Practice Page
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 Gee directly at emily.gee@colorado.edu, 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 (S303) 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 toward balance: Yoga + 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 + 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 MWP 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.
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.
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.
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Academic Technology Consultants (ATC) assist faculty and teaching assistants in integrating technologies into their teaching, research and creative work. The consultants are assigned to the various schools and colleges and are located in the areas they support. They are centrally managed by ITS, locally positioned within the Imig building and jointly commissioned by ITS and the College of Music.
The consultants typically support their faculty through training classes, one-on-one consulting, helping with the development and implementation of projects involving technology and acting as liaisons between the faculty and other units of ITS. All of these services are provided free of charge.
2025 GBMB home performance schedule
Aug. 28 (Thursday)—Pearl Street Stampede, Boulder County Courthouse
Aug. 29 (Friday)—CU Boulder vs. Georgia Tech, Folsom Field
Sept. 5—Pearl Street Stampede, Boulder County Courthouse
Sept. 6—CU Boulder vs. Delaware, Folsom Field
Sept. 19 —Pearl Street Stampede, Boulder County Courthouse
Sept. 20—CU Boulder vs. Wyoming (Friends and Family Game), Folsom Field
Sept. 26—Pearl Street Stampede, Boulder County Courthouse
Sept. 27—CU Boulder vs. BYU, Folsom Field
Oct. 10—Pearl Street Stampede, Boulder County Courthouse
Oct. 11—CU Boulder vs. Iowa State, Folsom Field
Oct. 31—Pearl Street Stampede, Boulder County Courthouse
Nov. 1—CU Boulder vs. Arizona (Homecoming), Folsom Field
Nov. 19—Pearl Street Stampede, Boulder County Courthouse
Nov. 22—CU Boulder vs. Arizona State, Folsom Field
Dec. 6—Big 12 Championship Game, Arlington, Texas
December/January—BOWL TRIP!
Pearl Street Stampedes
A favorite local tradition, the CU Boulder Golden Buffalo Marching Band (GBMB) joins the Colorado Buffaloes in Pearl Street Stampedes bringing our campus and community together as we rally for Buffs victories before each home game!
The GBMB leads the excitement and enthusiasm on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, beginning at the Boulder Courthouse downtown. Each stampede kicks off with an entertaining preview of musical highlights for the next day’s game. Don’t miss this family-friendly event as Buff fans join the heartbeat of the University of Colorado Boulder: Our Golden Buffalo Marching Band!
Personnel
Shanti Simon
Professor of Conducting
Director, Bands
Logan Sorey
Interim Associate Director of Bands
Director, Golden Buffalo Marching Band
Director, CU Boulder Summer Music Academy
Kirsten Hoogstraten Rivera
Interim Assistant Director of Bands
Assistant Director, Golden Buffalo Marching Band
Graduate Teaching Assistants
Lexi Bixler
Eli Gillespie
Ashley Hawk
Adrian Holton
Amy Millesen
Catherine Ryan
Ensembles Program Coordinator
Rachelle Crowell
Uniform Coordinator
Jessica Finlay-Schultz
Drumline Instructor
Jake Euler
Color Guard Instructor
Kirsten Huffman
Our College of Music annually invites high school chamber and symphony orchestras to participate in an Invitational Orchestra Festival in recognition of their continued excellence. More information coming soon!
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My student will graduate 8th grade in the weeks before this summer’s camp. Which camp should they attend?
This student would be eligible to attend the Middle School Summer Music Academy.
Do you offer discounts on camp registration?
We offer discounted rates to participants of the CU Middle School Honor Band Festival (other honors festivals are not eligible for the discount) and the scholarship opportunities listed above. No other discounts are available at this time.
Should I send you a sample of my student’s playing?
No, thanks! The Middle School SMA does not require a music sample or audition ahead of time. Campers will play placement auditions the first day of camp, which may include short excerpts of the music for the week (made available ahead of time) and basic scales.
Our family also wants to do another activity during the week of camp. Are students allowed to leave camp?
For the security of our camps, students are not permitted to leave camp except at designated check-out times for their group (residents or commuters). Exceptions can be made in emergency situations; please contact us right away and we’ll coordinate with you.
What if my student says they want to come home from camp early?
Our camps are designed to challenge, encourage and grow students. This may be new for them, and sometimes campers are uncomfortable at first. If your student expresses to you that they are struggling for whatever reason, please let us know right away, before deciding to bring them home early. Many times, we are able to make adjustments that can help the camper enjoy their experience and feel proud that they made it through something that was initially difficult.
More information about Summer Jazz Academy
Registration opens Jan. 7, 2019. Please fill out the following form in addition to your online registration profile:
Placement auditions for the CU Summer Jazz Academy are held on the first day of camp (see schedule above). Each audition will be anywhere from 10-12 minutes in length and is based primarily on improvisation, instrumental technique and knowledge of jazz repertoire.
Beginner jazz players
We work with students of all skill levels! If you are new to jazz, great! We’re excited to introduce you to a new style of music and a new approach to playing. Prepare a short piece that demonstrates your skill on your instrument, and we’ll meet you where you are at.
Experienced jazz players
If you have some experience playing jazz, we’d love to see your skill in a variety of styles. Please prepare as much of the material for your section listed below as you are able.
Drummers
Be prepared to play time in a group setting, trade fours, and demonstrate the following styles:
- Bossa Nova
- Swing
- Funk
- Afro-Cuban
- ¾ (Jazz Waltz)
Bassists
Bring three or more pieces of varying styles (bop, blues, ballad, 3/4, Latin, etc.).
Guitarists, pianists and vibists
Be prepared to play rhythm changes or other bebop tune(up tempo), a medium tempo tune and a ballad. Guitar amp and piano will be provided at the audition. Guitarists, remember to bring your own patch cords! We will NOT provide a patch cord.
Wind and string players
Please choose 3 jazz standards (your choice) that you would like to play for your audition. Please bring a play-along CD of your tunes. ALSO: Your selections must include a jazz ballad, medium or up-tempo piece (bebop, standard, jazz standard, modal or rhythm changes) and a 12-bar blues.