Programs

Where the Fine-tuning of Musicians Happens

Program Goals

Inspire positive music learning in a wholesome and supportive environment

Enhance performance skills, techniques, and overall musicianship

Cultivate musicians' intentions, awareness, wellbeing, and abilities to collaborate with others

Barbara Bogatin is a cellist with the San Francisco Symphony, chamber music player, and educator in the field of mindfulness training for musicians. In 35 years of practicing insight meditation, she has integrated the embodied knowledge this contemplative work nurtures into effective methods for improving instrumental practice and performance. She will present daily talks about how the skills we cultivate during meditation can be helpful in our music-making. Each day will feature a different topic of discussion and a related experiential workshop. 

There will also be opportunities to have one-on-one sessions with Barbara and other faculty members.

This program is open for all musicians with different instruments.

Practice + Experiential Workshop

Focus and Calm + Experiential Workshop

Deepening Musical Expression + Experiential Workshop

Clifford Saron, PhD, is a cognitive neuroscientist at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain and the UC Health MIND Institute in Sacramento, with a long-term interest in the effects of meditation on brain function and psychological well-being. His first experience with Buddhist insight meditation 50 years ago triggered a curiosity about the impact of contemplative practice on our minds and bodies. Inspired by participating in dialogues about Buddhism and science with H.H. the Dalai Lama over the past three decades with the Mind and Life Institute, he has led a research program investigating the effects of intensive meditation on sustained attention, emotion regulation, markers of stress and cellular aging, and adaptive psychological functioning. 

Neuroplasticity and Musicians' Brains - How musical training shapes our brains

Brains in Concert - Brain-to-brain coupling during performance

There's Something About Stillness - The effects of meditation on perception, attention, and emotion.

Dr. Alexander Kahn, Director of Orchestral Studies and Professor of Music at Sonoma State University, is a mindfulness practitioner and co-author of Caring for the Whole Musician, published by Routledge Press in 2022. This summer, Dr. Kahn will offer week-long workshops, serve on a panel of faculty during masterclasses, and engage in dialogues on mindfulness and music. The curriculum includes:

This program is open for all musicians with different instruments.

The Art of Practicing: how to practice more effectively, efficiently, and joyfully

Is it the right time to say this?

Is it true?

Is it helpful?

Is it kind?

Metta practice can be effective in all types of situations, from a solo practice session to a full ensemble rehearsal to a performance in front of a large audience

The guitar program offers a rare opportunity of concentrated study with guitar virtuoso Alex de Grassi and Professor Maja Radovanlija in an immersive setting. The curriculum includes:

The saxophone program centers around the principles of inspiring and nurturing saxophonists' inherent, spontaneous, and creative nature. The curriculum includes:

Explore the benefits of physical, mental, and musical warm-ups through hands-on exercises

Long tone, articulation, scales, arpeggios, patterns, and how to work through technical challenges

How to build a healthy relationship with your instruments, and how to mindfully take care of them

Various genres of solo, chamber, ensemble, and orchestral music

Improvisation and composition

Daily contemplative and wellness practices rooted in meditation, Taiji, Yoga, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines facilitated by serious practitioners of the fields are core of the daily curriculum that supports musicians' awareness, sensibility, and wellbeing. In addition, we offer a vegan diet, thoughtfully crafted by our holistic lifestyle counselor and chef, to nourish and care for the environment, other living beings, and ourselves.

Harmony Children's Program

Tuning into Joyful Living

The Harmony Children's Program designed for children and youth at the ages of 7 to 12 years old provides a platform to nurture young people's creativity, musical and artistic talents, mindfulness, and a wholesome lifestyle that lays a strong foundation for their future.

Curriculum Overview

Daily Contemplative and Wellness Practices

Meditation, Taiji, Yoga, Lifestyle Consultation, and vegan meals

Masterclasses

Perform pieces for the studio group and receive constructive feedback from a panel of faculty

One-on-one Classes

Weekly private lesson with the faculty

Concerts

A series of professional concerts offered by the music faculty and guest musicians

Performance Opportunities

Informal and formal performances during evening gatherings or student concerts

Guest Workshops

Workshops and performances by experts from the fields of music and contemplative practices

Weekend Activities

Recreational activities (trails, redwoods, coasts)