The Hidden Costs of High Notes: Detangling Music Health Narratives

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 19
Time: 12:30 pm
Location: Quance Theatre, Education Building Room 1003, 28 Campus Dr., Saskatoon

Free and open to the public

About this event

While music and wellness are often synonymous, emerging research highlights that being a professional musician can have a negative impact on well-being and resilience. Additionally, performers are hesitant to disrupt the dominate health narrative, stopping them from speaking out about their occupational health needs.

This FARLS lecture explores this contradiction by focusing on a rarely examined subset of freelance musicians: opera singers. The presentation discusses the lived-experience of elite-level Canadian opera singers, revealing the non-musical stressors that impact their vocal health and career sustainability, while also highlighting the coping strategies used by these artists to offer insights into how they navigate the complex intersection of artistry, health, and livelihood. This topic converges with broader conversations of music industry standards and expectations; music education and training; arts funding; occupational health; and equity and diversity in the performing arts. It aims to foster a deeper understanding of the realities of being a freelance musician while contributing to broader conversations of performers’ wellness and occupational health.

FARLS is hosted by the University of Saskatchewan School for the Arts. See upcoming FARLS events.