Personal profile
Person Introduction
A professional singer of Popular Music (PM) genres for 30 years, and a teacher of them for 20 years, Jo’s research is driven by a desire to promote the value of PM voice training and elevate its educational status in the UK. Her PhD, supervised by RNCM Music Education specialists John Habron-James and Robbie Gardiner, aims to determine what is being asked of professional singers in this field, and how we should train singing teachers to pass this onto their students. Ultimately, her goal is to research and design an accredited programme for training teachers from a variety of backgrounds to teach PM styles safely, effectively and with respect for their origins.
This work aims to build on the research that Jo completed during her voice pedagogy MA (Voice Study Centre and the University of Wales, Trinity St. David), for which she achieved a Distinction in 2021 and which has been published as a peer reviewed paper in the Journal of Popular Music Education in 2024.
Education/Academic qualification
Master, Professional practice: Voice Pedagogy - Distinction, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Mar 2019 → Oct 2021
Award Date: 23 Mar 2022
Bachelor, English Literature 2:1, University of Wales Aberystwyth
Award Date: 12 Jul 1994
External positions
Lecturer/voice teacher, ICMP
Apr 2023 → Aug 2025
Lecturer/voice teacher, Academy of Contemporary Music
Oct 2022 → Dec 2023
Voice teacher, Hertfordshire Music Service
Sept 2006 → Jul 2020
Fingerprint
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Oxford Handbook of Singing
Sear, J. & Williams, J., 2025, (Submitted) Oxford Handbook of Singing. Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Modern Vocal Pedagogy: Investigating a Potential Curricular Framework for Training Popular Music Singing Teachers
Sear, J., 1 Jun 2024, In: Journal of Popular Music Education. 8, p. 239–254Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership Student Conference 2025
Zingle, M. (Organiser), Helm, H. (Chair), Roncoli, F. (Organiser), Chapman, A. (Organiser) & Sear, J. (Organiser)
20 Jan 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
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Popular Music cross-training for Classical singing teachers: Can it and should it be done?
Sear, J. (Speaker / presenter)
6 Jun 2025Activity: Talk, presentation, and live performance › Oral presentation
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Association of Popular Music Education (External organisation)
Sear, J. (Member)
2022 → 2026Activity: Membership › Membership of network
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British Voice Association (External organisation)
Sear, J. (Chair)
2020 → 2026Activity: Membership › Membership of network
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Association of Teachers of Singing (AOTOS) (External organisation)
Sear, J. (Member)
2020 → 2026Activity: Membership › Membership of network