This week's episode features Jarrett McCourt. Jarrett has been named one of Canada’s “hottest 30 classical musicians under 30”, and currently serves on faculty at Vanderbilt University, and performs as Principal Tuba with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and has appeared with some of the world's top ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Canadian Brass.
Passionate about mental health and suicide prevention, Jarrett has been a guest on popular music-themed podcasts including The Brass Junkie, That’s Not Spit It’s Condensation and Sound Mind Musician, speaking largely about ways to stabilize and improve one’s mental health as a musician in the 21st century. In his spare time, Jarrett works as a supervisor with the Crisis Text Line, a global not-for-profit organization providing free crisis intervention and suicide prevention via SMS message.
Jarrett has also visited several colleges, universities and summer festivals to speak, including Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, DePaul University, the New World Symphony, and the Pokorny Low Brass Seminar. Moreover, Jarrett is a certified yoga instructor, and is a firm believer in the positive effects of mindfulness on one's happiness.
In this interview we discuss the importance of mental health for all musicians at every level, how Jarrett keeps himself calm through the demanding work of audition preparation, and some suggestions about how to monitor your own mental health and offer support to others as well. Not only is Jarret a performer at the highest level, but his experience with helping others with mental health makes his advise truly special.
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