Ever wonder what happens when a singer gets a cold? “There’s a little panic and a little prayer,” says Kathryn Cowdrick, a veteran (mezzo soprano) opera singer and professor of voice at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.

Cowdrick, who began her career as a speech pathologist, knows the stakes are high when a cold strikes. Watch as she explains how vocal cords work, what professional singers do to keep their voices healthy, and how singers perform even when they're feeling sick.

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