Finding Balance
- J. Dumitrascu
- Dec 23, 2025
- 3 min read
One of my favorite aspects of working in the music industry is the connection that I’ve made with so many wonderful people from around the world. And thanks to technology and social media, it’s allowed me to keep these connections alive. This past fall, I had two wonderful musicians from I Filarmonici di Napoli play a recital with me at The Music Mansion in Providence, Rhode Island. Both were coming off touring in California so I’m so glad (and grateful!) that they agreed to drive up to Providence to be with me at one of my favorite intimate music venues!
Travel seems glamorous but taking care of your health - both physically and mentally - can be challenging. It’s ironic that being a musician requires so much structure and discipline in the preparation stage, yet the practical side is a chaotic challenge for every aspect of our being.
When I was younger, I used to think that traveling was the dream. I spent extended periods of time living out of a suitcase, sometimes traveling through multiple cities if it was a concert tour (basically living in a string of hotels), or multi-week residencies at a music festival, and other times stationed in one place for a few months if it was for training. There were instances where I’ve walked off the stage straight to a reception, back to my hotel with enough time to pack (and maybe catch some sleep), then off to the airport for a 5am flight. The burnout is real, you have very little say over scheduling, and between lack of sleep, eating on the run, climate changes, and navigating a new place all the time, fatigue sets in quickly, and proper rest is seldom scheduled in by management. Repetitive stress injuries start building up, performance quality decreases or at best stays the same but becomes labored.
The best part is meeting new people, experiencing a different culture, and sharing music with an appreciative audience away from home. Complete strangers putting their differences aside for a few hours to be brought together by a language understood by all has had a lasting impact. And of course, working with other musicians and learning from each other has created long-lasting friendships that have stayed alive across continents and time zones, through new chapters in life, and through the use of various forms of communication.
I eventually realized that I’d have to balance out my career in multiple ways in order to avoid the burnout that was taking a toll on the mental and physical health of so many of my peers. Now, I appreciate little things like sleeping 7h each night, hitting the gym regularly, being able to set time aside to develop my own projects while still performing (on a much reduced schedule), and building the teaching/academic side of my career.
But also, I like to find my quiet spots in places where I spend time on a recurring basis, regardless of the frequency. I have my spots where I can relax, self-reflect, think things through…it’s where most of my musically-inclined ideas usually take roots, mainly because I’m away from my laptop/iPad/iPhone. It’s such a simple practice and yet so grounding.
The great Jascha Heifetz used to tell his music students at the University of Southern California that ‘the more you know and learn of other things in life the better the artist you can be.’ And I think that’s true not just for artists, but for all of us. The more you learn about the world around you, the better person you can become.
