David Howard and his colleague Helena Daffern are academics of international repute. David has given several high profile public lectures - the IEE Faraday Lecture, a Discourse at the Royal Institution, and an Institute of Physics Public Lecture to name but a few. He has worked with the media and you may have seen him on BBC4's 'The Voice' helping Rory Bremner and Jeremy Hardy. He has a personal interest in speech and music. He plays the pipe organ and sings in Church choirs and other vocal groups on a regular basis.

Helena (a gifted Mezzo Soprano) is the director of the York Centre for Singing Science launched in June 2013 to coincide with the Royal Academy of Engineering's Summer Soiree, where David and Helena shared their research with Princess Anne. The York Centre for Singing Science is a cross-departmental research centre that has at its core a philosophy of strengthening singing education and research by combining skills and knowledge of science, technology, musicology and professional practice.

David and Helena bring us an insight into the human voice. We all have a voice but unfortunately not all of us are destined for singing greatness. The singing voice is a wonderful thing but how does the voice work and why does a voice sound the way it does? These and other aspects of singing will be presented and illustrated with live singing examples as well as the brand new Vocal Tract Organ. Come and find out more about how the voice works; the discussions are just as relevant to the everyday speaking voice as they are to the professional singing voice in performance. If you're interested in music, singing, electronics or gadgets this is an evening not to be missed and there are a few surprises along the way ....