This story was first published in Classical KC's "Take Note" newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox the first Wednesday of every month.
With the new year, many people are making resolutions. At the top of the list is improved fitness, according to a 2024 survey by Forbes Health.
And taking time to improve your overall health helps with music making, too, whether it’s meditation, active movement, or the discipline of maintaining a workout routine.
“Exercise of any kind is extremely helpful to my music practice because it helps my mind focus on the present moment,” says composer Stacy Busch, co-founder of No Divide, and a yoga instructor at City Gym.
Busch, whose fitness routine also includes weight training and cycling, is one of a number of Kansas City musicians who meld a busy creative practice with an active lifestyle.
She was a dedicated athlete in competitive soccer long before she attended music school. “[I realized] how similar the two paths actually are since both are about training. Even though I had little experience as a musician, I felt like the skills I've learned as an athlete would benefit me in my music career.”
In fact, there are so many similarities, says vocalist Nick Stoppel, that unless you knew which one you were talking about, the two could be “indistinguishable.”
“From the warm up process, practice techniques and execution of the event there aren’t many instances that differ much at all,” says Stoppel.
Nick Stoppel has performed with the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, the Irish chorus Anúna, and also released his own solo albums, along with running his business RiNickulous Fitness as a certified personal trainer. He started playing sports as a kid and “never really stopped,” he says. He was a decathlete in college at Butler Community College and UMKC, graduating from the Conservatory as a vocal major.
“I’ve found over the years as both a professional vocalist and fitness professional that my voice is dependent on a certain level of self-care and body awareness,” says Stoppel. “If I stop working out for long periods of time, it changes the way my voice responds. Endurance, breath control and even pitch can be affected, which sometimes ends up being the motivation to intentionally move my body.”
Violinist Laurel Parks is not only a long distance runner, but teaches violin to adults through her Drunken Fiddle program and performs and composes for The Wires with duo partner Sascha Groschang (both were also co-hosts of Classical KC’s Sound Currents program).
Parks has completed two marathons and “countless” half marathons, though now she limits her runs to four miles “so that I can keep my knees,” she says, and does low weight/high rep strength training for better overall fitness.
“If I am working out I am feeling disciplined and that goes hand in hand with practice. And I have better stamina for holding up the violin for long periods of time,” says Parks.
The benefits aren’t only physical, like stamina, breath control, gaining muscle and losing weight. The mental health benefits help with musical practice, too, like perseverance and focus.
“I think having an exercise routine benefits my composition process because when you put yourself in a tough situation, you learn how to confront those fight or flight moments,” says Busch. “This helps me acknowledge that when I reach a hard moment in writing, maybe something isn't working or it isn't coming together properly, I know that that is just a part of the process and I can move through it.
Finding balance is the key to integrating long-term exercise practice into your lifestyle.
“If I practice the very first thing in the morning and then work out,” says Parks, “that will set me up for having a great day where I feel both fulfilled and healthy.”
