Shoutout LA: Meet Astrid Baumgardner

“I feel a renewed sense of excitement as I share the science of happiness with my students and clients.” Shoutout LA published an entire feature on Astrid and her work. Check it out! Meet Astrid Baumgardner | Executive and Career Coach and Teacher to Arts Leaders, Professional Musicians and Creative Entrepreneurs

The Wisdom of Improv: 6 Principles to Enhance Your Happiness and Well-Being

Last month, I was thrilled to offer a workshop on improvisation (or improv) at the live retreat of my science of happiness program in Akumal, Mexico.  It was amazing to meet our professor, Tal Ben-Shahar, and 60 other happiness journeyers from all over the world who are part of the Happiness Studies Academy community for a beautiful weekend on Riviera …

How to Recharge and Prevent Burnout: 5 Happiness Practices for Creatives

The fall season is upon us and the arts are back! Along with the excitement of a new season, there are still many challenges for people in the arts. And these challenges can lead to burnout on the part of arts leaders and creative artists. Let’s explore five happiness practices that can help prevent burnout in these creatives and allow …

The Culture File Debate: Missing Audiences

Luke Clancy’s excursion into art, design, music, performance, media, technology and a world of intriguing possibilities. Broadcast weekdays on Lorcan Murray’s Classic Drive on RTÉ Lyric FM. NCH’s Robert Read, audience data specialist, Katy Raines, conductor Mark Wigglesworth and Yale School of Music’s Astrid Baumgardner on what’s happening to audiences in the “post” COVID world.

SPIRE for Leaders: How to Bring Happiness to Your Organization

In my last blog post, I wrote about Tal Ben-Shahar’s SPIRE model of happiness and how to apply it to improve your life. In this blog post, I will talk about SPIRE for Leaders and how it benefits the non-profit workplace culture. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege and pleasure to lead a SPIRE workshop at the 2022 …

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The SPIRE Model of Happiness: How to Enhance Your Wellbeing

For the past six months, I have been studying the science of happiness in an amazing certificate program at the Happiness Studies Academy (HSA).  The founder of the program is Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar. Tal is an internationally renowned teacher, best-selling author, and consultant in the fields of happiness and leadership who taught two of the most popular courses in Harvard’s …

How to Elevate Your Career: Create Your Leadership Support Team

After almost two years in a pandemic, how are you feeling about your career? You have probably spent a lot of time in remote meetings, working from home, and not being able to have live interactions with colleagues and professional contacts. It can feel frustrating and isolating. And it can lead to burnout. That’s why it helps to have your support …

Work/Life Balance for Busy Arts Professionals

Last week, I had the privilege of appearing on a panel at the Dallas Symphony’s Women in Classical Music Symposium. The Symposium is the brainchild of Kim Noltemy, the fabulous CEO of the Dallas Symphony. Over the course of four days, the Symposium features an amazing array of speakers discussing topics relevant to women in today’s classical music world. My …

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Advancing Classical Music Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: My Class at the Yale School of Music

Since 2015, I have been teaching a class on Creativity, Collaboration and Innovation at the Yale School of Music. The focus of my class is how to generate innovative solutions to the problems facing classical music today. The learning vehicle is the semester-long collaborative project. In the past, the projects focused on how to attract younger audiences to classical music, …