PAMA News/Events

“The Athletic Musician: An Exploration for Musicians, Teachers, and Health Care Providers” will be held on March 28, 2010 at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. View conference information.

2010 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Awards™ Presented

35th Annual Hearing Conservation Conference held on February 26, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

NIOSH, in partnership with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Awards™, honoring those who have shown their dedication to the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss through innovative or excellent hearing loss prevention practices in the work environment.

The recipient for Innovation in Hearing Loss Prevention in the Services Sector:

Associate Professor Dr. Kris Chesky and the College of Music, University of North Texas, are recognized for their contribution towards raising the awareness of the importance of hearing loss prevention among student and professional musicians. Dr. Chesky and colleagues are pursuing innovative research and methodology, education and advocacy to contribute to the success of hearing loss prevention among individuals involved in music performances and practice. Their work is bringing additional attention to the risk of music-induced hearing loss to other professionals in entertainment venues and to the general public.

NIOSH is the federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses. Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH. More information about NIOSH can be found at www.cdc.gov/niosh.

The full article is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-02-24-10.html
Also see: http://www.safeinsound.us/

Title: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2009 (ISPS)
Editors: Aaron Williamon, Sharman Pretty, Ralph Buck
Publisher: European Association of Conservatoires (AEC), Utrecht, The Netherlands
ISBN: 978-94-90306-01-4

Articles published in the Proceedings of International Symposium on Performance Science 2009, hosted by the University of Auckland on 15-19 December 2009, are now available online: www.performancescience.org.

Articles are freely downloadable and can be sorted by author, title, and keyword.

To provide feedback or to report any problems with the site, please email cps@rcm.ac.uk. Requests to purchase hardcopies of the proceedings should be directed to Claire Speedy at c.speedy@auckland.ac.nz.

ISPS 2011 will be hosted by the University of Toronto on 24-27 August 2011. The call for papers, posters, symposia and workshops will be available soon at www.performancescience.org.

Sunday, April 11, 2010
12:00 - 5:00 pm
Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, Connecticut

This is the inaugural conference of Artists in Transition, an organization that works with artists and performers facing physical and/or mental health issues. Over 100 other local, state and national arts, health and advocacy organizations are supporting the event. The organization relates:

"Inspiring architect/sculptorTom Luckey will keynote and awesome entertainment will be provided by Our Time Theatre. There will be outstanding networking opportunities and 15 information-packed breakout sessions on diverse subjects such as healthcare, maximizing employment potential, grant writing, etc., plus speakers will include artists and performers who themselves are dealing with health and disability issues and making their art and lives a creative force!"

The 3rd International Musicians' Medicine Congress will be held in Greece April 15-17, 2010. The Congress will raise awareness about vocational disorders of musicians and will include lectures, workshops, and concerts. New for this year, a thematic unit dedicated to dance medicine will be added.

Two changes have been made for the 2010 Symposium. First, the name is now “Medical Problems of Performing Artists” to reflect the broad spectrum of our topics. Second , it will be held in JULY instead of June.

The new symposium dates are July 29-Aug 1, 2010 and the location is Snowmass, Colorado.

The Harkness Center for Dance Injuries at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases will be holding its acclaimed continuing medical education course, “Principles of Dance Medicine: Clinical Management of the Dancer Patient” from July 15-18, 2010 in New York.

CONCORD, N.H. - A New Hampshire woman diagnosed with a rare gastrointestinal anthrax case may have swallowed spores propelled into the air by vigorous drumming, a state health specialist said.

An Austrian Society for Music and Medicine has been founded. It was formed in 2009 by Austrian members in the German Association for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine (DGfMM www.DGfMM.org). The first annual conference will be in March 2010.

When longtime Baltimore Symphony Orchestra violinist Ivan Stefanovic lost the sensation in the index finger of his left hand, he asked colleagues where he could get help. The answer for Stefanovic, as it has been for a number of the orchestra's musicians: David Shulman, a former professional clarinetist turned physical therapist.

