PODCAST · arts
LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe
by Julia Adolphe
LooseLeaf NoteBook uncovers the connection between creativity and mental health, with a focus on nurturing artistry, emotional intelligence, and self-care. Composer Julia Adolphe shares her creative process, personal experience with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and journey towards mental health alongside guests from across creative fields to provide inspiration, a space for open dialogue, and paths towards healing through artistic self-expression.
Episodes
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Joy Guidry: Transforming Trauma through the Creative Process
Composer/Bassoonist Joy Guidry shares how they protect their own mental health while exploring personally traumatic content in their art. We discuss their critically acclaimed debut album, Radical Acceptance (2022), which traces Joy's personal experiences of Bipolar Disorder and PTSD. Joy...
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Frank Ticheli: Overcoming Anxiety & Trusting the Subconscious
Composer Frank Ticheli shares his experience with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which manifested in his 30's in the form of chronic pain and impeded his ability to compose. We discuss how Frank reframed his relationship to his writing process in order to reconnect with his work, difficulties with...
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Sasha Cooke: Managing Imposter Syndrome & the Benefits of Couples Therapy
Two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke shares her experience of imposter syndrome, a feeling that one is not worthy or deserving of one's success. We discuss how these inner bullying voices originated in relation to her body image and how music became a safe, empowering space....
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Myroslava Khomik: Creativity as Spiritual Work in Times of War
Ukrainian-born violinist Dr. Myroslava Khomik shares how anyone with creativity and compassion can work as a spiritual leader during times of global crisis. We discuss the centuries-long history of Russian aggressors targeting and executing Ukrainian artists while appropriating Ukrainian culture,...
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Creatives Care: How Therapy Enables Creativity & Finding Affordable Care
Psychiatrist Alana Mendelsohn, MD, PhD, Catherine Hancock, and Katya Gruzgliina share the mission of Creatives Care, which aims to partner artists with affordable mental health care providers and help individuals assess what kind of therapy might be right for their specific needs. Our…
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Andrew Norman: Anxiety & Creative Process
Composer Andrew Norman shares how his creative anxiety has led him into a current period of writer's block. We discuss how his frenetic language captures how thoughts move in his mind, the underlying sources of his anxiety, and brainstorm together how he can move forward to reconnect with the joy...
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Ryan McAdams: How Myths of Artistic Leadership Fuel Destructive Behaviors
Conductor Ryan McAdams shares how the myth of the "ideal" conductor, perpetuated at conservatory and within Western culture, glorifies destructive lifestyles such as living in isolation, excessive behaviors, constant striving for perfection, appearing omniscient, and hiding all human...
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Adjusting Creativity During Times of Crisis
I share my strategies for continuing to write during a time of personal hardship and discuss the pressures and myths surrounding creating art in response to moments of crisis. Questions or comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel
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Trusting Your Voice with a Mental Illness
One of the hardest parts of accepting my diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder was relearning to trust my voice, mind and body after I felt it had betrayed me. I discuss the importance of trusting your voice in your personal life in order to fully trust your creative voice and vision as an...
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Maia Jasper White: How Crisis Changes Artistry
Violinist Maia Jasper White shares how her relationship to music-making changed as she cared for her young daughter, who underwent surgery for craniosynostosis and a subsequent period of PTSD. We discuss how Maia temporarily stepped away from creative work and how the personal crisis changed her...
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Letting Go of Your Work & Accepting Its Imperfections
I reflect on why art is always imperfect and unpack a wave of anxiety that emerged for me while finishing a large-scale work for the LA Philharmonic. With some advice from my creative coach, Cherry Jeffs, I was able to move past emotional blocks and tackle the work's conclusion. If you're curious...
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McQueen & Blankenship: Partnership, Power & Vulnerability
Co-hosts of the Trilloquy podcast Garrett McQueen and Scott Blankenship share their experiences with depression, therapy, medication, cannabis, creativity, and addiction. They discuss how they continue to navigate their professional and personal relationship following Garrett's controversial...
