Career Choices in Music beyond the Pandemic: Musical and Psychological Perspectives

This is a definitive study that is a must-read for musicians young and old as well as general readers interested in the music profession. Dr. Nagel's carefully researched work combines the perceptions of a musician and psychologist dealing with post-pandemic challenges involving musicians' contributions to our society.

I do not wish to rob glory from a student's hopefulness, but rather, I want them to know that the very hard work will somehow pay off. Each individual will have their own brave story to tell. This much-needed book by Julie Jaffee Nagel provides important and continual support.

As a practicing musician and psychoanalyst, Julie Nagel is well-suited and uniquely qualified to help us understand and process the traumatic effects of the global pandemic on career choices faced by musicians. This timely reflection, with its optimistic outlook, weaves a compelling narrative using real-life examples, many of them her own, along with psychological concepts to provide a framework upon which to build or rebuild a successful music career. It should be required reading for everyone who is contemplating or is currently engaged in the music profession.

This book offers deep psychological insights and a wealth of information on everything from early childhood experience, stage fright, concert fees, and so much more. It's a veritable handbook of advice guiding musicians at every level into the new and ever-changing world of music.

Julie Nagel knows the field as a trained musical performer and a practicing clinician who is an international authority on work inhibition and performance block. There is none better!

Julie Nagel addresses the issues that face every musician in their careers. She explores them from personal and research-oriented perspectives while challenging students to examine their reasons for pursuing a career in music. With her background in music and psychology, there is no one more qualified than Nagel to examine these issues.

For years, music students (and their parents) have questioned the financial viability of pursuing music as a career. The pandemic only added to concerns. Nagel discusses these issues from psychological development and emotional health to practical issues of making money as a musician in today's world. This is a must-read for every music student and professors who work with them.

This is an essential guide for musicians and music teachers, really for every teacher in every discipline. She helps with the difficult, conflicting career choices we must make throughout our lifetimes, preparing all students and teachers for the dangerous temptations that arise.

A must read for any musician engaged in or considering a career in music. Nagel provides valuable insight into essential but rarely discussed subjects that impact the lives of every professional musician.

This book is especially appropriate and perfectly timed given the tremendous challenges artists have been handling for the past few years. Nagel promotes a thoughtful and holistic approach to helping the reader make wise and appropriate decisions for the future. Her book will encourage constructive personal introspection.

Nagel's psychological insights make this book a must read. Her chapters on the "Pursuit of Perfection" and "The Golden Allure of Celebrity" should be read by anyone contemplating a rabbinic career.

This is a unique and important book . Nagel deftly uses psychology to identify the basis of our career choices and their impact on identity and self-esteem. With vivid case examples, she highlights the musician's emotional struggle for success. Above all the book reminds us that music and musicians inspire and sustain us in times of misery, pandemic or otherwise.

Julie Jaffee Nagel, uniquely qualified to combine psychoanalysis and music, offers a design for a meaningful life as a musician. Mining the wealth of her personal and professional experience, she addresses both the economic demands and the many rewards of commitment to music.

This timely book is intended for high school and college/university students and their teachers who are trying to find new ways to move forward in the aftermath of the pandemic. It relies on data, personal experiences and suggestions for teachers and musicians post-COVID. As both a musician and psychologist, Julie Jaffee Nagel uses both her musical and psychological training to look deeper into the motivations and experiences of students that can contribute to anxiety, stage fright or choosing music as a career path.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns had a profound impact on musicians, many of whom found their livelihoods threatened or destroyed by mercurial social conditions. In the years since, live performances and in-person music lessons have resumed, but questions on the career outlook for musicians remain unsettled. Psychoanalyst and Juilliard educated musician Julie Jaffee Nagel penned her third book, Career Choices in Music beyond the Pandemic: Music and Psychological Perspectives, as both a response to the widespread upheaval of the pandemic and a reflection on musical identity and career development. Nagel states that her text is "a combination of theory, anecdotes, and a retrospective" (p. 5), and she delivers well in each of these regards... With Nagel's skillful blending of eclectic topics in musicianship and psychology, [her book] serves as an excellent starting point for performers, students, and stakeholders to discuss the issues impacting the contemporary career landscape and pave paths forward. Music educators in any setting should consider examining portions of the text in concert with their students to foster open dialogues about mental health and career prospects and to enhance

mutual career development. In this uncertain post pandemic era, Nagel's initiative in starting these conversations deserves kudos.