"What impressed me was that the first thing he said was, 'Bring in your instrument.' That immediately told me he was a different therapist," Stefanovic says. "We don't have to explain what we do and how we do it. He knows what kind of injuries we sustain and how to treat it without injuring us further."

The New ISME Forum on Instrumental and Vocal Teaching at the ISME World Conference, Beijing 2010

The vision for the Forum is:

• To investigate methods and practices of teaching instrumental or vocal students in both Western and non-Western contexts; and

• To explore and discuss the most recent relevant research that could assist instrumental/vocal teachers

The ISME Conference will be held in Beijing, China from August 1 to 6, and the Forum will commence two days prior to this, with sessions also expected throughout the main conference.

To those considering submitting a proposal for the new ISME Forum on Instrumental and Vocal Music Teaching, please follow the directions for the submission of presentations and mark the application "For consideration for the Forum on Instrumental and Vocal Music Teaching". Please note the October 1, 2009 deadline for submitting proposals.

Information about the ISME Forum appears on the website at: www.isme.org/2010/calls_presenters.html
Follow the leads to "Forum Session/meeting".

Included are all aspects of the teaching of instrumental and vocal performance from beginner to advanced, from infants to adult learner/performers, from those engaged in teaching handicapped students as well as those concerned with promoting wellness in their teaching. Presentations will be welcomed from individual private teachers as well as those teaching performance in schools, colleges and advanced programs in universities - indeed, from any such teachers who feel that they have something to share with performance teachers in the international community, or who would like to present their approaches for comment and discussion. Delegates who simply wish to attend as observers are also welcome.

The group will disseminate information through practical articles in the Practice edition of the ISME Journal; interactive web pages and social networking; workshops with instrumental and vocal teachers; and articles in industry journals and magazines.

You may also contact PAMA member, Gail Berenson at berenson@ohio.edu

News Source: DAPHNE HOWLAND / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News, 12:15 PM CDT on Monday, July 13, 2009

Nervous public speakers used to follow the dubious advice to "picture your audience in their underwear." But these days, like weekend warriors who've turned to the training, surgery and even drugs professional athletes use, ordinary people are increasingly using beta blockers – heart medication that has long been the favored drug of performers to quell stage fright.

"Over the last two or three years, I've had more people come to the office wanting beta blockers for things like PowerPoint presentations, primarily people giving in-office talks when their boss is there," said Dr. William Walton, a family physician in Dallas and past president of the Dallas County Medical Society. "The beta blocker doesn't blunt the anxiety per se. It stops the tremoring or hesitant speech in public speaking. They can be very effective drugs and quite safe for most people, especially because they're prescribed in low doses."

Dr. Christopher Crow, a family physician in Plano, believes that increasing demands on professionals to give presentations is the reason he's also seeing an uptick in beta blocker use.

"Not everyone has performance anxiety, but people new to it often do."

Prescribing for anxiety is a legal but off-label use of beta blockers – that is, not Federal Drug Administration- approved for that purpose. Beta blockers were approved for and are still primarily used to treat heart disease and high blood pressure. A 2006 study at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Pharmacy found that off-label administration of beta blockers was higher than previously reported, but didn't pinpoint the prevalence of particular uses.

Unlike anti-anxiety drugs such as diazepam (best known as Valium) or alprazolam (Xanax) or even alcohol, which work on neurotransmitters in the brain to cause sedation and muscle relaxation, beta blockers prevent the body's natural adrenaline and noradrenaline from stimulating their target receptors. This slows the heart rate.

Beta blockers have few side effects, especially for people who only take them occasionally. Still, Walton cautioned against sharing drugs without a prescription. People with asthma, depression, low blood pressure, cardiac issues and other problems or who are on certain medications should not take beta blockers. And beta blockers will not help anyone with severe anxiety.

Professional help

The drugs seem designed for stage fright. They inhibit the harrowing effects of the adrenaline-laced fight or flight response that make a nervous performer even more nervous: pounding heart, quavering voice, trembling and sweaty hands. It's no wonder then that performers turned to them shortly after their invention nearly four decades ago.

Of the several beta blockers developed since, the most effective for performance anxiety remains the first: propranolol (brand name Inderal). Its use among actors and musicians is commonplace, if somewhat underground.

