Hosted by the Hartford Chapter CSMTA
* EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE: POSTMARKED BY October 1st, 2026
Walk-in registrations 12:00-12:15 pm
- Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026
- Location: NOTE LOCATION HAS CHANGED! NEW LOCATION IS: Congregational Church of South Glastonbury, 949 Main Street, South Glastonbury, CT 06073
- Time: 12:00 – 4:30 pm
- Presenter Session Titles: 1) Performance Anxiety Management for Musicians 2) Mental Skills for Peak Performance
2026 Conference Presenter:
Dr. Vanessa Cornett author of book The Mindful Musician published by Oxford University Press. is a presenter, lecturer, and professor whose research is focused on topics related to performance psychology. She is a Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy and the Director of Keyboard Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis – St. Paul. working with musicians and other creative artists who struggle with performance anxiety or who want to develop their mental skills for peak performance experiences.
Dr. Vanesssa Cornett is a certified meditation instructor with post-graduate training in sport psychology, and she frequently offer in-person and virtual workshops, masterclasses, and personal coaching sessions.
In the undergraduate Aquinas Scholars Honors Program, Dr. Cornett has offered interdisciplinary seminars on “Music and the Mind: The Science of Musical Experience”, “Music and Meditation: Pathways to Transformative Learning”, “Art and Music as Contemplative Experiences”, “Mindfulness in Context” and “A Course About Nothing.”
Dr. Cornett earned a D.M.A. degree in piano performance and literature from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, with minors in music theory, music history, and the Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy. She earned the B.M. degree in piano performance and M.M. degree in piano pedagogy from West Virginia University.
Explore her work on her website.