Research

Dr. Reuben Scott Walker is currently based in Dresden, Germany, where he serves as a research associate at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Studio for Voice Research. In addition, he is a salaried member of the opera chorus at the Landesbühnen Sachsen. A versatile performer, Dr. Scott has held notable solo engagements across Europe, including roles such as Kilian in Der Freischütz, the Friedensengel in Bayreuth, Anton Urspruch’s Die heilige Cäcilia in Rome, and the title role in the premiere of the musical Jedermann with Oper Oder-Spree. He has also performed the title role of Eugene Onegin with Ludwigstheater Aschaffenburg, and in the United States, he has appeared as Schaunard in La Bohème and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Festival of the Arts Boca Raton, in addition to a principal role with Des Moines Metro Opera.

Dr. Walker is simultaneously pursuing a doctoral degree (Dr. rer. med.) in Audiology and Phoniatrics at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where he works as a research associate. His research interests focus on the intersection of vocal performance and health. In September 2024, he presented longitudinal results on conservatory timbral development at the Pan-European Vocal Conference in Santander, Spain. Additionally, he presented on longitudinal vibrato development in June 2023 at a conference in Stockholm, Sweden. In September 2021, Dr. Scott’s study on aerosol emissions from pre-adolescent singers and their relevance to Covid-19 health protocols was published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. At Indiana University, he contributed to research on onset/offset and superficial hydration, with findings published in the Journal of Voice.

Dr. Walker has also been deeply involved in vocal pedagogy and education. From 2021-2022, he served as Lecturer of Voice at Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen. Between 2014 and 2016, he was an Associate Instructor and instructor of record for Undergraduate Vocal Pedagogy at the Jacobs School of Music, where he developed a curriculum emphasizing vocal physiology and acoustics, practical teaching experience, repertoire selection, and private studio finance.

A proponent of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Walker aligns his pedagogical goals with the mission to foster collaboration and community engagement. His doctoral project, which integrated community service learning, led to a collaboration with Reimagining Opera with Kids’ Lunchbox Project, a touring outreach program that explored cultural narratives through students’ lunchboxes. Walker is committed to strengthening connections with surrounding communities and building networks to support student recruitment and professional development.

Dr. Walker’s curriculum vitae, along with requested references, are available upon request. Further details, including recordings and other media, can be found here.

Papers and Presentations

• Walker, Reuben, Mario Fleischer, Johan Sundberg, and Dirk Mürbe. “Male and Female Voices
  Show Differences in Spectral Development Over Four Years of Conservatory Training.”
  Paper presented at: Pan European Vocal Conference. 2024 September 4-7th. Santander, Spain.

• Walker, Reuben, Mario Fleischer, Marie Bieber and Dirk Mürbe. “Development of Vocal
  Vibrato Measures During Conservatory Training – A Longitudinal Retrospective Study”
  Paper presented at: Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference. 2023 June 14-16th. Stockholm, Sweden.

• Mario Fleischer, Reuben S. Walker and Dirk Mürbe. “Morphometric Details of the Vocal Tract –
  How do they determine the transfer function?” Paper presented at: Deutsche
  Gesellschaft für Pädaulogie und Phoniatrie Conference. 2023 28th Sept.- 1st Oct. Cologne,
  Germany.

• Fleischer, Mario, Lukas Chumann, Anne Hartmann, Reuben Scott Walker, Liliana Ifrim,
  Dorothea von Zadow, Jonas Lüske, Joachim Seybold, Martin Kriegel, and Dirk Mürbe.
  “Pre-adolescent children exhibit lower volume emissions than adults for breathing,
  speaking, singing and shouting.” Journal of the Royal Society Interface (2021).

• Patel, Rita R, Reuben Walker, and Michael Doellinger. “Oscillatory onset and offset in young
  vocally healthy adults across various measurement methods.” Journal of Voice (2017).

• Patel, Rita R., Reuben Walker, and Preeti M. Sivasankar. “Spatiotemporal Quantification of
  Vocal Fold Vibration after Exposure to Superficial Laryngeal Dehydration: A
  Preliminary Study.” Journal of Voice (2015).

• Patel, Rita R and Reuben Walker. Comparison of Voice Onset and Offset Methods Using High-
  Speed Videoendoscopy. Paper presented at: The Voice Foundation’s 44th Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice. 2015 May 26-31st. Philadelphia, PA.

• Patel, Rita R, Reuben Walker, and Preeti M. Sivasankar. Does Vibratory Motion Change
  Following Exposure to Low Humidity Challenge? A Multidimensional Voice
  Measurements Study. Poster Session presented at: The Voice Foundation’s 44th Annual
  Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice. 2015 May 26-31st. Philadelphia, PA.

• Walker, Reuben. Childhood and Adolescent Singing: An Overview of Physiological and
  Cognitive Development. New Voice Educators Symposium. Indiana University, 2015.