Musicians’ Wellness Program (MWP)

Musicians' Wellness students in semi-circle listening to professor explanation

Welcome to the Musicians’ Wellness Program (MWP) at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music!  The MWP supports the whole musician. Our holistic approach emphasizes prevention, balance, and long-term wellbeing. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, managing stress, looking to build healthy habits, or discover news ways to approach music making, the MWP provides guidance and support so you can perform, learn, and live at your best.

Our mission

  • Promote health and wellness practices and education throughout the College of Music
  • Prevent the occurrence of musicians’ occupational health disorders including physical, psychological and auditory health issues
  • Educate about health and safety practices, practical wellness tools and evidence-based injury prevention strategies and resources
  • Collaborate with students and faculty to share knowledge, meet needs, and co-create an environment that fosters sustainable and healthy musical practices

Our offerings

  • Physical therapy + injury prevention—restoring function, reducing pain, and preventing re-injury with specialized care for musicians.
  • Somatic + movement training—improving posture, alignment, and body awareness to enhance performance and reduce strain.
  • Wellness + health education—resources on injury prevention, healthy practice habits, nutrition, and lifestyle balance.
  • Mind-body practices—including breathwork, mindfulness, and stress management strategies to support resilience and focus.
  • Psychotherapy + counseling—individual and group sessions with an embedded therapist addressing performance anxiety, stress, and mental health.
  • Medical + wellness referrals—resources and referrals to the CU Boulder Student Health Services and community professionals
Private wellness sessions, injury screenings + physical therapy consultations with Emily Gee

Emily Gee is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and board certified orthopedic clinical specialist with a background in music and extensive experience working with student and professional musicians.  She offers one-on-one sessions for students interested in wellness practices, seeking mind-body injury prevention strategies, or managing pain and injuries related to their musical practice. To schedule a private session, you may contact Emily directly or ask your teacher to arrange a consultation during your lesson for a collaborative approach.

Fall 2025 semester private session times:

  • Tuesdays: 1-4 p.m.
  • Wednesdays: 1-3 p.m.

Come use the wellness space for gentle movement, stretching, yoga, breathing and more! This is drop-in time to ask questions, use the space, learn some new wellness practices, and/ or practice old tried and true methods.  Some of these times will be used for MWP student events.

  • Tuesdays: 5-6:30 p.m.
  • Thursdays: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

“Moving towards Balance: Yoga and Mindfulness for everyday life” with Emily Gee and Matt Tomatz
In collaboration with the College of Music Student Government Association
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 5-6:30 p.m., S303

“Yoga for Musicians” with Emily Gee
In collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 4:40-5:45 p.m., S303

“ Fueling Your Performance: A Mindful Approach to Nutrition for Musicians” with Dietician Anna Repplinger
In collaboration with the College of Music Student Government Association
Thursday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., S303

The MWP is excited to collaborate with students and faculty to provide health promotion and wellness events that support the MWPs mission. Interested in partnering with us? Contact emily.gee@colorado.edu.

Counseling + Psychiatric Services (CAPS) offers confidential, on-campus mental health and psychiatric services for a variety of students’ needs. Registered students are eligible to work with CAPS providers, including 24/7 phone support.

Matthew Tomatz is the College of Music’s embedded psychotherapist from CAPS. He brings extensive experience in supporting students through a wide range of personal, academic, and music-related challenges. Students often seek his guidance as they navigate the demands of music school, whether working through mental health concerns, personal struggles, or music-specific issues like performance anxiety, creative blocks, and other barriers to success. His work helps students pursue both personal and artistic goals by addressing practice and performance strategies, motivation, procrastination, career development, attention and focus, mood, relationship dynamics, skills for peak performance, and more. For individual or group counseling, contact Matt Tomatz directly at Matthew.Tomatz@colorado.edu or through the CAPS main office at 303-492-2277.

Meetings with Matt provides opportunities for informal and confidential consultation in our wellness space (S303). This service is free and open to students, faculty and staff. Topics of conversation could be related to performance, time management, procrastination, how life and performance intersect, getting through the year, making choices, learning about therapy ... or just to talk: Wednesdays, 3:30-4:45 p.m. in S303.

Developing the Whole Musician with Matt Tomatz is a unique learning environment and powerful group process. Participation helps students make important personal discoveries while supporting their growth as musicians. Questions? Contact Matt Tomatz, Matthew.Tomatz@colorado.edu.

Medical evaluations at CU Boulder Medical Services
Tracy Casault, John Breck and Julie Jacobson-Weaver provide initial evaluations as well as referrals for diagnostic tests, physical therapy and appointments with specialists as needed. If you do not have medical insurance through CU Boulder, check with Medical Services to learn whether your medical insurance is accepted.

Physical therapy
CU Boulder Medical Services offers a patient-centered approach to PT in which the specific needs of each student guides the care provided. Any CU Boulder student can access CU Boulder PT services at Wardenburg. If you have the CU Boulder Gold plan, you do not need a physician referral; third-party insurance plans may need a referral (check with your provider). PT is also available at the Sports Medicine + Performance Center in the Champions Center/Stadium.

Speech, language + hearing clinic
Take care of your hearing! Students can get a basic hearing test at no cost. Hearing protection specifically designed for musicians is available at below-market cost.

University resources

Community resources

Supplemental materials

Advisories on Hearing Health
Published by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA). This is a comprehensive overview of hearing health issues for postsecondary schools and departments of music.  Information of a medical nature is provided by PAMA; information regarding contextual issues in music programs, by NASM.

Links above to community healthcare providers who have expertise in a particular area do not imply or intend endorsement or recommendation of any particular provider, individual practitioner or modality by the CU Boulder College of Music or the college’s Musicians’ Wellness Program. Rather, this information is provided as a service to seeking solutions to wellness issues.

MUSC 2/5608:​ Wellness for Musicians 1

This course is designed to introduce holistic wellness knowledge, techniques and practical tools to prevent music related occupational health issues, improve understanding of health and wellness in relation to being a music student, and to help form safe, healthy and sustainable practices as humans and musicians. Topics include functional anatomy, mindfulness, functional exercise, body awareness and more. You will leave this course with your own personal wellness plan to help support your musical career!

MUSC 4608/MUSC 5808: Wellness for Musicians 2

This course develops and further integrates material covered in Wellness for Musicians.1.  Dive deeper into topics of functional anatomy, body awareness, mindfulness, and movement mechanics and how to apply this knowledge to your own musical practice.  We will consider how to integrate wellness practices into teaching, pedagogy and practice. Students will complete several projects related to their specific musical pursuits and interests and become musicians’ wellness ambassadors by finding ways of sharing wellness knowledge with the whole College of Music community.

Contact

Emily Gee
Director, Musicians’ Wellness Program
emily.gee@colorado.edu
303-735-7124
Imig Music Building, S303

About the Musicians’ Wellness Program (MWP)

In this video, explore different aspects of the program, meet MWP Founder + Director James Brody and hear from student participants.

Promoting peak performance, mental health

MWP Director James Brody and Matthew Tomatz, embedded team manager and therapist, discuss their roles and the role of the Musicians’ Wellness Program in the College of Music.

A conversation about musicians’ wellness

MWP Director James Brody and Artist in Residence Edward Dusinberre, first violinist of our Takács Quartet, discuss the impact and benefits of somatic approaches to musicians’ physical functioning and overall wellness—including valuable insights into posture, flexibility and injury prevention through mind-body practices.