exercises (OMREX)™.