Juliet Petrus (RCM) - 2023-24 Students
juliet.petrus@rcm.ac.uk

Singing Between East and West: Mandarin, Classical Singing, and Cross-Cultural Pedagogy

My research investigates the challenges faced by Western classical singers studying Mandarin song, and Mandarin-speaking singers studying singing in Western languages, using ethnographic surveys of student experience, auto-ethnographic investigation of my own learning and teaching processes, and research into the vocal pedagogy of the Chinese master vocal teacher ZHOU Xiaoyan. I believe that cross-cultural pedagogical and vocal repertoire exchange is a valuable and unexplored form of cultural diplomacy; as such, my research aims to foster culturally enriching experiences for Western classical singers, while also creating a more supportive environment for native Mandarin speaking classical singers studying in the West.

Primary supervisor: Dr Carola Darwin

Secondary supervisor: Dr Dave Camlin