The Bulletproof Musician Jennifer Montone: On the Unspoken Mental and Emotional Aspects of Being a Musician
Jennifer Montone is Principal Horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and teaches at teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School. Jennifer is an active chamber musician, hs performed as a guest artist or soloist with numerous orchestras, and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, also has a Grammy Award for her performance of the Penderecki Horn Concerto with the Warsaw National Philharmonic.
Today’s episode is made extra special, in that I’m joined by guest co-host Catherine Cho (violin). A top prize-winner at the Hannover, Queen Elizabeth, and Montreal competitions, Catherine maintains an active performing career, serves on the faculty at The Juilliard School, and has also recently been appointed Artistic Advisor of the biennial Starling-DeLay Symposium.
In today’s episode, we’ll explore…
4:12 - Why is playing horn such a mental game? And what do horn players worry about anyway? Jennifer illustrates the mind of a horn player by walking us through one of her recent low points - and how she recovered.
8:32 - How do you separate how you feel from how you sound? As in, how do you avoid getting sucked into the mental negativity spiral of assuming that if you feel bad you must sound bad?
11:29 - What do violinists (and string players) worry about? And whether as a horn player or violinist (or any musician, really), how can one get to a better place mentally?
14:05 - Jennifer describes the three ingredients that seem to contribute to an optimal mental balance during performing.
17:10 - A funny anecdote which illustrates how different musicians approach nerves differently.
18:38 - Are young musicians nowadays more open to talking about nerves than in previous generations? Or is that just because teachers are more open to providing a space to talk about this than in the past?
23:46 - How does parenthood affect you as a musician? What are the positive impacts, and what are some of the challenges?
28:43 - Jennifer and Catherine describe their teaching journeys and how they’ve worked at the craft of teaching over the years.
35:22 - What kinds of notes do Jennifer and Catherine take during (or after) lessons?
37:44 - What it says on the refrigerator magnet that Jennifer will look to for support on tough days.
35:08 - The thing Catherine did one year with her studio that made a “very, very significant” change in the growth of her students that year.
43:06 - What is
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Have you been feeling a little stuck or stagnant in the practice room? Or has performance anxiety and the gap between practice and performance been a nagging issue that hasn’t changed, no matter how well you've prepared for performances, auditions - and even lessons?
If you’ve been wanting to experience more joy in the practice room and play more like yourself on stage, but haven’t been quite sure how to make that happen, starting June 10, 2025, I’ll be teaching a live, online, accelerated 2-week class on the most essential mental skills and practice strategies that can make a difference in your practicing and performing.
We’ll meet twice a week via Zoom and work on a series of exercises and techniques in four essential skill areas (effective practice, managing anxiety, focus, and confidence), together as a group. And to make sure the concepts become consistent habits, I'll show you how to gently integrate these new skills into your (or your students’) daily practice through bite-sized practice challenges alongside a supportive group of practice buddies from around the world. Registration is open now through 11:59pm on Sunday, June 8th.
Over 2000 musicians, educators, and students and learners of all ages have participated in the course to date. You can find out what alumni are saying, and sign up to join Cohort 23 at: