During 2020 lockdown Dr Margaret Osborne, a performance psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Music (Performance Science) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, made the overnight shift to Zoom to train her students on achieving peak performance under pressure. It was difficult to simulate music performance situations on a two-dimensional platform with lagging sound.
Some students benefited nonetheless, finding their confidence in performing online to peers and staff increasing over the term. Others found their anxiety too stifling to perform at all. ArtsHub spoke to Osborne and her colleagues about the challenges and opportunities the lockdown has presented.
