Pianist Laura Amoriello knows how to handle the performance anxiety that can afflict even the most seasoned musicians. She believes everyone has a “superpower” that is bigger than fear; over time, she has cultivated methods to reach that courage through practicing mindfulness and meditation and infusing these in her music practice and performance. Amoriello learned these techniques, she says, to deal with a stressful personal situation. They helped quiet her mind at the time—and she was surprised several years later during a teaching audition, when alongside the usual fear of performing, she unexpectedly experienced an even deeper state of calmness.

“It was fascinating,” says Amoriello ’04 MMus A&A, who earned a master’s in piano performance and pedagogy. “Prior to that, I felt like the fear was in the driver’s seat. Mindfulness doesn’t completely take away fear, but it gives you a strong center.”

Amoriello is the founder of The Liberated Musician, an Ithaca, N.Y.–based studio that teaches musicians how to ease physical and mental tensions and anxiety by incorporating meditation and mindfulness into their playing and practice. Music, she says, demands mind, body, and soul. By teaching musicians how to slow down and relax their minds and bodies, Amoriello strives to help her clients be less demanding of themselves, unlock expressive freedom in themselves and their students, and find joy in making music.

A certified meditation instructor, Amoriello chairs the piano department at the Opus Ithaca School of Music. She is also vice president of the board of The Art of Practicing Institute, a nonprofit that trains musicians to achieve confidence and expressive power onstage. —Lisa Reyes