Education
Marcelo Saldias O’Hrens is a Chilean Speech-Language Pathologist specialized in voice therapy and voice training. He graduated from the University of Chile in 2008.
He completed a specialty diploma in Vocology and a specialty diploma in Research Ethics in Humans at the University of Chile (2016 and 2019, respectively). Currently, he is a Ph.D. student of the Doctoral Program of Vocology at Tempere University, Finland, with Dr. Anne-Mari Laukkanen as his advisor.
Research
His line of research is related to the vocal economy in Contemporary Commercial Music technique. This line of research emerges from the lack of information about how economical are the exercises currently used to train CCM singers, and the need for counting with specific training methods in order to achieve the unique vocal demands of singers in a healthy way.
He has published several scientific articles on this topic and is currently working on the research project “Contribution of twang to vocal efficiency and economy in contemporary commercial music singers” at the University of Chile.
Additional Training
Also, Marcelo has been certified in the voice therapy programs developed by Dr. Katherine Verdolini-Abbott (Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy, Casper-Stone Confidential Flow Therapy, and Adventures in Voice).
In terms of vocal performance, Marcelo completed the Voice Teacher Training Program at the New York Vocal Coaching Studio in New York City, with Mr. Justin Stoney as his mentor.
Professional Affiliations
In 2017, he became an Authorized VIP Instructor (Vology in Practice). Later, from December 2019 to March 2020, he served as a board member of Vocology in Practice.
Currently, Marcelo is a member of PAVA (Pan American Vocology Association) and The Voice Foundation.
Current Work
In Chile, Marcelo works as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Chile.
Additionally, he is a Clinical Professor of the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Chile, where he supervises SLP undergraduate students in the Vocal Academy of Chile and the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile.