Flourish

Dr Naomi Norton joins us to share her journey and discuss how we need to rethink musicians' health and wellbeing so that musicians can flourish. Find out more about Naomi: https://www.york.ac.uk/arts-creative-technologies/people/naomi-norton/ Check out the ISME Musicians' Health and Wellness Special Interest Group: https://www.isme.org/our-work/special-interest-groups/musicians-health-and-...

In this special episode, we welcome back Dr Raluca Matei to discuss her new position paper on health promotion in tertiary music education. The paper was presented in July 2025 at the First Global Summit on Occupational Health in Music, hosted at John Hopkins University. The presentation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR2sPBSVXog The final paper is currently being prepared for...

As musicians, it is common to feel that you have to practise a certain amount every day. Or that more practice is the key to feeling more confident on stage. But is this really true? In this episode, pianist, neuroscientist, and researcher Dr Edoardo Passarotto unpacks these issues by sharing his findings on the links between practice and anxiety, and the potential dangers of practising excessivel...

Dr Céleste Rousseau shares her experiences as a physiotherapist and a researcher working with orchestral musicians to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. Find out more about Céleste on her website: https://celesterousseau.fr/ Other links: French Association for the Health of Performing Artists (Association Française pour la Santé des Artistes de Performance): https://afsap.fr/ Podcast "I broke...

Content warning: This episode contains discussions of mental health issues including suicide. In this episode, Dr George Musgrave joins us to discuss the wellbeing challenges associated with working in the music industry today. Find out more about George on his website at https://www.drgmusgrave.com/ ** Show your support by following us on Instagram ( @musicians.flourish ) or giving us a 5-star re...

Pianist, teacher, and researcher Isabella Mazzarolo joins us in this episode to discuss how music studio tutors can help their students manage performance anxiety. Read some of Isabella's work: A rapid music performance anxiety scale that can be used by musicians and educators A systematic review on music educators and performance anxiety ** Show your support by following us on Instagram ( @mu...

In this episode, Dr Raluca Matei discusses the complexity of health and how we need to take a broad, holistic approach if we are to support musicians's health - and this includes taking a look at cultural norms and traditions in Western classical music that are often accepted without questions. *** Show your support by following us on Instagram ( @musicians.flourish ) or giving us a 5-star review...

Musicians' focal dystonia is a task-specific neurological disorder that is characterised by uncontrollable movements and can appear in any part of the body which plays a role in sound production (e.g., hands, embouchure). In this episode, Dr Anna Détári shares what she has learnt about MFD through her research and her own experiences with MFD as a professional flautist. Find out more about Anna an...

How common are musculoskeletal conditions among musicians? What are the risk factors? In this episode, epidemiologist and physiotherapist Dr Jessica Stanhope discusses these questions by sharing findings from her PhD research. ** Show your support by following us on Instagram ( @musicians.flourish ) or giving us a 5-star review on your podcast streaming platform. Find out more about our project at...

Musicians are often under pressure to deliver outstanding performances, which can lead to performance anxiety. In this episode, Dr Veronika Jana Lubert shares her knowledge and experiences as a researcher, psychological coach, and violinist on how we can apply techniques from sport psychology to help musicians perform their best under pressure. Find out more about Veronika on her website ( https:/...

Musicians spend thousands of hours practising but are not necessarily taught how to practise effectively. Flourish co-founder Akiho Suzuki joins us for our launch episode to talk about what she has learnt about effective practice through her PhD research. Find out more about Akiho at https://akihosuzuki.com ** Show your support by following us on Instagram ( @musicians_flourish ) or giving us a 5-...

Our goal is to provide research-based info & tools to musicians. Find out more about us at https://musiciansflourish.org and follow us on Instagram @musicians.flourish