Starting young to protect the mental health of highly gifted music students
Part of the Music Studies Distinguished Speaker Series
Presented by Margaret Osborne, Associate Professor in Psychology and Music, University of Melbourne
Gifted young musicians grow up in environments that promise excellence but can quietly undermine their mental health. Research shows that musicians face markedly higher rates of anxiety, depression, and distress than the general population, with performance anxiety emerging early and intensifying in mid-adolescence. In this talk, Osborne examines how perfectionism, high-stakes auditions, non-autonomous teaching, and competitive institutional cultures interact to create psychological risk—and why these pressures are especially acute for “gifted and talented” students. Drawing on an illustrative case study and parallels with elite youth sport, she introduces the concepts of psychological safety and ecological systems as practical frameworks for change. Her discussion examines how teachers, parents, peers, and institutions can reshape studio, rehearsal, and performance practices to protect mental health while still supporting artistic ambition, so that the next generation of musicians can flourish both on stage and as human beings, in lives beyond music.
Cost: Free