Helen Spielman is an acclaimed performance anxiety coach who has had phenomenal
success in helping musicians reduce fears of performing on stage. Helen synthesizes
more than 30 years of her own experiences as a performing musician, an educator,
a public speaker, and a nationally certified grief counselor to bring to her
workshops a wealth of knowledge and resources. Her own triumph over a deeply
profound struggle with stage fright gives her a soft, compassionate connection
to everyone in her classes. Helen's warm smile and supportive manner encourages
participants to discover new ways to share with audiences that which is close
to their hearts.
This highly popular and worthwhile class is for anyone who feels nervous about performing on stage. Helen will help you identify the personal experiences, feelings, and thoughts that act as barriers and inhibit your ability to concentrate and perform optimally. Then she'll teach appropriate tools to overcome these barriers. The tools - similar to highly effective approaches used to minimize stress and prepare for athletic competition - include positive affirmation, progressive relaxation, mental imagery or visualization, and many more. Helen's classes are rich with transformative, life-changing moments. As one former participant wrote, "I enjoy a level of performance satisfaction I never knew possible."
Helen will share her own experiences, encourage you to engage in some fun and fascinating written exercises, and help class participants discover new insights to apply to their individual performance needs. Previous workshop participants have stated that "this was a life-altering experience," while others have commented that "this was the first self-help class I actually enjoyed."
Helen will be available for private sessions throughout the week of the Wildacres retreat.
Helen Spielman, M.A. is a musician, flute teacher and performance anxiety coach with 30 years of experience. Her special interest in the area of performance anxiety is a synthesis of her experience as a performing musician and speaker, together with her years of coaching and teaching. She conquered her own fears of performing, and she has been effective in helping many students, clients, and workshop participants release their fear of being on stage.
Helen will present her workshop "Radiant Performance: More Concentation, More Confidence" at the first annual Finger Lakes Flute Institute in Canandaigua, NY in summer 2008 with international stars Alexa Still (Australia) and Paul Edmund-Davies (UK). She is also on the faculty of the University of North Carolina Wellness Center where she teaches a performance anxiety class twice each year to help speakers, musicians, dancers, salespeople, athletes, actors, and others learn to perform well and confidently under pressure. She give talks and workshops at colleges and universities around the U.S., at national and international conventions, and for private music studios, music clubs and societies, and orchestras. This year she will present her workshop in Great Britain, Italy, and South Africa.
In addition to teaching in her busy flute studio, Helen enjoys performing and writing about flute playing and music making. In October 2006, her studio was featured as the cover story of Flute Talk magazine. Her articles about flute playing and music making have been translated into four languages and published in Japan, Australia, Sweden, Great Britain, Poland, and the Netherlands, as well as in numerous publications in the U.S.
Helen is a member of the National Flute Association and the British Flute Society, and she served on the Board of Directors of the Raleigh Area Flute Association from 1996 to 2002. She gave her first international presentation in the spring of 1999 at a London Flutewise event that drew 5,000 participants. In June 2004, at the personal invitation of Sir James Galway, Helen spent two days observing him record his recent award-winning CD "Wings of Song" with the London Symphony Orchestra at historic Abbey Road Studios in London.
From 1995 to 2005, she was the Assistant Manager for FLUTE, an Internet discussion group of 2,500 flutists from 45 countries.
Helen began flute studies at age 11. She performed in Carnegie Hall and other well-known venues with the New York All-City Orchestras and Bands, and with the Augusta (Georgia) Symphony Orchestra from 1975 to 78. She holds a Master's Degree in Special Education, and she is a Nationally Certified Grief Counselor.
What previous Wildacres participants have said about the Performance Anxiety from Inside Out workshop:
"I just wanted to e-mail you and thank you for your kind heart and all your help. I am becoming a more confident person on stage and in life with each day that passes. I received another opportunity to perform in a more positive mind set. On the last day of class we had a mini recital. I played the Idyll from the Godard Suite. It was a lot of fun and I wasn't nervous!!! I enjoyed myself and I think my playing was well received. Instead of being nervous, I made music and it was beautiful. As you can see, my life is going very well. You have been so helpful to me. My life has changed for the better and I am so thankful for you. Words could never express how appreciative I am for all you did for me. I feel like every time I perform, a little piece of you, your encouragement and your warm heart is with me. I am now eager to give my senior recital this Fall and I look forward to sharing that experience with you as well. Many thanks and hugs" ---A workshop participant
"Your instincts are very impressive - like a massage therapist who knows just how to find the right spots!" --- L.S., a private client
"You are a life-saver to all those who suffer from performance anxiety. You have helped me and so many people. I still think often of your teachings." - a workshop participant
Visit Helen’s website at http://www.unc.edu/~hbs.
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