Jessica Koebbe, DMA

Hi there! I’m Dr. Jessica Koebbe, founder of Mindful Music Pedagogy. My story is probably one that many of you can relate to: I struggled with Musical Performance Anxiety throughout my piano studies in middle school, high school, and college. As a high school student, I realized I wanted to be a professional pianist and a college professor, so I earned all the necessary undergraduate and graduate degrees, got the college job(s), and still found myself confronted with many of the realities and struggles common to the musical profession: insecurities, perfectionism, and performance anxiety.

As I taught, I noticed many of my students, including my very young ones, struggling with some of the same perfectionistic tendencies and anxieties. I studied some of the resources that had been helpful to me along my journey, however they were developed for adults and the abstract concepts and strategies discussed were not helpful for my younger students. I wanted to change that.

My doctoral research focused on Music Performance Anxiety in children, including the study of key developmental phases young children experience, the importance of creating a positive learning environment, and the power of learning coping skills early on as a part of music study.

The resources on this site are an outgrowth of my doctoral research and serve as part of my response to the lack of resources for children experiencing Musical Performance Anxiety. I hope you find them as useful with your students and clients as I have with mine.

I would especially encourage you to check out the workbooks, guided audio resources, the Wellness Sessions, and the MMP YouTube channel videos.

My degrees are in Piano Performance (University of Kansas, BM; Texas Christian University, MM; University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, DMA) and I have served on the faculty of Texas Wesleyan University, MidAmerica Nazarene University, and Kansas State University. I currently serve on the faculty of William Jewell College in a teaching and collaborative role as Adjunct Instructor of Music in Keyboard Arts and am the director of the Puerto Rico Center for Collaborative Piano, a summer music festival for pianists which specializes in chamber music by marginalized composers. In addition, I have maintained a private studio for 20+ years where I have the pleasure of working one-on-one with children, high school students, and adults.

I am a Certified Meditation Instructor and am a member of the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA).