6. Do You Need Muscles to Make Music with Berenice Beverley Zammit

Have you ever considered the notion of professional musicians as athletes? And what about a direct link between exercise and its effects on performance? In the sixth episode of the podcast, Veronika has invited a violinist, PhD candidate and Performance Consultant Berenice Beverley Zammit where Berenice talks about her life as a musician, passionate runner, swimmer, sailer and...rugby player!

Episode Highlights:

• Berenice shares her passion for sports alongside her career as a professional violinist and how exercise can aid performance
• Berenice's research on the science behind performance, its results and conclusions
• Physical preparation for performance concentrating on the heart rate, stress levels, motor skills, etc.
• The importance of physical exercise and strength for musicians' mental health
• Why creating space for training and exercise is essential for musicians' wellbeing
• Berenice shares some tips on how to prepare for and reduce stress before performing

About the guest:

Berenice Beverley Zammit is a Performance Consultant and professional violinist .  She is a PhD candidate investigating performance optimisation through pre-performance routines in professional classical musicians, and a Graduate Teaching Assistant lecturing in Music Performance Psychology, Performing Arts in Health and Wellbeing, and Healthy Musician at the Royal College of Music, London.

Her research findings have been presented at the International Symposium for Performance Science (ISPS) 2021, Montreal; KVNM/RMA Postgraduate Symposium 2021, Amsterdam; SMI/ICTM-IE Postgraduate Conference 2021, Limerick; ISPS 2019 in Melbourne.  Berenice has also chaired at the BFE/RMA Research Students’ Conference 2021, and at the ISPS 2019 in Melbourne.

Berenice delivers practical online and in-person workshops on strategies for performance based on current research from the field of performance science.  Her workshops include, but are not exclusive to, pre-performance routines, coping strategies and performance anxiety, injury prevention, memorisation and physical fitness.

Episode Links & Resources:

Berenice's website:

https://www.performanceguru.co

Berenice's Social media:

https://twitter.com/Perf0rmanceGuru

https://www.instagram.com/performance_guru_/

https://www.facebook.com/PerformanceGuru

Other Links & Resources:

Musicians Yoga with Veronika website

Join the Wellbeing for musicians Facebook Group