ConChord’s President and Board Chair Michelle Cao is an amazing pianist as well as a kind and thoughtful person. While she finds music to be a reprieve from more taxing parts of the day, she is also mindful of her habits in order to be the best musician, student, daughter, and leader she can. Read her answers to our questions about music and mental health below!
Carola Vergara
1. How do you think music affects your mental health? Is there a difference between when you’re playing and when you’re listening?
For me, music can not only help relieve stress, it can also be a distraction from schoolwork or other activities. Listening and playing music can offer different kinds of emotional relief, but both are equally important for my mental health. Listening to music can help me relax and focus, while playing music can allow me to release all my emotions freely whenever I feel overwhelmed.
Isaac Israëls
Concert room with an audience watching the performance by a guitarist and piano player
Drawing, black crayon
2. How do you envision connecting with your audience during performances? What do you intend to leave them with?
Whenever I perform, I hope to form a connection between myself and the audience by transporting them into a new world created from my music. My goal is to inspire and empower others through music, leaving my audience feeling transformed and motivated after my performance.
Ayako Ujiie
3. What habits help you maintain your mental health?
I believe maintaining mental health is very important, especially for students under the pressure of many school and extracurricular activities. I always make sure to get some exercise every day and a sufficient amount of sleep. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I take a break from whatever I’m doing. A break can be anything that distracts you from your regular work, for me, it might be talking with family or going out for a walk.
Thank you to Michelle for answering these questions for us! Come back next week to hear from another member of our management team.