The tapestry of Mary Klimek’s career is woven out of a number of unique but inter-related experiences that span the last 30 years. She has worked as a performer, a public high school music teacher, a voice teacher, a secretary and now as a Speech Language Pathologist. In 1998 she joined the staff at Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary where she currently serves as a senior Speech Pathologist. The bulk of her caseload is composed of singers. Patients range from amateur to professional, from high school students to voice teachers. Each case requires an individual therapy plan determined, Klimek indicates, by the patient’s learning style and the type of therapy that will bring about the best results. In her job, she is able to fuse her passions for the artistic and the scientific as she assists singers in finding their way back to vocal health.

Background
As a high school student, Klimek sang in her high school choral program, two church choirs, and a community chorus. She went on to obtain a degree in music education (after choosing between music and chemistry) from Skidmore College and worked as a public school music teacher in Lynn, MA for 2 years. While teaching she began a master of music in vocal performance at Boston University. Following receipt of her MM she began teaching voice privately and, subsequently, at several music schools in the Boston area, as well as continuing to perform as a freelance singer. She also attended the Aspen summer music program where she was a Vocal Chamber Music Fellow, studying with Adele Addison and Jan De Gaetani. After the program she planned to move to either New York City or Europe to pursue a performing career, but she met and married her husband and started a family.

In 1990, now the mother of two children, Klimek attended a workshop offered by Jo Estill at Wellesley College. The workshop proved to be a life changing experience. As she listened to Estill’s presentation she heard, for the first time, the voice explained in scientific terms. Prior to the presentation, Klimek had read Vennard’s book (Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic) several times, but hadn’t truly understood all that she read. As part of the workshop, participants were able to have their voices examined in a clinical setting, with videoendoscopy, and Klimek was thunderstuck by the beauty of the folds and the ability each person had to control what the vocal folds do. In the weeks immediately following the presentation she was already incorporating Estill’s work into her own voice teaching, further fusing her love of science and music.

What began as a chance meeting in 1990 marked the beginning of a now 15 year-old professional collaboration, and inspired Klimek to return to school to pursue yet another graduate degree. Klimek knew she wanted to teach Estill’s method but Estill was clear that to do so she must have a scientific background. Twenty years after receiving her MM, Klimek again graduated from Boston University, this time with an MS in Speech Language Pathology from Sargent College. The career change was one easily made by Klimek. Along with extensive training by Estill herself, the degree allowed her to become certified in the teaching of the Estill Method, provided her with time to still do some singing and brought with it a more stable and higher level of income (something every singer can relate too!). It was several years after she received her SLP degree before she became a full-time staff member at MEEI, though she knew it was exactly where she wanted to end up from the very beginning.

The Estill Voice Training System
What Jo Estill presented is known as Estill Voice Training System (or Estill Voice Craft in some European countries). It grew out of research in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s by Jo Estill investigating the way changes in the voice production system result in different voice qualities. After x-raying her own vocal tract, Estill documented differences in vocal tract length and dimension that corresponded to changes in vocal tract structures during production of 4 voice modes – speech, sob, twang, and opera. She went on to develop what are called Compulsory Figures for Voice (exercises) for each of 13 voice production components, and later added two additional qualities, falsetto and belt.

The Estill Model posits that everyone has a beautiful voice, that anyone can learn to sing in a healthy manner in any style, and that we all have the physiological equipment to achieve success – it is not just a question of being born with a beautiful instrument. The voice qualities are produced with various combinations (called recipes) of structural conditions that the student has already learned to control through the Compulsory Figures. The Estill method presents a high level of flexibility to allow singers to perform in contrasting vocal styles such as Falsetto and Belting, or to accommodate subsets within styles – for example, one could learn how the “recipe” for a Light Lyric Soprano differs from that of a Spinto.

The Figures are meant to train isolated control of muscle function within the vocal tract; for example, the retraction of the false vocal folds. By learning to monitor muscular effort, singers are able to determine the most comfortable level of function, meaning more bang for less buck. Developing muscle memory for the exercises means being able to distinguish between vocal trauma and muscle fatigue. This is accomplished by tuning into the messages muscles send as opposed to the auditory feedback given through the sound of the voice.

Klimek describes how the Estill method steps aside from artistry to deal with technical issues in technical terms. Just as an instrumentalist might practice fingerings without sounding his or her instrument, so can a singer practice vocal tract modifications without sound to develop muscle memory and expand options of vocal color.

Recently, Klimek became a partner in Think Voice International, the parent company of Estill Voice International. In this role she is working to develop new literature and presentations for the courses taught in the Estill Voice Training System. There are currently 30 master teachers certified throughout the world and 16 certified as course instructors. For more information about the Estill system, you can visit www.trainmyvoice.com. On the web site you will find information about upcoming 3-day seminars offered at two levels. In Level One, attendees learn Compulsory Figures with an introduction to some of the voice qualities. In Level Two, different Figure combinations are taught to create the 6 voice qualities. Both levels of seminars are offered in the Boston area throughout the year.

Advice to Singers
In her recommendations to singers, Klimek suggests that all singers should know enough about how the voice functions to sing efficiently and be able to sing without fatigue for about a three-hour stretch. The concept of efficient vocal production varies depending on the style of music being sung (R&B, Opera or Broadway etc.). Knowing your limits as a singer will also encourage vocal longevity. One of the greatest mistakes a singer can make, according to Klimek, is overdoing and not taking care of the body. Singing when overtired, overstressed and poorly hydrated is a formula for vocal disaster.

As the medical and artistic worlds become more interconnected, Klimek would like to see sound vocal health information included in the curriculum for singers, choral directors, vocal coaches, spoken theater students and even clergy. Singers, as well as voice teachers, coaches and conductors need to be able to recognize problems and seek help in a timely fashion, minimizing the chances for long term damage to the voice.

If you suspect you have a voice problem and are interested in receiving care from Mary Klimek at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary’s Voice and Speech Laboratory, you will need a doctor’s referral for a voice evaluation and authorization from your insurance company (there is a “Free Care” program available at MEEI, but the process takes several months). Whenever possible, singers should see an ENT (Ear-Nose-Throat) doctor who specializes in the voice, called a laryngologist. Even if you start out with a generalist ENT, know that your evaluation at the Voice and Speech Lab will be reviewed by the Voice & Speech Lab’s Medical Director, Dr. Ramon A. Franco, Jr., a laryngologist. You can find ENT’s, also known as otolaryngologists, on the provider list of your insurance company. You can also call the Voice and Speech Laboratory directly for information or advice, at (617) 573-4050.