Janet Tower
Janet L. Hawkins Tower, coloratura soprano, studied voice as an undergraduate student at Boston University, and the Boston Conservatory of Music with David Blair McClosky from 1964-1969. She earned a B.Mus. with a major in voice in 1969. Janet earned a Certificate in the McClosky Technique/Voice Therapy program taught by Professor McClosky at the Boston Conservatory, in 1971. Janet continued studying voice privately with David Blair McClosky and Donna Roll throughout the 1970's. Under the direction and guidance of Mr. McClosky Janet sang in the NY Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions in 1970. She sang the "Queen of the Night" aria, "Der Holle Rache kocht in meinen Herzen" from Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte. She was called back to sing a second aria, and performed Mimi's aria, "Donde Lieta" from Puccini's opera La Boheme. Janet established her own voice studio in Concord, MA in 1975. She performed as a soprano soloist with many choruses and orchestras in the Boston Metro West area and on Cape Cod from 1973 through 1988.
Janet was one of the original founders of the McClosky Institute of Voice Therapy (MIVT) in the late 1970's. She taught a course in Anatomy and Physiology of the Voice at the Boston Conservatory of Music as part of the first MIVT summer seminars. She was on the teaching staff of the McClosky Institute in the Institute's Summer Seminars until 1988. As part of the staff of the McClosky Institute, Janet worked at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Voice Therapy Clinic from 1979 to 1981. As such, Janet worked with many vocal pathologies including vocal nodules and polyps, spasmodic dysphonia, puberphonic voice, vocal fatigue, misuse and abuse.
Janet received a Master's Degree of Primary and Secondary Education from U. Mass. Boston, in 1972. She taught music in the Watertown Public Schools where she was responsible for teaching elementary school music education classes, and conducting the high school chorus.
Janet continued to teach voice and perform as a soloist throughout the 1980's and early 1990's while earning a Master of Science Degree in Speech, Language Pathology in the Communication Disorders Department at Worcester State University. She completed that training in 1994. Janet is a certified member of the American Speech, and Hearing Association, (ASHA) and a licensed member of the Massachusetts Speech and Hearing Association (MASHA). Janet worked as an SLP with adults with communication disorders in a private practice from 1994 to 1995. In that capacity Janet worked with patients diagnosed with aphasia secondary to stroke or brain injury, dysfluency, spasmodic dysphonia, muscle tension dysphonia, and dysphagia-or eating and swallowing disorders. Janet was part of a medical team that performed Modified Barium Swallow Studies, (MBSS) at U. Mass Marlborough Hospital from 1994 to 1995. From 1995 to 2014, Janet worked as an SLP in the Northboro-Southboro, Ma public schools. Janet worked with children from ages 3 through 18 with articulation disorders and delays, hoarse voice disorders, hearing loss induced speech and voice disorders, stuttering disorders, delayed language acquisition, pragmatic language delays, as well as students with Down Syndrome and students on the Autism Spectrum.
Upon retirement from the public school setting, Janet has been working for Speech and Language Resources, a Speech, Language Pathology private practice in Framingham, MA. Janet has re-established her voice studio, while continuing to work in the field of communication disorders. Janet is specializing in voice disorders including spasmodic dysphonia, vocal hyperfunction, vocal fold paralysis and paresis, bowed vocal cords, sports induced voice loss, vocal tremor, and transgender-female voice modification.
Janet has worked successfully with many singers with vocal problems and disorders, both as a teacher of singing and a Speech, Language Pathologist. As a "singing voice therapist," Janet is a member of ASHA SIG-3 ( Special Interest Group-3) a group of SLPs who specialize in voice disorders. Janet has incorporated the McClosky technique for healthy phonation throughout her career with voice students, voice clients, school aged students with speech, language hearing and voice disorders, and adult patients with severe voice difficulties and disorders.
Janet L. Tower, M.Ed., MS-CCC/SLP, CMVT currently resides in Hudson, MA. She can be reached by phone at 978-835-8849, and online at jltower1@icloud.com.