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Anxiety as an Editing Eye
For years in therapy, I focused on recognizing and then extracting my anxious impulses from my creative process to allow greater room for freedom and play. Now, I am examining how my lingering anxiety that appears while I write can actually serve as a tool in the editing process, provided it...
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Christopher Trapani: Depression, Memory & Communication
Composer Christopher Trapani shares his experience with clinical depression and how it impacts the nature of his creative process, memory, and communication. Chris discusses how he both evades and encodes the filter of depression into his music, myths about the tortured artist, medication, and...
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The Attraction of the Tortured Artist Myth
The idea that art stems from deep suffering is ingrained in Western European classical tradition. I share my thoughts on why this myth is attractive to society and to myself personally, as I was struggling to come to terms with my Anxiety Disorder. Belief in this myth ultimately did me more harm...
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Elena Urioste & Melissa White: Your Unique Body, Voice & Healing Process
Violinists & yoga instructors Melissa White & Elena Urioste share why they founded Intermission Sessions, a program uniting musicianship, movement & mindfulness that emphasizes individual focus on one's own physical & emotional needs. We discuss the impact of abusive or unsupportive teachers &...
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Untangling Anxious Signals & Creative Impulses
States of high anxiety can produce thought patterns similar to those experienced during the creative process - seemingly disparate thoughts connect to create new meanings and stories - but there are also stark differences between imaginative impulses and anxious physiological signals. I unpack…
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Daniela Candillari: Creative Blessings in Disguise
Conductor & composer Daniela Candillari shares how she discovered surprising musical and personal truths about herself through new and pleasurable activities, such as pottery and gardening, while she strove to cope with her forced hiatus from conducting caused by the pandemic. We discuss how…
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Cindy Lam: Voicing Trauma & Connecting with Your Inner Child
Pianist and Music Educator Cindy Lam shares her experience of PTSD, initially triggered by surviving a car accident at 18, which temporarily threatened her musical capabilities, and heightened in 2020 by the loss of her father to a rare genetic Prion disease. Cindy discusses her ongoing healing...
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Sarah Kirkland Snider: Illuminating Anxiety, Creative Process & Nurturing Support
Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider shares her experience with Generalized Anxiety Disorder & Major Depressive Disorder and how they impact her creative process. She unpacks the shame and stigma surrounding mental health challenges, the toxic myth of the tortured artist, strategies for coping and…
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Creating Safe Spaces and Asking for Help
LooseLeaf NoteBook provides a safe space to talk about mental health challenges and modes of healing, including therapy, medication, and at-home self-care practices, as well as examining the complex and often misunderstood relationship between mental health and creativity. I share why I started...
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Myah Rose Paden: Authentic Self-States
Mezzo-soprano Myah Rose Paden shares the positive aspects of ADHD, and how she manages her Anxiety and Depression by caring for each distinct mood, or self-state, as if it were a unique person who requires a specific form of care and loving attention. We discuss the process of starting therapy…
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Interview Highlights
Highlights from my interviews about Creativity and Mental Health in the context of the pandemic, featuring composers Jessie Montgomery, Billy Childs, and Samuel Adler, pianist Gloria Cheng, librettist Aiden Feltkamp, percussionist Sidney Hopson, and high schooler Jaden Gaines.
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Aiden K. Feltkamp: Transgender Identity, Neurodivergence & the Lens of Equity
Librettist & Singer Aiden K. Feltkamp, who serves as the Emerging Composers and Diversity Director at the American Composers Orchestra, shares how they work with large institutions to identify & dismantle internal discriminatory practices & address unconscious biases. Aiden speaks openly about...
