• What is music performance anxiety? Causes, symptoms, and experiences
• Sources of support: the role of the music teacher
• Challenges for music teachers and performance anxiety management
• The music teacher as a performance anxiety practitioner: strategies to support students with MPA

About the Presenter

Isabella Mazzarolo (BMus(Hons), BCom, AMusA)   
Scientia PhD Scholar | School of Arts & Media | UNSW Sydney

Isabella is a classical pianist, piano tutor, and Scientia PhD Scholar at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Her research focuses on music performance anxiety: investigating how musicians cope with this issue and how music educators can effectively support their students in this area.

Isabella has presented her research at the International Symposium of Performance Science in Warsaw, Poland; the Women’s Music Festival in Padova, Italy; Ensemble Offspring’s Mondays @ The Church Series on Fear; and in Music Performance courses at UNSW. Isabella also lectures the Psychology of Music course at UNSW and works part-time at Musica Viva Australia as the Education Manager for NSW, NT & TAS. Recently at Musica Viva Australia, she has helped develop digital teaching resources on performance anxiety that will be distributed to classroom teachers nationally.

Through her experience as a classical pianist and piano tutor, Isabella is passionate about sharing her research with musicians and educators to help them navigate the complexities of performance anxiety and thrive in musical performance.

First Thursdays

These regular professional development sessions were originally the brainchild of MTA Member Annette Allerding, who wanted music teachers to be able to meet and share ideas. Originally named Keys, Cakes and Conversation (KCC) the group went online during Covid, and eventually reached numbers often in excess of 50 teachers, meeting each month on Zoom. The Music Teachers' Association of NSW is delighted to bring these sessions into our fold. We want the sessions to continue to be free to our members, but we also believe it is important to pay presenters for their valuable time. So we ask you to consider a giving a donation towards the costs if you are able. You will be given the option to donate when you book your place.