My journey began at the age of 2 when I said “oa like mugas” (so I am told) and was given my first violin – that “violin” being a Cracker-Jack box with a ruler taped to it. Midway through kindergarten, I gave my first performance with orchestra as a student of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki (founder of the Suzuki Method) in Matsumoto, Japan, and shortly thereafter, made my TV debut on WBNS-TV’s Front Page Saturday Night.

Practice, practice, practice

From an early age, I practiced every day, 365 days a year. The work did pay off, and I had opportunities to perform as a soloist with the Columbus Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Welsh Hills Symphony, Oberlin Orchestra, and others. I also performed on radio broadcasts for WOSU-FM, WCBE-FM, and Israel’s National Classical Music radio station. A fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival allowed me to play alongside world-famous conductors, emerging concert artists, and future orchestra members and principals. It’s been my good fortune to have had coachings and master classes with renown musical figures such as Isaac Stern, Leon Fleisher, Emanuel Ax, Janos Starker, Max Rostal, Yfrah Neaman, and Natalia Gutman.

My life revolved around music for as long as I can remember. Along the way, I learned all about discipline, sacrifice, and what it takes to be successful. But I also came to see that this wasn’t quite enough. Despite my successes, I struggled with inconsistency and felt that my playing often fell short of what I knew I was capable of. It was frustrating to play so well in rehearsals and then sound like a different person in performances and auditions.

Do I have to practice more?

Like many musicians, I just assumed that I needed to practice more. I figured the nerves would fade away at some point. Neither was true; sometimes I’d sound great, sometimes just mediocre. I couldn’t figure out how to control it.

It certainly wasn’t my teachers’ fault. I am lucky to have studied with many truly great musicians and teachers; a list which includes Stephen Clapp, Ronald Copes, Franco Gulli, Paul Kantor, Masao Kawasaki, Roland & Almita Vamos, and Donald Weilerstein. I could not have asked for a better or more complete musical training. Yet, I knew there was more I needed to learn – I just didn’t know what.

A whole new world to explore

My second year at Juilliard, I signed up for a course titled “Performance Enhancement for Musicians” taught by Dr. Don Greene. It sounded interesting, but my primary motivation was to avoid taking any more music history or theory, and I was pretty skeptical that an Olympic sport psychologist and former green beret could tell me anything about being a concert artist. To my surprise, what I learned that semester changed not only how I performed, but how I felt about performing. My whole approach shifted. Even my practice habits changed dramatically.

I was hooked. Sport psychology opened up a whole new world of skills to learn, skills that I knew would help me become a more complete musician and performer, but to which I had never been exposed. After finishing up my masters at Juilliard, I went to Indiana University to pursue a doctorate in psychology. I was determined to learn more about peak performance and find answers to questions like “Why do some people thrive under pressure while others choke?”

Fast-forward to now

Currently, I’m on the faculty at Juilliard and the New World Symphony, speak at various institutions and organizations, and coach a select group of clients. I maintain a performance psychology blog at bulletproofmusician.com, am married to a terrific pianist, have two hilarious kids, and am a wee bit obsessed by all things Apple.