Tiago Lima Bicalho Cruz

The National Association of Teachers of Singing and The Voice Foundation have named Tiago Lima Bicalho Cruz as the recipient of the 2026 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship. This honor includes a $2,000 award to support Cruz’s research and the opportunity to attend the 55th Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, May 27-31, 2026, in Philadelphia

A member of the Ibero-American Chapter of the NATS International Region, Cruz is a singer, speech-language pathologist, and voice scientist based in Brazil. He holds a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology and audiology, a postgraduate specialization in voice, a master’s degree in music, and a Ph.D. in music from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. During his doctoral studies, Cruz served as a visiting scholar at Syracuse University where he collaborated with Kathleen Roland-Silverstein on research related to voice expressivity and pedagogy.

Cruz’s work bridges singing and voice science. To date, he has developed multiple open-source tools to support singing teachers and clinicians. Drawing on his experience as a performer, coach, and clinician, he focuses on voice analysis and finding ways to help translate voice science into practical teaching applications.

“My work connects studio practice with voice science, with a focus on building accessible acoustic tools that help singing teachers and clinicians make more objective, evidence-based decisions,” Cruz said. “Throughout my career, I’ve been interested in how vocal efficiency and expressive control coexist in trained singing. Working simultaneously as a performer, teacher, and clinician, I’ve often seen how early signs of vocal overload in singers can be difficult to identify before they become clinically evident.”

His Van L. Lawrence Fellowship will support integrating two developments Cruz has created, the Acoustic Voice Hyperfunction Index (AVHI) and VibratoScope, to establish an acoustic screening model for vocal hyperfunction in singers.

“My Van L. Lawrence Fellowship project aims to validate an acoustic screening model for vocal hyperfunction in singers by integrating two domains that are rarely analyzed together: phonatory efficiency in speech and vibrato regularity in singing,” Cruz said. “This work centers on the Acoustic Voice Hyperfunction Index, an index I developed that is currently in the process of refinement and validation, combined with cycle-by-cycle vibrato variability measures. Together, these components seek to identify subtle patterns of inefficiency and instability that may be associated with fatigue, strain, or reduced fine motor control.”

Cruz is particularly interested in how speech-based efficiency metrics combined with vibrato regularity in singing can be considered together as complementary indicators of vocal function.

“A key goal is to support screening and monitoring that helps voice professionals differentiate whether signs consistent with hyperfunction emerge primarily in speech, primarily in singing, or across both domains,” Cruz explained. “Beyond vibrato rate and extent, cycle-by-cycle variability and entropy add information about vibrato regularity that can strengthen longitudinal tracking in a practical, non-invasive way for both studio and clinical settings.”

For Cruz, the fellowship is an ideal opportunity to further his ongoing efforts to connect music and science.

“On a personal level, this fellowship represents a meaningful convergence of my artistic background and scientific training,” Cruz said. “It will allow me to strengthen international collaborations, deepen ongoing connections with U.S. institutions and research groups, refine tools that are already being applied in pedagogical contexts, and translate complex acoustic data into practical insights that support healthier, more efficient singing.”

Cruz shared his sincere thanks for the award.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity provided by the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship,” he said. “I would like to thank the National Association of Teachers of Singing, The Voice Foundation, and the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship Committee for their support and recognition.”

The National Association of Teachers of Singing and The Voice Foundation congratulate Tiago Lima Bicalho Cruz on this achievement and look forward to the outcomes of his fellowship-supported research.

About the Fellowship

The Van L. Lawrence Fellowship was created to honor Van L. Lawrence, M.D., for his outstanding contribution to voice, and particularly to recognize the importance of the interdisciplinary education he fostered among laryngologists and singing teachers. The Voice Foundation and the Foundation Heritage Fund of the NATS Endowment present the award jointly. The Fellowship winner is provided with the opportunity to attend the annual Symposium on Care of the Professional Voice and visit laryngologists, speech pathologists, voice scientists, and research centers associated with The Voice Foundation during the fellowship year, with resulting research to be considered for expedited publication in the Journal of Voice or Journal of Singing. The Fellowship winners are members of the National Association of Teachers of Singing who are actively engaged in teaching, have demonstrated excellence in their profession as singing teachers, and have shown interest in and knowledge of voice science.

The Fellowship and $2,000 award are intended to provide opportunities for the Fellow to become more thoroughly acquainted with practices, techniques, technology and people involved in laryngology and voice science. It is hoped that the opportunities and contacts provided through the Fellowship experience will enhance the teacher’s ability to do meaningful interdisciplinary research and will encourage the teacher to apply appropriate voice science advances in the studio.

Past winners of the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship

About Tiago Lima Bicalho Cruz

Tiago Lima Bicalho Cruz is a Brazilian-born singer, speech-language pathologist, and voice scientist. He earned his bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology and audiology from Izabela Hendrix Methodist University, a postgraduate specialization in voice from CEFAC (São Paulo), a master’s degree in music, and a Ph.D. in music from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Between 2021 and 2022, he served as a visiting scholar at Syracuse University under the mentorship of Kathleen Roland-Silverstein.

Having worked for more than two decades as a vocal coach, performer, and clinician, he now combines these experiences in research on the singing voice, vocal hyperfunction, vibrato, and acoustic modeling of vocal performance. He is the founder of Fonotech Academy, dedicated to creating accessible software for voice assessment and pedagogy, including CepstralVox, VibratoScope, FCP Live Analyzer and VoxDose. His recent studies, published in the Journal of Voice, investigate cepstral measures and the accuracy of AI-based voice separation in vocal analysis. He continues to perform professionally and teach voice while developing research that bridges artistic practice, vocal pedagogy, and scientific inquiry.

Learn more at fonotechacademy.com.