When I myself lost my voice and had to undergo two surgeries and a long rehabilitation to recover, I realised how incredibly much my singing voice meant to me, and how painful it was to lose it. I lost an essential part of myself and my identity. And to say I was sad is an… understatement. To say the least. I felt that I didn’t just lose my singing voice, I lost my whole voice, my channel.
For me, one of the most powerful ways to, really, get my voice back, was through art, through being in music, even if my singing voice didn’t carry. I searched for beauty in even the most cracked and weak tones my voice could sing. It was hard, but it was necessary. By time, more and more notes came back and today my whole voice is there. More or less. It depends how you look at it. It’s different now and wants to sing differently.
Now I am calling for YOUR voice! I want to sing with voices from all over the world. Weak, strong, powerful, aged, flawed, healthy, injured, sick, tired, happy, sad, big, small, round, sharp… Every voice.
So, what I want to ask you to do is record your voice on your phone and send it to me on this form. They will be organised, mixed and used in order to compose a piece of music for a project called “Songs about the ones who sing” – it will also be presented at the Eurovox conference EnchantingLucerne in August 2026.
The text that will go with the music is partly words that I’ve collected from other singers who also lost their voices, or had serious voice issues. Voices that need to be heard!
1. Choose one, a few, or all of the following notes (in any register, but in 440 hz):
C, D, D#, E, F#, G, G#, A, H
The note can be short or longer (but not more than 4 seconds), they can be slurred or straight, they can be soft or strong… Choose any vowel or consonant you want. In short, sing how you want!
Leave at least 3 seconds of silence between each note.
2. Upload files.
You can send up to 90 seconds of sound.
Optional:
Say, whisper, sing, or scream one or two words that describes how your voice gives you joy, in any language.
Say, whisper, sing, or scream one or two word that illustrates how singing/not singing can be hard or painful, in any language.
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It’s anonymous. Unless you choose to give me your name and email (which you can, but only if you want to), I have no idea who you are – you are simply You. But I will make sure that your voice is heard! You will have a chance to let me know in the form. To keep your submission anonymous, do not include your name in the file name or metadata.
But, if you wish, give me your name and I will credit you every time I perform the piece. You decide.
Again, I am grateful for every one of you who takes the time to do this. You are not only doing for me – you are sending sound waves with your voice to all other singers. And, oh, do we need all of us now.