Office of the Dean of the Conservatory

Conservatory Student Wellness Programs

Each semester, Oberlin Conservatory offers a series of programming intended to promote robust physical and mental health for students, and also to integrate social justice programming with a focus on maintaining a healthy community environment for all.

Past events have included both extended and short-term workshops and programs with visiting clinicians in Alexander Technique, mindfulness, injury prevention, yoga for musicians, and racial equity in music.

If there are additional programs or resources you would like to see offered, please contact Associate Dean for Academic Support Chris Jenkins at cjenkins@oberlin.edu .

Spring 2025 Programming

Mind, Music, Sancturary with JoAnn Lamolino 

Besides playing in the trumpet sections of the Honolulu and Tuscon Symphonies and the Honolulu Brass Quintet, trumpet player JoAnn Lamolino runs the Mind, Music, Sanctuary program, focused on helping musicians feel grounded and performing their best. Use the links below to sign up. (Signups are not required but help us calculate headcount.)

Mind, Music, Sanctuary Yoga for Musicians Workshops: 

Mindfulness/Meditation Workshop & Discussion:

  • February 25, 4 p.m. - 5:15 p.m., Bibbins 213 Pizza provided! Register here. 

Individual Sessions for posture, mindfulness, and breathing:

Bulletproof Musician with Noa Kageyama

Noa Kageyama '98 (Oberlin College, Psychology) is licensed sport and performance psychologist on the faculty at The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, and New World Symphony. He returns to Oberlin this spring to lead in-person group and individual sessions with students. (Signups are not required but help us calculate headcount.)

Performance Under Pressure: Part 1 - Beating Performance Anxiety

  • February 26, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m., Stull Recital Hall

Elite athletes and coaches have known for decades that physical preparation alone is not enough to perform optimally under pressure. And increasingly, musicians too are engaging in mental skills training and ways of practicing and preparing which can lead to more consistent, inspired, and engaged performances. In this session, we'll explore the two components of performance anxiety and experiment with a 3-part strategy designed to help you perform up to your full abilities when it counts. Register here. 

Performance Under Pressure: Part 2 - Getting Into “the Zone”

  • February 27, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m., Central 21

It's easy to enjoy yourself and play freely in the practice room or rehearsals. But on stage, why is it that your inner critic gets louder and makes you doubt and second-guess yourself - leading to tentative, tight, and inconsistent playing?

In this session, we'll explore the two causes of “choking” under pressure and experiment with three strategies to help you quiet the inner chatter and get into “the zone” more consistently instead. Register here. 

Register for an Individual Session in Bibbins 334: 

Heart & Soul: A holistic approach to heart health

February 14, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Conservatory Student Lounge

Tara Woods of Student Health & Wellbeing invites you for a wellness journey designed to nurture your heart and uplift your soul. 

  • Heart-healthy tips and resources
  • Stress management techniques
  • Interactive wellness activities
  • Sweet treats, hot chocolate, and more...

Your heart matters. Let's take care of it together! 

Fall 2024 Programming

WELL-110: Intro to Body Mapping

Every sound musicians make is a result of movement somewhere; the task becomes finding the movement choices that support musical choices. This is where Body Mapping comes in, with its goal of providing clear and concise anatomical information that enable musicians to use their bodies differently, helping to eliminate pain and discomfort and improve the ability to be musically expressive. Basic body mapping concepts include our bases of support, the pelvis and the feet, whole arm movement, the connection through the spine to help improve breathing mechanics and find greater freedom for arm movement, and understanding the global relationships between various body parts. 

WELL-110: Intro to Body Mapping is offered every semester and also includes information about appropriate self-care and tools for addressing performance anxiety.

Kelly Mollnow Wilson leads this course and teaches musicians to move with ease and comfort. She is a musician, manual therapist, movement educator, and a licensed member of the Association for Body Mapping Education.

Hypermobile Musicians 

Individual or group coachings with Francesca dePasquale

This site includes all free, educational information on the different types of hypermobility, how this most commonly impacts musicians and the relationship to their instruments, as well as resources on pain management, safe strengthening and movement, nutrition and sleep, and external sources of support. 

Francesca offers coaching for individuals and groups, either for hypermobile musicians themselves or for educators who wish to learn more about how to support their hypermobile students.

Sign-up for a coaching here.

Previous Events

Time Management for Musicians

Tara Woods of Student Health & Wellbeing will lead a workshop on Time Management for Musicians on Monday, September 23, from noon - 1 p.m. in Bibbins 223. Pizza provided! 

Please RSVP here. 

Creative Workflow & Mental Health

Composer and Obie, Aaron Helgeson, will be on campus from September 24 - 25 for workshops about optimizing creative mental space and healthy mental habits for musical success!


Creative Workflow and Mental Health: September 24, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. in Bibbins 223. An overview of the psychology of creativity and discussion of creative flow, structuring work sessions, and navigating mental or emotional challenges in creative work.

Optimizing Creative Workspace and Habits: September 25, 5:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. in Bibbins 237. A deep dive on optimizing workspace, work schedule, and life habits for the purpose of enhancing creativity. Includes feedback for students on their specific workspaces and creative habits. 

Alexander Technique

Individual Sessions with Wendy Waggener and Anita Mischuk

Neck or shoulder pain? Shallow breathing? Other issues relating to tension? Learn how to address these issues with breath work and body alignment. 

