Did Orpheus have stage fright? To oneself, to the other, to the transcendent: steps for coping with music performance anxiety
Frontiers in Psychology December 17, 2025 Natalija Šimunovič
The article uses the myth of Orpheus as an analogy to explore music performance anxiety (MPA), arguing that current approaches focus too narrowly on the performer's relationship with self and others while neglecting a transcendent dimension—connection to something beyond the individual, such as ritual, community, or higher meaning. The authors propose a triangular model of musical self-concept with vertices of I/self, Me/others, and the transcendent, suggesting that a stronger transcendent connection can protect against MPA. They review evidence that mindfulness and contemplative practices may shift performers from anxiety to optimal states, and call for extending MPA interventions to include spiritual and transcendent contexts in education and performance.