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Jessie Montgomery: Reclaiming Creative Play & the Process of Anti-Racism
Composer Jessie Montgomery shares how she has shifted her creative process since the pandemic began to cultivate a sense of playful freedom & reconnect with her childhood love of diverse musical styles. We discuss how systemic racism has affected Jessie's perception of her own musical identity…
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Xander Snyder: Healthier Political Dialogue & Emotion Regulation
Geopolitical analyst & co-founder of Reconsider Media Xander Snyder draws from Stoic & Buddhist philosophies, as well as practices from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, to help him navigate the toxic political divisiveness rampant in today's media coverage. He offers tools to help recognize what we...
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Anxious Scrolling & High Sensitivity
How does scrolling social media & the news mirror my experience of anxiety? It's a constantly changing quick succession of conflicting, highly volatile information that tells me I'm in immediate danger! I discuss how scrolling impacts people with high sensitivity levels, and how I've learned to…
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Dara Taylor: Finding Your People
Composer Dara Taylor shares how she stays focused on her writing for film & TV while striving to process the current national reckoning with systemic racism. We discuss how Dara moved through environments where she did not feel welcome as a female composer of color to how she found her creative...
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Dale Trumbore: Recognizing Anxiety, Creating with Empathy
My best friend composer Dale Trumbore & I talk all things anxiety disorders & composing during a pandemic. Dale is the author of "Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety & Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life." We discuss her choral works written specifically for Zoom, her experience w/ anti-anxiety...
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Fatu Su'esu'e: Embracing Your Body & Voice
American Samoan tenor Fatu Su'esu'e shares how the virtual reality of the pandemic made him realize how self-conscious he felt on camera about his body. As a playful quarantine challenge, Fatu began taking photographs of himself and embracing his physique, leading to an unexpected & empowering...
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Civic Engagement & Personal Expression
What can we do as individuals to make a difference in our struggling world? Each of us can tap into our unique identities to determine how we can best contribute to forwarding human rights & the health of our society & planet during this time of crisis. This will look different for every person…
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Billy Childs: Creative Process, Internal Pressures & Racial Identity
Composer and pianist Billy Childs shares the impact of the pandemic and systemic racism in America on his creativity and how he returns to his writing process with practice and persistence. Billy speaks candidly about the pressure he puts on himself to create and perfect his craft, how his…
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Myths of Medication, Creativity & the Tortured Artist
When I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder at 19 after experiencing panic attacks, multiple psychiatrists recommended that I begin medication. I share why I was scared to start anti-depressants, how I feared they would damage my artistic process, and how they ultimately improved my...
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Julia Jordan Kamanda: Parenting, Creative Energy & Mental Health
Singer-Songwriter & Music Educator Julia Jordan Kamanda shares how she works to reclaim her own creative impulses while raising two kids during the pandemic & working from home. Julia talks openly about her 9-year-old's new feelings of anxiety, emerging since the murder of George Floyd, and how…
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Zachary March: Flexible Boundaries for Couples Working from Home
My partner Zach and I share what we've learned as a couple both working from home for the past five years. We discuss how we have created flexible boundaries, our struggles with co-dependency and personal space, and how we talk about and manage my anxiety disorder as a couple. Zachary shares how…
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Samuel Adler & Emily Freeman Brown: Hope & Perspective in Pandemic Times
Composer Samuel Adler and conductor Emily Freeman Brown share how they are staying hopeful and creative during the pandemic. Born in 1928 to a Jewish family living in Germany, Samuel Adler gives his unique perspective on how he draws inspiration from artists who have both struggled and thrived...
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Reframing Pre-Pandemic Work for Today's Emotional Needs
I share how I shifted my creative approach to my orchestral work for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which I began writing before the pandemic, so that it feels just as meaningful and reflective of my life today. I also dive into my thought process on composing a new solo violin work for…
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My Anxiety Disorder
Today, I want to share publicly that I have an anxiety disorder that impacts every aspect of my life. I was diagnosed at 19 with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, considered a mental illness, and have been in therapy and on medication for 13 years. My hope is to help de-stigmatize mental illness, and...
