On Sunday, April 10, I will be co-hosting a World Voice Day event at Massachusetts General Hospital with Marcelle Gauvin of Berklee College of Music from 12-3PM. The event will take place at the Voice Center (Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation), One Bowdoin Square, 11th Floor, Boston, MA 02114

So, you’ve heard of donating blood, but have you ever thought of donating your VOICE?

I am so excited and honored to be leading a ‘Voice Drive’ with VocalID, an organization in Boston leading the way to help those with voice loss and speech disorders obtain voices that are a hybrid of a donor’s ‘filter,’ or vocal tract, combined with the receiver’s ‘source’ or vocal cord vibration.

When this process is accomplished, the patient will get a voice that is uniquely their own – NO MORE robotic voice! Each voice will be unique and individual to that person, and allow them to express themselves in a way that reflects their age, gender, and regional dialect.

In addition to this event we will have guest speaker Dr. James Burns, a surgeon at the MGH Center for Laryngeal Surgery who specializes in voice disorders, laryngeal cancer, and airway reconstruction. He has developed a national and international reputation in clinical care and laryngeal research. And we’ll also hear from Tara Stadelman-Cohen, BMEd, MS, CCC-SLP, on issues of vocal health and wellbeing.

If you are in the Boston area I encourage you to attend. It promises to be an uplifting and educational time. Won’t you consider attending to help give someone the power of speech?

For more information on VocalID, visit their website, and check out the TED Talk given by Rupal Patel below.

See you on April 10, at the MGH Voice Center!