LIFE & CULTURE
ISTTHUADC EA NCTOSMIM N US INDI TY E TWEL H E CO C OMES L L E GNEIN ’ SE SAF C HGHAN O O L ORE F FUGEES MUSIC AOSRTGHAENYI ZAT TE N D C ORN EL L D URIN G S PRIN G S EMESTER E M E N TA L H E A LT H G R O U P F O R S T U D E N T S concern at colleges and universities across the situations involved with being a musician are country. Burnout in music students can occur for not beneficial. Music students usually take between 15 etween standard academic responsi- multiple reasons, like performance anxiety, perbilities and personal life, students in the Ithaca fectionism, heavier coursework, lack of sleep and and 18 credits during a semester, but music courses like Aural Skills and Fundamentals of College School of Music are required to follow a excessive criticism. Raychl Smith and Adrienne Steiner, fac- Music Theory — both of which require extenvery strict schedule to ensure no practice time is wasted. Luckily, there is a place on campus that ulty members of the East Carolina University sive preparation and homework — are only busy musicians can turn to in order to take a School of Music, studied how students coped one to two credits. So the number of courswith these intense demands. They found that es that a music student takes at once can add much-needed moment for themselves. Every other Thursday on the second floor of music majors report higher rates of anxiety up quickly. Senior Zoe-Marie Fuentes is a student the James J. Whalen Center for Music, the Men- and depression than the general undergradutal Health Awareness for Musicians Association ate population, East Carolina News shared in in the music School. Fuentes said she was taking nine classes for a total of 17.5 cred(MHAMA) hosts a musicians’ wellness circle in an article. Smith said she and Tremblay want to prove its and highlights the stress that comes Whalen Room 2328, where music what they preach in regard to Whalen’s with this. students can meditate, draw, “I think that being a Whalen student is overwhelming course loads by assesswrite and reflect in an ing the academic lives of musicians incredibly stressful, and there are so many effort to alleviate the “Caring for yourself . . . with the Carnegie unit, a reference factors that feed into this,” Fuentes said via email. stress that comes used for measuring the amount “I can’t exactly compare one major or school to with being a musiis really important and of time a student must study another. … I think every area of study has their cian. The event is goes hand in hand with own types of stress and every individual handles a subject. hosted by MHAMA “We’ve taken a certain sche- them differently.” president senior your musicianship.”… Fuentes said a large contributor to the matic for a freshman, with Gavin Tremblay and stress of being a student-musician is the impor15-and-a half-credits and figured out treasurer senior Erin -Zoe-Marie Fuentes all the credit hours that are required of tance of being a performer to one’s identity. Smith, both of whom you in a week,” Smith said. “We showed Grading a musician so harshly on something they are musicians themselves. it to Ron Dow at CAPS, and he was like, ‘You use to represent themselves can lead to circumTremblay said that this could sustain that for maybe a week. After that stances of poor mental health. year the association aims to play “One of the things that is super important a more prominent role in the music school it’s damaging.’” Ron Dow is a licenced clinical social work- to learn and realize as a music student is that it community by hosting a variety of events and continuing events that have been successful in er and staff member at CAPS. Dow said the is OK to step back and take time for yourself,” majority of student-musicians, or any artists, do Fuentes said. “Caring for yourself as a human the past. The wellness circles were Tremblay’s not experience severe mental illness, though is really important and goes hand in hand with idea, beginning the fall semester of last year he said the busy schedules and high-intensity your musicianship.” via Zoom with “Wellness Wednesday.” Wellness Wednesday had low attendance, which Tremblay said that he thinks was due to the fatigue students experienced being on Zoom all day. “We focus on giving students a break from the academic side of their education,” Tremblay said. “We are very strictly a nonacademic thing.” The musicians’ wellness circles also operate based on themes and topics chosen by MHAMA’s officers. On top of giving students a place to relax, MHAMA also invites guests to lead meditations, reflections and discussion at the end of some sessions. The officers said there is a large number of music faculty and Center for Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) staff who offer valuable insight during their meetings. A huge part of MHAMA and the wellness circles is not only providing a space to heal musicians’ mental health but advocating for it. The mental health of music students is a Seniors Gavin Tremblay and Erin Smith began musicians’ wellness circles to give music students a chance to take care of mental health. Kevin Yu/The Ithacan
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BY MIKE ROSS
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