Lynne Gackle, Associate Professor of Ensembles and Assistant Choral Director at Baylor University, has long been an advocate for the power of singing as a catalyst for positive change and self-actualization in adolescent girls. Her landmark text is a synthesis of these ideas, reflecting her unmatched expertise on the working of the female voice and a lifetime of experience and research. Serving to enlighten and encourage teachers and choral directors of these students, readers will learn the symptoms of vocal change in the female voice, along with physiological factors that affect it. Appropriate choral literature, recordings, and other educational materials are also presented. The included DVD, which may be used as a teaching tool in the classroom, provides demonstrations of the phases of vocal maturation, voice classification, vocal techniques, and other pedagogical strategies, all with the help of an all-girl choir (ages 12–16) under the direction of Dr. Gackle.

Contents: Introduction: Ophelia is singing, but is anyone listening?; Chapter 1: Discovering Ophelia (current medical and vocological knowledge); Chapter 2: Finding Ophelia's Voice (developmental phases of the female voice); Chapter 3: Ophelia Sings (vocal techniques for adolescent singers); Chapter 4: Ophelia's Song (literature selection, preparation, and rehearsal); Chapter 5: Opening Ophelia's Heart (adolescence, singing and self-concept); Chapter 6: Ophelia Speaks (reflections from Ophelias of all ages); Epilogue; Appendix A: Voice Classification Form; Appendix B: Suggested Repertoire for Female Choirs; Appendix C: Singing Ophelias; Notes: IPA and Pitch Indications