The 14th August 1969 during the IX International Congress of ORL in Mexico City, Hans von Leden, who was Chairman of the Laryngeal Section of this Congress, invited the specialists with more interest in treatment of the voice troubles in singers and actors and who were in contact with opera theatres to get together. With this purpose John Ballantyne (London), Giuseppe Bellussi (Rome), William J. Gould (New York), Ikuikiro Hiroto (Kurume), Ernst Loebell (Munchen), Jorge Perello’ (Barcelona), Renato Segre (Buenos Aires), Thoshio Shiroiwa (Tokyo), Severino Tarasco (Mexico), Bernard Vallancien (Paris) and Hans von Leden (Los Angeles) met.
Prof. Segre suggested the name “Collegium Medicorum Theater” and its abbreviation CoMeT for this organization and this recommendation was adopted unanimously. Dr. Segre presented also an outline of the statutes.
The aim of this new association is to encourage the scientific investigation of the physiology and pathology of the voice of singers and actors and to improve the clinical care. The annual dues were set at 10 USA dollars.
There shall be three classes of membership
- Founding member
- Fellow or active member
- Associate member.
The following members agreed that, to avoid personalities, there was no need of a personal President and Hans von Leden was elected Secretary-Coordinator. Communications of CoMeT would be handled in English language. Dr. Perello’ suggested to create the “vocal passport” in which is recorded the clinical history of the singer. This can be very useful for further phoniatricians who see the patient for the first time. Several participants believe that this document can give legal complications.