Amelia Rollings Bigler

Amelia Rollings Bigler, PhD, MM, currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC after previously serving as Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre Voice at Western Kentucky University. Dr. Rollings Bigler holds a PhD in Vocal Pedagogy from The University of Kansas, a MM in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from The Pennsylvania State University, and BM in Voice Performance and Bachelor of Music Education (piano emphasis) degrees from Columbia College (Columbia, SC). Operatic, oratorio, and musical theatre roles include the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, Third Norn in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, Lady Billows in Britten’s Albert Herring, Magda Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul, the Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Saraghina in Yeston’s Nine.

The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and The Voice Foundation selected Dr. Rollings Bigler as the winner of the 2018 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship, awarded yearly to one singing teacher engaged in empirical research. Dr. Rollings Bigler was also recently awarded the first-ever Clifton Ware Group-Voice Pedagogy Award by NATS for her pedagogical research on small and large group voice teaching. An active researcher in voice pedagogy, Dr. Rollings Bigler has presented her research in such refereed venues as The Voice Foundation Symposium, The International Phenomenon of Singing Symposium, The Singing Network, the Pan-American Vocology Association Symposium, the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Conference, the Fall Voice Conference, and the Ohio State Voice Forum. Her primary research interests include musical theatre and contemporary commercial music (CCM) voice pedagogy, small and large group voice teaching, historical voice teacher certification and education, and the effects of shoe heel heights, head position, jaw opening and other aspects of body alignment on acoustic and perceptual measures of singing efficiency. Her most recent publication on the effects of high-heeled shoes can be found in the Journal of Voice, the world’s premier peer-reviewed voice medicine and research journal. Other publications have appeared in the Journal of Singing and Voice and Speech Review. 

Dr. Rollings Bigler teaches both individual and group lessons, workshops, clinics, and master classes in a variety of voice styles and genres across the country. Dr. Rollings Bigler regularly works with singers recovering from vocal fold pathologies and completed a voice practicum experience focused on the habilitation and rehabilitation of the singing voice through the University of Kansas Medical Center under the supervision of laryngologist, Dr. J. David Garnett.

Dr. Rollings Bigler currently serves as President-Elect on the Board of Directors of the Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA) and formerly served the organization as Membership Director and co-chair of the Credentialing/Specialization Committee, which developed the PAVA Recognized Vocologist credential. She is also a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance (MTEA).