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Lecture: Aaron Williamon: The pulse of performance: The spotlight and its implications for performance psychology

Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - 7:30pm
FREE

Aaron Williamon is the 2015 James C. Carlsen Visiting Scholar in Music Cognition and Learning.

Aaron Williamon, the UW's 2015 James C. Carlsen Visiting Scholar,  presents The pulse of performance: The spotlight and its implications for performance psychology. Williamon heads the Centre for Performance Science at London's Royal College of Music, where he is professor of performance science.

This lecture and Professor WIlliamon's visit to UW is made possible by the James C. Carlsen Visiting Scholar in Music Cognition and Learning endowment and the Bobbette Koon Endowment in Music Therapy.  

The pulse of performance: The spotlight and its implications for performance psychology

Musicians typically rehearse far away from their audiences and in practice rooms that differ significantly from the concert venues in which they aspire to perform. Due to high costs and the inaccessibility of such venues, much current international music training lacks repeated exposure to realistic performance situations, with students learning all too late (or not at all) how to manage the stresses of performing and the demands of their audiences.

This lecture will explore the physiological and psychological differences between practising and performing, specifically examining cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses in musicians when performing under pressure.

It will also introduce the ‘Performance Simulator’, an innovative new facility which operates in two modes: (i) concert and (ii) audition simulation. Initial results demonstrate that the Simulator allows musicians to develop and refine valuable professional skills, including enhancement of communication on stage and effective management of performance anxiety. 

BIO: Aaron Williamon
AARON WILLIAMON is Professor of Performance Science at the Royal College of Music, where he heads the Centre for Performance Science. His research focuses on skilled performance and applied scientific initiatives that inform music learning and teaching. Aaron is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the UK's Higher Education Academy, and in 2008, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Music.

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