Notes From Backstage

In today’s episode we have the incredible performance psychologist Britt Tajet-Foxell on! Britt and Sophie have been working together for several years now; Sophie reached out to Britt after filming TÁR as she realised she was going to need help to perform at her best under immense pressure and wanted to find a more sustainable approach going forward.

Britt has worked extensively with musicians, ballet dancers, and elite athletes and institutions such as the Royal Ballet Company and the British and Norwegian Olympic Associations. She spent 20 years as a physiotherapist with the Royal Ballet Company before retraining to become a certified Psychologist. The royal ballet company then created a position for her - and she is now widely recognised to have pioneered the development of rehabilitation programmes dealing with the physical and psychological effects of injury.

We're so grateful to Britt for taking the time to introduce us to performance psychology and explain her approach with such care and in such an honest and accessible way.

Coming from two survivors of music school, we know exactly what it’s like to be overwhelmed as a music student. Today we’re giving you our best advice for making the most of your education, with a listener Q&A at the end. And if you’re currently in the thick of it - you got this!

Grants/Stipends:

- Royal Philharmonic Society Julius Isserlis Scholarship (UK citizens and residents wanting to study abroad): https://royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/performers/study-abroad

- Help Musicians (UK citizens and residents): https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/

- Munster Trust (UK citizens and residents or international students that have completed a continuous course of education in the UK within the last 10 years): https://www.munstertrust.org.uk/funding/study-grants/

- Hattori Foundation Senior Award (funding for various things): https://www.hattorifoundation.org.uk/senior-awards.html

- Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (if you are wanting to study in Switzerland or Swiss wanting to study abroad): https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/en/home/education/scholarships-and-grants/swiss-government-excellence-scholarships.html#1582163571

- Tom Willhemsen Stiftelse (Norwegians/ Norwegian residents to study in Norway): https://www.wilhelmsen.com/about-wilhelmsen/tom-wilhelmsens-foundation/

- Trygve Tellefsen Studielegat (Norwegians/ Norwegian residents to study in Norway): https://tellefsenslegat.no/send-soknad/

- Jansons Legat (Norwegians/ Norwegian residents to study abroad): https://www.jansonslegat.no/

- Doblougs Stiftelse (Norwegians/ Norwegian residents to study abroad i.e. in the US): https://dobloug.org

- NORAM (A stipend for for Norwegians and Americans encouraging Norwegian-American exchange): https://www.noram.no/

- Dextra Musica/ Sparebankstiftelsen (lends students of the Norwegian Academy of Music and Barratt Due Musikkinstitutt fine instruments for the duration of their studies): https://sparebankstiftelsen.no/om-oss/instrumentsamlingen/

Our very first guest on Notes From Backstage is none other than composer, Eunike Tanzil! We both know Eunike from different settings - Lydia and Eunike overlapped at Juilliard, and Sophie and Eunike worked on Eunike’s debut album, “The First of Everything” which was released on Deutsche Gramophone in September last year, which is currently up for Grammy consideration: ⁠⁠https://www.euniketanzil.com/fyc-classicalcompendium⁠⁠

We had a really eye-opening conversation about how social media has impacted Eunike’s career and served as a bridge into both inspiring professional opportunities and new audiences. She also told us about her time at Berklee and Juilliard, her reasons for attending both schools and what her life post-grad in LA has looked like. Eunike gave some really great advice for young people and musicians who are curious about what it’s like to be in both the classical and film world. Enjoy!

WE’RE BACK! After a chaotic summer spent traveling and moving, we are so excited to be back with Season 2 of the pod. Today we’re sharing some personal life updates from the summer, as well as what we’re looking forward to this season and how we’re taking care of ourselves as both humans and artists. Thanks so much for listening as always; we’re glad to be back yapping in your headphones every week!

Articles mentioned:

Part one:The Strad - Why are musicians afraid to rest? Rethinking recovery in classical music performance | The Strad

Part two: The Strad - Why recovery makes you a better musician: what musicians can learn being away from their instruments | The Strad

You asked, we answered: today’s episode is a Q&A before we sign off for the summer! We are so appreciative of every single comment and conversation we’ve had so far, and today we answer questions about our childhoods, finding motivation when you’re in a slump, advice we'd give soon-to-be music school graduates, and more. We’ll be back in the autumn for Season 2; until then, we hope you have a wonderful & music-filled summer!

Cost isn’t the only barrier to live classical music. The stigma surrounding concert hall etiquette and expectations is doing more harm than good, so what do we need to change to make everyone feel welcome? In this episode we talk about our own negative experiences in concert venues, what we want to change, and highlight artists, venues, and programs that are prioritizing the audience experience in new and exciting ways.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/apr/10/classicalmusicandopera.comment1

How do we take care of our bodies in careers that don’t historically support physical health? If it’s a choice between practicing and working out, how do we make that choice? Today we talk about our own journeys with physical health, the injuries we’ve experienced when we’ve neglected it, and how we realistically incorporate fitness into our chaotic schedules.

Study Mentioned: "From Mental Power to Muscle Power -Gaining Strength by Using the Mind" by Ranganathan, Siemionow, Liu, Sahgal & Yue https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7247969_From_Mental_Power_to_Muscle_Power-Gaining_Strength_by_Using_the_Mind

How do you avoid burnout as a musician? How do you take a hold of life before life takes a hold of you? And how do you find what actually brings you joy and inspires you as an artist? In this episode we’re talking about the importance of rest, how to realistically make time for rest in your life, and perspectives we’ve gained from spending time away from the instrument.

Resources mentioned:

Do Pause: You are not a To Do list by Robert Poynton

Stolen Focus by Johan Hari

⁠Michelle Obama Has Advice Every Woman Needs to Hear on Baby, This is Keke Palmer⁠

⁠Alysa Liu Olympic Gold Medal Performance⁠

⁠Alysa Liu rewiring your neural pathways for 4 minutes⁠

Traveling with a cello is not for the faint of heart. It seems no matter what you do something will always go wrong, and there’s not one straightforward way to book tickets for the cello. In this episode we talk about our personal flying horror stories; which airlines to use and which ones to avoid; and a step-by-step guide to flying with a cello, from booking your ticket to takeoff.

So you want to be a musician…and also pay your rent. In this episode we discuss all things jobs: jobs that we have, why we do them, how we network, and how we get into rooms we want to be in. These are our stories about navigating the post-grad practicalities of being a professional musician.

The phrase, “the show must go on” is something that is drilled into classical musicians from a young age - but should it be? In this episode we'll be recalling times we had to adapt to tricky situations in our careers, discussing ways to prevent getting into such situations in the first place and considering when it might be more appropriate to say no.

Welcome to our very first episode of Notes From Backstage! We're your hosts, Lydia Rhea and Sophie Kauer, two cellists redefining how we approach classical music. In this episode we'll be introducing ourselves, recalling how we met and explaining the reason behind wanting to start this podcast.

Hello and welcome to Notes from Backstage. We’re your hosts, Lydia Rhea and Sophie Kauer, two cellists redefining how we approach classical music. We talk about everything from mental health, music school, navigating our careers post-grad, and what it means to find your unique artistic voice. Join us every Tuesday for a reminder that music is meant to be enjoyed and shared, and that life also exists outside the practice room.