Bio
Dr Calvin Peter Baker completed a Bachelor of Music in Classical Vocal Performance and has first-class honours and master's degrees in the specialisation of studio pedagogy. Calvin studied voice under the tutelage of Associate Professor Te Oti Rakena and has performed as a tenor in choral, ensemble, and soloist contexts.
Calvin completed his interdisciplinary doctoral research (PhD, Speech Science) at the University of Auckland, working between the School of Psychology and the School of Music. His research explores the links between perceptual and instrumental voice analysis and seeks to determine which tools are effective for tracking subtle changes in the singing voice. This work has clinical implications for working with singers with voice complaints, particularly in preventative care. Calvin has collaborated with industry leaders in Sweden, Switzerland, and Italy, and has published works on female adolescent voice change characteristics and instrumental measures for singing voice analysis.
Currently, Calvin's primary research interests include instrumental voice assessment, with a particular focus on non-invasive techniques for measuring subtle changes in voice function that may signal pre-clinical voice disorder in both speakers and singers.
Calvin is experienced in teaching a wide variety of repertoire across genres and enjoys teaching students of diverse ages and backgrounds at secondary and tertiary levels, and from a private studio. His voice-pedagogy research seeks to explore the connections (or misalignments) between traditional voice pedagogy and contemporary understandings of vocal function and acoustics. Calvin lectures in Vocal Anatomy for Singers (MUS193b) and is the course coordinator and a lecturer for Musicians' Health (MUS744/MBChB311) and Voice and Fluency (SPEECHSCI746). View Calvin's UoA profile here, and his ResearchGate profile here.
Calvin is the owner and primary practitioner at VoCare Consulting.
Qualifications
• PhD – Speech Science (UoA Doctoral Scholar)
• Master of Music (with First Class Honours) – Studio Pedagogy
• Bachelor of Music, Honours (with First Class Honours) – Studio Pedagogy
• Bachelor of Music – Classical Performance: Voice
Research Positions
• Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (Senior Scientist; FWF WEAVE grant – Singing Voice Maps) – 2026 to 2029
• Research Fellow (Eisdell Moore Centre EAR Stage I Funded; UoA) – 2026 to 2027
• Research Assistant (Various Projects; UoA) – 2024 (Current)
Teaching Positions
• Professional Teaching Fellow – University of Auckland, 2020 (Current)
• Guest Lecturer (Voice and Fluency, Speech Science) – University of Auckland, 2025 to 2026
• Artist Teacher (Classical Voice) – University of Auckland, 2020 to 2026
• University of Auckland, 2021 – Graduate Teaching Assistant.
• Itinerant Voice Teacher – 2015 (Current
• Private Studio Practice, est. 2015.
Memberships and Committees
• Centre for Brain Research, Early Career Researchers Committee (UoA), 2024 to 2026 – Committee Member
• New Zealand Association of Teachers of Singing (NEWZATS), 2018 to 2021 – Vice President
• NEWZATS, 2016 to 2022 – Council Member
• NEWZATS, 2016 to 2026 – Full Member
• Centre of Voice Studies, School of Communication and Culture (Aarhus University) – Member
Selected Research Outputs
Baker, C. P., Miles, A., & Allen, J. (2026). Task instructions significantly affect maximum phonation time. Journal of Voice. Article in press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2026.05.024
Baker, C. P. (2025). Review of current practices and preliminary recommendations for instrumental singing-voice diagnostics. International Journal of Voice Sciences, 1. https://doi.org/10.2478/ijvs-2025-0003
Baker, C. P., Miles, A., Allen, J., & Herbst, C. T. (2025). Six-pack singing: On associations between anterior abdominal muscle activity and vital capacity percentage. Journal of Voice. Article in press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2025.03.039
Baker, C. P., Sundberg, J., Purdy, S. C., Rakena, T. O., & Leão, S. H. de S. (2024). CPPS and Voice-Source Parameters: Objective Analysis of the Singing Voice. Journal of Voice, 8(3), 549–560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2021.12.010
Baker, C. P., Brockmann-Bauser, M., Purdy, S. C., & Rakena, T. O. (2023). High and wide: An in silico investigation of frequency, intensity, and vibrato effects on widely applied acoustic voice perturbation and noise measures. Journal of Voice. Article in press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.10.007
Baker, C. P., Purdy, S. C., Rakena, T. O., & Bonnini, S. (2023) It sounds like it feels: Preliminary exploration of an aeroacoustic diagnostic protocol for singers. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(15). 5130. http://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12155130
Baker, C. P., Purdy, S., C., Rakena, T., O., & Bonnini, S. (2023) An aeroacoustic index for objectively measuring singing-voice fatigue: A proof-of-concept study. Presented at the 32nd World Congress of the IALP, Auckland, New Zealand, August.
Baker, C. P., Brockmann-Bauser, M., Purdy, S. C., & Rakena, T. O. (2023, August 23). Fundamental frequency, intensity, and vibrato extent significantly affect traditional acoustic perturbation and noise measures. Presented at the 32nd World Congress of the IALP, Auckland, New Zealand, August.
Shields, I., Rakena, T. O., Baker, C. P., Keegan, P. J., & Watson, C. I. (2023). Towards a vocal and acoustic description of Kapa Haka. Journal of Voice. Article in press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2023.04.013
Baker, C. P. (2022). Female adolescent voice change: Exploring tools for instrumental singing-voice analysis. [PhD Thesis, University of Auckland]. Auckland: New Zealand. https://hdl.handle.net/2292/63774
Baker, C. P., Sundberg, J., Purdy, S. C., & Rakena, T. O. (2022) Female adolescent singing voice characteristics: An exploratory study using LTAS and inverse filtering. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. Article in press. https://doi.org/10.1080/14015439.2022.2140455
Baker, C. P., Rakena, T. O., & Purdy, C. (2022). Exploring perceptions and experiences of female secondary school singers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Research Studies in Music Education, 44(3), 491–508. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X221103788
Baker, C. P., Sundberg, J., Purdy, S. C., Rakena, T. O., & Leão, S. H. de S (2022) CPPS and Singing-Voice Analysis. [Conference Presentation]. 7th International Physiology and Acoustics of Singing Conference. https://ifvportal.com/pas7plus/
Baker, C. P. (2021). A Singing Life: Understanding Vocal Changes for a Lifetime of Voice Use. Webinar for Music Therapy New Zealand (MThNZ). https://doi.org/10.17608/k6.auckland.14669442.v1
Baker, C. P. (2020). Adolescent Voice Change (AVC). Online Presentation for the New Zealand Association of Teachers of Singing (NEWZATS). https://doi.org/10.17608/k6.auckland.12826661.v1
Baker, C. P. (2018). Releasing the body's potential: Laying the foundations for healthy singing in male adolescents. [Masters Thesis, University of Auckland]. Auckland: New Zealand. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/37755
Baker, C. P. (2018). Male adolescent voice change (MAVC). [Conference Presentation]. The Voice – The Journey: 25th Biennial NEWZATS National Professional Development Conference, Auckland, New Zealand. https://doi.org/10.17608/k6.auckland.14805699.v3