SESSION Abstract: Your Voice Has Power: Breath, Sound, and Everyday Wellbeing:
This talk reveals what is happening in the body and brain when we breathe and use the voice, and why it has a direct impact on mood, perception, and control. Drawing on operatic practice and transformational breathwork, it examines the neurology and physiology of vocal mechanics, showing how breath and sound can actively shift internal state. The session is not about learning to sing, but about recognising the voice as a powerful, underused system for regulation, awareness, and self-management.
Date: Wednesday 18th November
Time & format: The course will start at 10am, with a coffee and tea break followed by a lively facilitated discussion to answer all your curious questions. The course will finish at 12pm each week
Location: We are delighted to be hosting at The Common Room, 227 Heretaunga Street East, Hastings 4122
About the expert
Anna Pierard
Anna Pierard is an opera singer, educator and co-founder of Project Prima Volta, National Youth Opera Aotearoa and Festival Opera, based in Te Matau a Māui Hawke’s Bay. Trained in the UK and Europe, Anna has spent more than two decades working in opera performance, voice training and youth development. Her work explores the relationship between breath, voice, identity and wellbeing, and how singing can support confidence, connection and self-awareness far beyond the stage. Through her work with rangatahi and tamariki, Anna is particularly interested in the voice as an embodied tool for communication, resilience and belonging. Her current research and creative practice explore what happens when operatic singing is experienced through te reo Māori and Māori relational frameworks.
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