Numerous appointment times are available Tuesday, February 21 through Saturday, February 25.

Sign-up for a session with Wendy or Anita here.

Bulletproof Musician with Noa Kageyama

Noa Kageyama '98 (Oberlin College, Psychology) is licensed sport and performance psychologist on the faculty at The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, and New World Symphony. Learn how to practice efficiently, manage performance anxiety, and experiment—with confidence!

Four Tuesdays from 6:00-7:00 p.m. on Zoom.
February 21
February 28
March 7 
March 14

Register here by February 17.

Mindfulness for Performers with John Thomas Dodson

For three Sundays in March, orchestra conductor and mindfulness teacher John Thomas Dodson will lead sessions at Oberlin. Please feel free to bring your instrument to each session, along with some music you're working on. Each meeting will involve learning mindfulness skills and applying them to making music.

Workshop times and locations:

Sunday, March 13: 1-2:30 p.m. in Bibbins Hall 223

Sunday, March 20: 1-2:30 p.m. in Bibbins Hall 325

Sunday, March 27: 1-2:30 p.m. in Bibbins Hall 223

Please register for each session you plan to attend.

There is also a supportive website for this series including videos, quotes, essays, and short guided meditations.

Body Mapping and Yoga Workshops with Rena Urso

Join Rena Urso for two specially curated workshops on Monday, December 13 focusing on meditation and movement exploration through yoga.

Yoga I Workshop: 12:00-1:00 p.m. in Central 21
Yoga II Workshop: 4:30-5:30 p.m. in Bibbins 233

Dress comfortably and if possible, bring your yoga mat.

About the workshop series:

A favorite quote from Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl encapsulates meditation perfectly: “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Some believe that in order to mediate all the conditions around them must be perfect; alone in a silent space without any thoughts to cloud the experience. Meditation isn’t the absence of thoughts, and the notion that everything must be just right, or completely silent to practice, is false. 

In the Yoga I Workshop, you will discover how to blend the practice of Yin Yoga and Pranayama with Body Mapping, resulting in greater flexibility and ease in all that you do.

In the Yoga II Workshop, you will learn how to implement meditation principals into your yoga practice, performance, and daily lives.  

About Rena Urso:

As a Licensed Body Mapping Educator Rena presents workshops and masterclasses all over the world, as well as the course she created at CSULB, Body Mapping for the Performing Artist. Her popular monthly column in The Flute View covers a myriad of topics related to injury prevention and musician wellness. Rena is a RYT-200 certified yoga teacher and certified meditation teacher and enjoys blending these somatic and wellness practices to offer musicians essential tools to play without pain. She is also delighted to be a Training Mentor for the Association of Body Mapping Educators.

Learn more about Rena Urso.

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Oberlin recommends attendance for vaccinated people. Everyone is required to wear a mask indoors at all times. Anyone with symptoms should refrain from attending campus events. Oberlin policies are subject to change based on evolving public health recommendations.

Performance Psychology Essentials with Noa Kageyama '98

If you are looking for tips to decrease performance anxiety and increase your confidence on stage, this live online series of classes is for you!

This is offered to Oberlin Conservatory students, free of charge. Enrollment is capped at 150 students. 

The live 60-minute sessions will occur on four Thursdays in September, from 1 - 2 p.m. ET via Zoom. Classes will also be recorded so that students in different time zones can also participate!

Thursday, Sept. 2
Thursday, Sept. 9
Thursday, Sept. 16
Thursday, Sept. 23

To participate, register here.

Learn more about Noa Kageyama.

Yoga for musicians and injury prevention

Sphinx Competition prizewinners Elena Urioste and Melissa White return to host their "Intermission Sessions”—yoga programming focused on physical wellness for musicians.

They will also give two masterclasses for violin and chamber music students on the evening of March 25. Follow the links below to the Events Calendar for more details.

Yoga for Musicians  March 25: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

Learn a series of poses intended specifically to enhance mobility and tone the muscles musicians rely upon. 

Yoga for Musicians: Injury Prevention March 25: 3:30 - 5:45 p.m.

Learn strategies for practicing that will prevent injury; particularly if you are a string player experiencing discomfort when you play, bring your instrument, and receive coaching to reduce the potential for injury.

March Mindfulness Workshops

Conductor and mindfulness practitioner John Thomas Dodson will lead three virtual mindfulness workshops on three Sundays in March 2021 to offer strategies to help you access inner calm, find ways to take meaningful action, and connect to yourself and the world.

Dodson is the founder of Blue Heron Mindfulness Living  and an expert on Buddhist and Vipassana meditation.

Session 1 March 7: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Anxiety

  • You might be feeling anxious about the future.
  • You might be feeling lost – without familiar reference points.
  • You might be feeling like you’re losing time, relationships, and skills.

How do you access inner calm regardless of circumstances?

Session 2  March 14: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Loss of Control

  • You can’t control the field, current conditions, or the future.
  • You might be facing a loss of confidence about pursuing your career path.
  • You might feel unmotivated without traditional goals.

How can you take meaningful action? Where can you impact your world?

Session 3 March 28: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Isolation/Connection

  • You might be feeling disconnected and isolated.
  • You might be unsure how to connect with people who aren’t nearby.
  • You might be experiencing a deep need to perform and play.

How do you connect to yourself? How can you remake your connection to the world?