About Kevin

I’ve always been an anxious person. My mom can tell you a story of my anxiety-induced stomach ache that appeared each day as I walked down the hall to my honors english class as a freshman in high school–I perceived of my teacher as extremely intimidating. In music, I learned a new term for this anxiousness: Musical Performance Anxiety. 

As I progressed through a Bachelor of Music Education, and Master and Doctoral degrees in Horn Performance, I still experienced varying levels of anxiety before and during performances. I tried lots of things to change this, but nothing really stuck. 

One morning while studying at Indiana University (IU) for my Doctorate, I was circuitously introduced to mindfulness through the instruction to, “sit in silence”—Thanks Jeff! I didn’t know what to do, and as this was happening at a morning warm-up routine at 7am, I usually just tried not to fall asleep. 

But this simple act got me interested. Over the next few years I got more interested, dabbling in yoga, and the occasional extra 10 minutes of “sitting in silence.” After finishing my Doctorate, and while teaching at Eastern Illinois University, I was back at IU for the weekend and stumbled upon a workshop being presented on mindfulness for musicians by Dr. Frank Diaz. 

This launched my full-scale investigation into mindfulness. I was hooked. 

Over the next year, I kept in touch with Frank and ended up enrolling in his summer workshop on Mindfulness Based Wellness and Pedagogy (MBWP), and from there the year-long instructor certification program. 

Since this point I have seen a significant change in my daily demeanor and the quality of my performance. And as a result, was able to incorporate many of the techniques for successful performance that I learned in my 10+ years of music education. 

I started my podcast in 2023 to share interesting ideas and information about the connection between mindfulness and music. I have gained so much from this and I love to share it with others.

I also present Mindfulness to Musicians all over the country, including the International Horn Symposium(2024), Oklahoma State, University of New Mexico, Woodland Chamber Music Workshop, and many others.

If I can help in anyway, or if you have any questions that you’d like to ask, please feel free to contact me.