Lawrence University voice teacher Karen Leigh-Post has been promoted to rank of professor by the college’s Board of Trustees. Leigh-Post joined Lawrence’s Conservatory of Music in 1996.
She has conducted extensive research in cognitive neuroscience and perceptual motor psychology, which she chronicled in her 2014 book “Mind-Body Awareness for Singers: Unleashing Optimal Performance. She will deliver the talk “The Brain, Music and Optimal Performance” in July at the 2016 national conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing in Chicago.
As a performing mezzo soprano, Leigh-Post’s singing has been recognized with numerous honors. She is a two-time winner of both the District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Metropolitan Opera’s Regional Outstanding Mezzo Award. She has performed more than two dozen roles, ranging from the titular character in Bizet’s “Carmen” to Anita in “West Side Story” and Venus in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” at leading opera venues throughout the country and abroad.
“In addition to a providing wonderful voice concerts, Dr. Leigh-Post has been a pioneer in cognitive analyses of musical performance,” said David Burrows, provost and dean of the faculty. “She has developed influential and important concepts about performance that will have a lasting impact in the area.”
A 1979 Lawrence graduate, Leigh-Post earned a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance/choral education, studying under current voice professor Ken Bozeman. She also earned a master’s degree in vocal performance/pedagogy from the University of Arizona and a doctor of musical arts in vocal performance from Rutgers University, where she studied with renowned voice teacher Shirlee Emmons, a 1944 Lawrence graduate.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
