Founding Teacher
Author of the acclaimed book The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart, pianist Madeline Bruser is a Juilliard graduate who has trained in mindfulness disciplines for over 45 years. She has performed as soloist with the San Francisco and Denver Symphony Orchestras and has taught workshops at the Juilliard School and other conservatories throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Ms. Bruser is an authorized instructor of mindfulness-awareness meditation in the Buddhist tradition and has presented mindfulness in secular contexts since 1985. Her article “Making Music” was published in The Mindfulness Revolution, a book featuring the writings of leading experts in the field of mindfulness, including Jon Kabat-Zinn. She has presented on injury preventive piano technique at the MedArt World Congress on Arts and Medicine and at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City and was a featured speaker at a Performing Arts Medicine Association conference in Tampa Florida. She led the weeklong Meditation for Musicians Retreat in Vermont from 2004 to 2010, and the Art of Practicing Institute’s annual summer program, Mindfulness, Confidence, and Performance, at Edinboro Unoversity from 2013 to 2019. She has served on the Adjunct Piano Faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University and at the New School University.
Ms. Bruser formed The Art of Practicing Institute in 2002 in order to train performers and teachers in her transformative approach to practice and performance, for the benefit of future generations of musicians and their audiences.
Certified Teachers
Pianist Laura Amoriello is a performer, pedagogy specialist, and MNDFL and Open Heart Project Certified Meditation Instructor. She currently teaches meditation at Cornell University and finds joy in helping her private students make music mindfully. Previously, she was a college music professor for 18 years.
Laura teaches with a holistic approach, emphasizing the mind-body connection and collaborating with students to set authentic, meaningful goals. She incorporates mindfulness practices into the lesson to help students ease their movement, calm their thoughts, and focus their minds on musical details in practicing. At the core of her teaching is creating a healthy space for students to connect emotionally with the music and learn how to communicate that meaning to others.
Laura directs a private studio in Ithaca, NY, where she also teaches at Opus Ithaca School of Music. She formerly erved on the faculties of Ithaca College, Westminster Choir College, and The College of New Jersey. Laura chairs the Committee for Pianists’ Wellness for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy and works closely with Madeline Bruser in developing programs for the Art of Practicing Institute.
Conductor, composer and trumpet virtuoso Stephen Burns is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Acclaimed on four continents for his brilliant performances, he has performed at the White House, on NBC’s “Today Show,” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Recently he was guest artist at the Aspen Music Festival and the Chicago Symphony’s MusicNOW.
Founded in 1998 as part of Mr. Burns’ residency with Performing Arts Chicago, the Fulcrum Point New Music Project is a leader in Chicago’s new music scene, presenting multi-media performances, generating educational programs, and commissioning innovative works.
A graduate of Juilliard, Mr. Burns has received numerous honors, including the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and “Outstanding Brass Player” at Tanglewood and the Maurice André Concours International de Paris. Sought after internationally for master classes, Mr. Burns is a former tenured Professor of Music at Indiana University and Visiting Lecturer at Northwestern University, as well as with Amici della Musica in Florence, Italy. He teaches the course Mindfulness for Musicians at DePaul University in Chicago and has practiced mindfulness-awareness meditation since 1986.
Kirk Ferguson (kirkcferguson@gmail.com) was named Assistant Principal Trombonist of the Milwaukee Symphony in September, 2011. Prior to joining the MSO, he served as Principal Trombonist with the Spokane Symphony, Co-Principal Trombonist with the Malaysian Philharmonic and Associate Principal Trombonist with the Honolulu Symphony. He is also a former member of the River City Brass Band in Pittsburgh, PA. Kirk has performed with the Seattle Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Akron Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Lincoln Center Festival and Clarion Brass Choir. He is a member of the Chicago Trombone Consort.
Kirk is Adjunct Professor of Low Brass at Wisconsin Lutheran College. He received his Masters degree from The Juilliard School and his Bachelors degree from Duquesne University.
Kirk began studying meditation in graduate school and is currently a meditation teacher in the Buddhist tradition. He has taught meditation and the Performing Beyond Fear exercise to members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and at Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne Universities. A native of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, he currently lives in Mequon, Wisconsin with his wife, Mary, and their two dogs, Frank and Annie. Kirk is proud to be a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Pianist Timothy Mueller (tjmueller05@gmail.com) has appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Milwaukee Civic Orchestra, and the Green Bay Symphony. He has performed on fortepiano with Madison Bach Musicians, and in recital at the University of Wisconsin and Farley’s House of Pianos. He teaches students of all ages in his Madison, Wisconsin studio.
In addition to completing advanced training and certification in the Art of Practicing with Madeline Bruser, Mr. Mueller earned a Master’s Degree in Piano from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Frank Glazer and Maria Luisa Faini. He has practiced mindfulness-awareness meditation since 2004.