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Sidney Hopson: Resilience through Music and Cultural Policy
Percussionist and arts policy consultant Sidney Hopson shares how he found strength and comfort in classical music as a young child struggling to care for his ailing parents. We discuss how Sidney's discovery of cultural policy, pinpointing how he could bring the transformative power of music to...
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Gloria Cheng: The Intimacy of Recording
Pianist Gloria Cheng discusses how she and her students grew closer together while facing the unique challenges of virtual music education, how incorporating new recording exercises provided surprising gifts, and how she returned to her own daily artistic practice during the pandemic. We also…
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Hila Plitmann: Healing through Creativity
Soprano Hila Plitmann and I discuss how engaging in playful creativity opens a space for internal healing, connection with loved ones and the world around us, and gratitude even in times of adversity. Hila shares her thoughts on mantra singing, motherhood, and how "the mind is a playful...
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Jaden Gaines: Artistic Communities and Mental Health
17-year-old musician & arts counselor for kids with special needs Jaden Gaines talks about how he's staying creative and connected to his high school theater troupe during the pandemic. He reminds us that artistic expression through a community helps us care for our mental health collectively and...
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How an Inmate Freed My Voice
My student Gherald taught me a pivotal life lesson when I was teaching music theory at Auburn Correctional Facility, an all-male maximum-security prison. Whenever I feel vulnerable about my creative voice, I think of Gherald's advice. Questions or Comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube...
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Cultivating Artistic Vulnerability
What does it mean to be vulnerable as an artist and why is it so challenging? I share my thoughts on the importance of finding, accepting, and believing in your unique voice in the face of uncertainty. What methods do you use to uncover unconscious thoughts and channel them into creative…
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Do Something Frivolous to Stay Inspired!
Creative work thrives with a playful spirit, but you can't channel playfulness in your work if you're not playful in your life! With the increased pressures of the pandemic, frivolous activities are even more important to creative survival. I share my recent discovery of video games and how…
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Creative Playgrounds and Reconnecting with Childlike Joy
How I bring creative impulses from childhood into my current artistic practice, specifically with my new orchestral work for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Questions or comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel
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Fall Closures and Letting Go of Control
Reflecting on Fall Concert Cancellations, Letting Go of Control in my Creative Process, and Hoping for Systemic Change in Classical Music Questions and Comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel
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Don't Give Up! Forge New Paths
Why it's important to stay creative during the pandemic, even if that means bringing your creativity to other areas of your daily life or trying new expressive outlets Questions or comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel
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Numbing vs Resting
Unlike the fight or flight response, which provides an adrenaline rush, freezing shuts you down. How do you return to your creative work when you feel numb or overwhelmed? And how do you know if you are numbing or simply resting? Questions or comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel
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Channeling Anger and Reclaiming Creative Work
Anger can be motivating and exhausting. How do you reclaim your right to be creative, your right to protest discrimination, and your right to take care of your mental health during a time of crisis? Questions and comments may be shared on Julia Adolphe's YouTube Channel
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
LooseLeaf NoteBook uncovers the connection between creativity and mental health, with a focus on nurturing artistry, emotional intelligence, and self-care. Composer Julia Adolphe shares her creative process, personal experience with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and journey towards mental health alongside guests from across creative fields to provide inspiration, a space for open dialogue, and paths towards healing through artistic self-expression.
HOSTED BY
Julia Adolphe
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe have?
LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe currently has 53 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe about?
LooseLeaf NoteBook uncovers the connection between creativity and mental health, with a focus on nurturing artistry, emotional intelligence, and self-care. Composer Julia Adolphe shares her creative process, personal experience with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and journey towards mental health...
How often does LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe release new episodes?
LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe has 53 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe?
You can listen to LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe?
LooseLeaf NoteBook with Julia Adolphe is created and hosted by Julia Adolphe.
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