ANA FLAVIA ZUIM, Ph.D.

Conductor/Pianist/Vocologist/Electric Bassist/Expert Witness

 

A true expert in her field, Dr. Zuim’s work as a voice scientist has been recently highlighted by CBS. Credited with over 70 musical theater productions throughout her career, her work as a musical director and pianist has culminated in several awards, and her research led to findings that can impact the voice field. Her love for sound and the human voice has shaped her career as a musical director/conductor, voice scientist and expert witness. Having learned to speak English after the age of 23, Ana Flavia developed a keen interest in how someone’s accents acoustically impact their speech and as well as the impact of the prosody of language in both speech and singing. Her doctoral dissertation, entitled “Speech Inflection in American Musical Theatre Compositions,” had the collaboration of celebrated composers. 

 

A renowned international scholar, Dr. Zuim was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Israeli Voice Association in 2023, and has conducted seminars and workshops all over the world, including countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Canada and Australia. Interested in the intricacy of the vocal mechanism, she serves as an active researcher and served as Latin American Governor of Pava (Pan American Vocology Association) from 2018 to 2022. Her research focuses on vocal health, singer’s perception of vocal function, hydration, dosimetry, vocal acoustics as well as vocal pedagogy of CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) styles. 

 

The knowledge of voice science and acoustics acquired during her career, combined with her passion for languages paved the way for serving as an expert witness in forensic voice analysis. She serves as an expert witness for forensic voice analysis cases dealing with both the singing and speaking voice, including criminal cases involving death threat messages, contributing within her scope of practice to furthering a more just legal system in which evidence is evaluated through evidence-based, data-driven science.

 

Among her credits are the Broadway musical Hamilton (Rehearsal Pianist - 2016 till present), the Broadway Across America tours of Billy Elliot (Associate Conductor/Vocal Coach), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Keys), Wicked (Keys), Matilda (Keys), Kinky Boots (Keys), The Wizard of Oz (Keys), Annie (Keys), and The Sound of Music (Keys). She has also music directed Billy Elliot at The Ogunquit Playhouse (2014), for which she received an IRNE Award for best musical direction in 2015, and at the Maltz Jupiter Theater (2015), for which she was nominated for a Carbonell Award (2016). Ana Flavia was one of the recipients of The American Prize award for conducting Anything Goes with the NYU Broadway Orchestra (2020) and won the The American Prize award for conducting City of Angels (2021).

 

Dr. Zuim served as Director of Vocal Performance at the Steinhardt School at New York University from 2016 to 2022 and was promoted to Associate Music Professor in 2022. A native of Brazil, she moved to the USA in 2003 after completing her bachelor's degree in music at State University of Londrina (UEL). She now holds a master's in piano performance (Lynn University, 2006), a doctorate - Ph.D. in Fine and Performing Arts (Florida Atlantic University, 2012) - and a Vocology certification (University of Utah, 2015). Prior to joining the NYU faculty, Dr. Zuim served as Director of Contemporary Voice at the Frost School of Music with a secondary appointment as Lecturer of Otolaryngology at the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Her previous experience with contemporary voice and vocal health equipped her to launch a new concentration in contemporary voice at NYU by the Fall of 2020.

 

Since prior to college she has enjoyed playing electric bass and toured with a few Brazilian bands, as well as played bass on a few U.S. productions. During her spare time you can find Dr. Zuim exploring a few good golf courses and enjoying the outdoors.