"There was a time I couldn't go on stage without beta blockers," said James Hampton, a former tenor who is now artistic services manager at the Dallas Opera. "There is a degree of 'good nerves' that you want, but that can go too far." Hampton used propranolol for one stressful year, when he was overwhelmed by a shift from singing to stage direction and completing a doctorate. Before ending his singing career, he sang for four years without them, encouraged after he had a successful performance despite forgetting his pills at home.

Musicians and actors have quit the stage because of performance fright. Yet some doctors and musicians resist beta blockers as treatment.

Many performers value that very rush of adrenaline that sparks anxiety. "It makes us aware of ourselves at a time when we need to be aware," said Sally Nystuen Vahle of the Dallas Theater Center and acting and voice instructor at the University of North Texas.

Beta blockers can introduce a dullness that interferes with that, according to Dr. Bernard Rubin, a professor at the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth and a physician who treats many musicians. For anyone facing even heart-pounding nerves, Rubin advocates "a little bit of time, a little bit of forethought and much less pharmacology."

Regardless of their stance on beta blockers for stage fright, every physician and performer interviewed said alternative relaxation techniques are also essential. And the No. 1 antidote to anxiety advocated by everyone is preparation.

"Practice, practice, practice," said Kris Chesky, director of UNT's Texas Center for Music and Medicine. "And put everything in perspective. If you falter, your life is not going to end."

Daphne Howland is a freelance writer in Portland, Maine.

howlanded@yahoo.com

Anti-anxiety secrets

For anyone who can't or won't use beta blockers for stage fright, doctors, performance coaches and performers offer these stress reducers:

Prepare well: People underestimate how much preparation any kind of presentation requires, says Rick Ericson, senior communications director at the LeMaster Group in Dallas, which provides media and presentation training for professionals. "We recommend practicing 20 to 30 times, starting in front of a mirror or using a home video camera. The more you practice, the more comfortable you get with the words, and that allows you to practice your physical performance and do something with that nervous energy."

Jimmy Clark, who plays first trombone with the Dallas Opera, advised making practice sessions as intense as a performance so your response will be the same. "Try to make yourself nervous in practice," he says. Clark admits that speaking at recitals shakes him more than playing, but he hasn't used beta blockers for either. "If I had a PowerPoint presentation to do, I would go in the room, fix the lighting, and have the talk virtually memorized. And get my friends to watch me practice."

Get comfortable: Dress as comfortably as you can, according to what is appropriate for your venue and your audience. "I don't care how well you've prepared, if you are uncomfortable, you're going to be thinking about that," Ericson says. Instead of looking at the sea of people, make eye contact with individuals in the crowd, which will feel like a more manageable, one-on-one interaction.

Breathe: Actress Sally Nystuen Vahle believes that inadequate breathing is a major contributor to performance anxiety. She recommends loosening your back and rib cage by stretching your arms overhead to enable breath support. Deep breaths can be calming and help return oxygen intake to normal, she says.

Stretch and prepare your body: Stretching can help you expend nervous energy, make you aware of any physical tensing up and help you relax. "Visualize different parts of your body, tighten up your muscle groups, then relax them purposefully," says Kris Chesky, director of UNT's Texas Center for Music and Medicine.

Include an icebreaker: One reason so many speakers start with a joke or anecdote is not just to make the audience feel comfortable, but also to help themselves relax, according to Candace Evans, freelance opera director at the Dallas Opera. Opening with a so-called high note can scale down the high-strung intensity. "A singer calls this a 'tipping point,' " Evans says. "It's getting early, positive feedback that you're OK."

Eat bananas (and avoid caffeine): Chesky recommends bananas to his jumpy music students and warns them away from coffee, which speeds up a racing heart. Eating bananas theoretically could work like taking a beta blocker because potassium has a role in calming the heart, and many performers believe in them. But there's another reason they may work. "Of the people who do need help with performance anxiety, 20 percent to 25 percent will get a response from a placebo," says Dr. Christopher Crow. "Sports psychologists deal with this all the time: When the pressure's on, how does my mind remain calm?"