One Heart Institute Summer Program

Over the past decade I’ve developed a curriculum for integrating a mindful, conscious awareness into music practice and performance. The material draws upon my 40 years of contemplative practice with a variety of teachers in the Buddhist Theravadan tradition, including Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, James Baraz, Sylvia Boorstein, and qigong master Teja Bell. Mindfulness meditation can be helpful in accessing inner creativity, calming performance anxiety, deepening musical expression, and being fully present and aware of all that’s going on in each moment on stage. 

Through learning meditation techniques of Samadi (concentration), Vipassana (insight) and Metta (compassion), we can understand how to break down the process of instrumental practice into separate components to increase effectiveness, efficiency and embodiment. 

I have shared these insights in seminars at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in master classes, excerpt classes, and ensemble groups. Through the online course Audition Confidential founded by LA Philharmonic cellist Gloria Lum, I have coached cellists preparing for the high-stakes world of international orchestra auditions. I’ve given guest seminars for music students at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, The Juilliard School, University of Nevada, Reno, Louisville Academy of Music, and San Domenico School. At the One Heart Institute Mindfulness for Musicians Summer Program, I teach the curriculum in an intensive, experiential week-long series of classes and private coaching sessions. 

When I coach privately, whether for audition preparation or long-term goals of self-improvement, I integrate mindfulness meditation alongside technical, musical, and excerpt preparation. I consider the mental and psychological preparation for performance or auditions to be as important as the instrumental portion. Instruction in mindfulness meditation can be a useful tool in this process.

One Heart Institute Summer Program

Since 2024 I have been on the faculty at the One Heart Institute’s residential Mindfulness for Musicians Program, held each June at the Sudhana Center in Ukiah, CA. 

One Heart Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to harmonizing music, mindfulness, and holistic wellbeing. They cultivate a creative, value-aligned community where artistry and inner growth unfold together. 

Founded in 2023, the Institute was created as a space where people from diverse backgrounds—musicians, educators, and lifelong learners alike—can refine their craft while nurturing clarity, balance, and wholesome intention. 

The programs—ranging from immersive retreats, artist residencies, and workshops to public lectures and concerts—integrate artistry with Tai Chi, meditation, yoga, conscious lifestyle, and reflective inquiry. In a supportive environment, participants develop both artistic growth and heart-centered awareness. 

Music is more than performance—it is a pathway to personal transformation and collective wellbeing. 

In these immersive Summer Programs we look at the whole musician, combining ancient wisdom and movement traditions with current understanding of brain science to help you practice and perform more expressively and effectively. 

Through guided meditation and movement instruction, participants learn to calm performance anxiety, silence their “inner critic,” and stay present and focused in performance. These tools help get out of your head and into your body to share the joy of making music!