Saxophonist Tal Varon (talvaron@gmail.com) has performed in Israel, Europe, the United States, and South Africa, in jazz ensembles and in classical settings, including with the Israel Philharmonic. He currently plays in The Avi Lebovich Orchestra.
Mr. Varon is on the faculty of the Israel Conservatory in Tel Aviv. His teaching, which includes saxophone, jazz theory and ear training, improvisation, and ensembles, is informed by a meditative approach, and he has taught the Art of Practicing and Performing at the Rimon School of Music and other leading Israeli music schools since 2017. He began his personal meditation practice in the Tibetan Buddhist lineage in 2000, and later became a certified Meditation Instructor. He is also a certified Focusing Trainer, and in 2016 was the official meditation and Focusing instructor at the Art of Practicing Institute summer program.
A recipient of scholarship awards from the America-Israel Foundation, Mr. Varon received a BFA in Jazz Performance from The New School University in New York, where he studied with George Garzone.
Senior Teachers
Flutist Cathy Baerg is a graduate of the University of Ottawa performance program, where she studied flute with Robert Cram. As a student, she was awarded the Mrs. O.J. Firestone scholarship and later received a grant from the Floyd S. Chalmers Fund, which enabled her to study in England with William Bennett and Peter Lloyd.
Ms. Baerg held the position of Principal Flute with the Nepean Symphony Orchestra and has also played with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. She has been a member of many chamber groups and has been heard in recital on CBC Radio with the Rollins Duo (flute and guitar) and the trio Trillium (flute, cello, and piano). She continues to take great pleasure in playing with local musicians, usually in chamber music settings, and has recorded a CD as a member of the flute quartet Opus Four. She has practiced mindfulness-awareness meditation in the Buddhist tradition since 1998.
Ms. Baerg has conducted a flute choir for over 20 years and enjoys teaching, both in her private studio and as a flute performance instructor at Carleton University.
Tuba virtuoso Dr. Daniel Burdick has performed with the Canadian Brass, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band. His has given solo concerts in Italy, Germany, Scotland, Austria, Canada, the 2012 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference, and the 2012 and 2014 International Women’s Brass Conferences. Dr. Burdick has recorded Tuba Voe: Tales from the Gay Tuba Songbook and Edinboro Radar: Works for Dan. He was Principal Tuba of the Boise Philharmonic and is Principal Tuba of the Erie Chamber Orchestra.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Dr. Burdick is the tuba and euphonium instructor at the State College of Florida, and was formerly a tenured professor at Edinboro University, in Pennsylvania. He was the Executive Director of the International Women’s Brass Conference and co-founded the PASSHE LGBTQIA Consortium and the Edinboro University Community Music School.
He has been a mindfulness practitioner for over 30 years, with retreats at the Diamond Hill Zen Monastery, the Cambridge Zen Center, the Clear Light Society, and Karme Chöling.
Associate Teachers
Robin Ward Holloway rwholloway@me.com is a pianist, songwriter, and music educator living in Albuquerque New Mexico. He holds two degrees in Jazz Piano Performance: Bachelor of Music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and Master of Music from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London). His jazz teachers include Allen Swain, Laurence Hobgood, and Pete Churchill. His classical piano teachers include Emilio del Rosario, Graham Scott, and most recently, Madeline Bruser. A longtime meditator and QiGong practitioner, Robin approaches the study of piano as a mindfulness practice.
Robin works across many genres of music, including classical, jazz, and musical theater. He has shared the stage with Susan Graham, Jon Hendricks, Cleo Lane, and Bobby McFerrin. He has co-written the book and/or music & lyrics for several stage musicals including Cosmic Jazz Cabaret, Winning The Future (more at: www.upanddowntheatre.com ), and MacGyver The Musical (more at: www.macgyver.com/musical).
René Maurer, pianist, www.renemaurer.nl performs and teaches in the Netherlands. He studied at the Music Conservatory in Utrecht as well as the Music Conservatory of Amsterdam, where his teachers included Alan Weiss and Willem Brons. After his final exams in 1998, René received a scholarship award to continue his studies for 18 months with professor Eugen Indjic in Paris, France.
His exceptional interest in body awareness and mindfulness in making music lad René to explore the ideas of F.M. Alexander, Moshe Feldenkrais, and Alan Fraser. During private lessons with Madeline Bruser, her masterclass series, and her 18-week in-depth teacher training, his musical perception deepened significantly, making his playing and teaching less active and more receptive.
Currently René is a professor at the Houten Music School, teaches at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Zwolle, leads a Young Talent Class in Arnhem, and runs a thriving private teaching in Nieuwegein.