While I am often invited to present on the topic of stage fright and music performance, I also offer keynote speeches and workshops illustrating how understanding performance anxiety is relevant to dealing effectively with a variety of social and psychological issues. I also offer presentations on the #MeToo Movement, Oppression and Social Injustice as Heard in Music, Career Choices in Music, and The 21st Century Musician.
My original theater piece, “A Conversation Between Freud and Mozart” is used to invite discussion on solving differences in viewpoints, the value of music in mental life, and the use of music to promote social justice.
I have gained a reputation for my multi-faceted approach to performance anxiety and my ability to explain complex concepts in understandable ways. My presentations are enlivened with audio-visuals and a lot of time for audience Q&A.
To discuss your audience’s needs…
Current Topics
I offer in-person and virtual keynote or workshop presentations to a variety of audiences. Topics can be arranged in collaboration with an organization’s interests.
#MeToo and Music Education (or other area) – A Psychologist’s Perspective on Pain and Healing
Oppression and Injustice as Heard in Music: Becoming an Advocate for Social Justice
It’s Not Easy Being Green: Kermit the Frog has Stage Fright
Shame on You!! – Some Thoughts about Performance Anxiety
Covid19 and Job Loss: What Does Psychological Development Have to Do With It?
Sample Presentations
“A Conversation Between Freud and Mozart” preview. Steinway Hall, NYC, Feb. 2019
“Challenges and Opportunities for College Professors Regarding Inclusion of Mental Health Courses in the Music Curriculum“ College Music Society Webinar
“Melodies of the Mind” presentation at Mt. Sinai Medical Center NY Academy of Medicine
“Managing Performance Anxiety” presentation at Ann Arbor American Guild of Organists
Praise for Julie’s Speaking
“Julie Jaffee Nagel, Ph.D. has been steeped in musical performance all her life. Considered one of the leading experts on stage fright, she brings a blend of musical sophistication and psychological understanding to all problems of performing artists and musical educators.”
“It is a rare accomplishment as psychoanalyst and veteran musician that Julie Nagel straddles two complex and creative worlds with superior knowledge, skill, and experience. She succeeds not only in the consulting room, but out in the world of music where her patients, readers and audiences are the enriched beneficiaries.”
“Using her talents and experiences as well as her extensive training in both music and psychology, Julie Jaffee Nagel brings depth and fresh insight to her work. Equally at home with the underlying issues of performance anxiety or in understanding a composer’s life, she is a sensitive communicator both in her presentations in in her writing.”
“Julie Nagel’s work aims at fundamental resolution of musicians’ psychological problems through gaining insights to understand the origins of their conflict rather than simply dealing with superficial symptoms.”
“Julie Nagel is a compelling lecturer, effortlessly presenting complicated issues in ways that everyone can easily relate and understand. With her degrees in both music and psychology, she is eminently qualified to speak about the psychological issues that can have such an impact on a musician. Her recent book, Melodies of the Mind, provides readers fascinating insights into the connections between music and the mind. It’s captivating reading!”
Illustrative Presentations
The Golden Allure of Celebrity, 2022 (Sept) Michigan Psychoanalytic Society, Zoom.
Understanding Oppression, Injustice, and Intolerance Through Music. (5 session Zoom course) Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: University of Michigan. October 2020
Understanding Oppression, Injustice, and Intolerance Through Music (invited Dewald Lecture) St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute, Nov. 6, 2020. (Zoom)
#MeToo and Music Education. College Music Society, November 13, 2020 (Zoom)
Stage Fright! A presentation for teachers and Joint Masterclass with music students – with Louis Nagel – illustrating both pedagogical and psychological approaches to teaching and performance.
Symposium: “#MeToo and Music Teaching”. American Psychoanalytic Association national meetings, New York, Feb. 13, 2020.
“A Conversation Between Freud and Mozart”. Steinway Hall, NY, NY ( original dialogue by Julie Jaffee Nagel) with two actors and pianists. American Psychoanalytic Association National Meetings. February 13, 2020
Florida State Music Teachers Conference. October 18 and 19, 2019. Gainesville, Florida.
Music Teachers National Association Conference, #Me Too: Implications for Music Teachers. Spokane, Washington. March 2019.
Music Teachers National Association Conferences: Co-Chair and Presenter Musicians and Mental Health, San Antonio, Texas (2016) and Baltimore, Maryland (2017). Organized collaboration with American Psychoanalytic Association.
2010 Ernst and Gertrude Memorial Lecture: Melodies in my Mind: The Polyphony of Mental Life. American Psychoanalytic Association, Washington DC. (Recipient of 2010 Ticho Award)
International presentations on Performance Anxiety in the United States and Italy, Poland, Israel, Russia, Israel, and Tortola (BVI) – various years