Conversations In Confidence

For this episode I am thrilled to welcome one of the world's top guitarists with a pedigree and career that few can match. Richard Durrant has been a professional guitarist for over 30 years and is a phenomenal musician both technically and musically. A graduate of the Royal College of Music he has forged a successful career both live and in the studio. In this episode he shares his story and his philosophy to performance.

Jennifer has been working in the music industry for over 20 years working with a diverse range of artists and in many different performance settings including Stevie Wonder, Def Leppard, Patti Labelle and Christina Aguilera to name just a few. In addition she is a published author and columnist writing regularly for Huffington Post, Psychology Today and American Songwriter. She is also a qualified counsellor and therapist. This very unique blend of skills and experience make Jennifer one of the world's most respected and sought after vocal coaches today. In this episode we free wheel on a number of topics covered in her latest book The Art of Singing Onstage and In The Studio.

Annie is one of an increasing number of experts in the field. She’s a top musician, vocal coach and teacher behind the careers of a number of singers including the renowned UK soprano, Rebecca Newman and has taught Lenny Henry to play piano. In this episode, she explains what mindfulness is, what it's not and how to use it to improve your music performance.

Sensorimotor amnesia and pandiculation are two terms you've probably never heard of but I promise that by the end of this episode you will be both fascinated and impressed by my brilliant guest, Karen Green and appreciate why they're important. Given the pressures musicians place on their bodies during practice and performance, not to mention the general wear and tear that unsociable hours and other occupational hazards present, looking after our bodies becomes a priority. So have a listen to learn what somatic movement is, why it's important and how it can help in preventing and recovering from occupational injury.

When you’re looking for an answer to a problem it’s good to get as many different perspectives as you can. With that in mind, I’m keen to introduce you to other experts in the field of healing and personal development. Christopher Paul Jones is both a great friend and an exceptional healer and coach who combines a whole raft of different approaches and ideologies to help people achieve a personal breakthrough. We trained have trained together since 2008 and continue - amongst all the banter - to learn and grow our skills and our coaching and therapy practices. He’s a triple accredited NLP Trainer, a hypnotherapist based in Harley Street, London working with a broad range of clients in the media industry and beyond.

My guest in this episode is the wonderful author and columnist, Sara Solovitch. Like so many she has worked hard to understand and overcome debilitating music performance anxiety. Here she talks about her journey, the people she met along the way and what they told her that helped as well as what didn't. Find out how she learned to perform in front of an audience. It's a great story.