Episode Details

Performance anxiety is something many musicians quietly struggle with, even teachers who spend their days guiding students through music. In this episode, I'm chatting with Anastasia Cunningham about her journey from analytical chemist to piano teacher, and how she gradually worked through years of performance anxiety to become a more confident and resilient musician.

• Anastasia shared how she began her career in analytical chemistry before becoming a piano teacher.
• How she discovered the Kodály approach through her daughter’s music classes.
• How the Kodály method helped deepen her understanding of musicianship and music learning.
• The importance of teaching musicianship alongside piano technique.
• Her transition from Kodály teaching into running her own piano studio.
• How performance anxiety had affected her since childhood.
• Why even demonstrating pieces for students once felt very intimidating.
• How perfectionism made her performance anxiety worse over time.
• Returning to piano lessons as an adult helped rebuild her confidence.
• She emphasized the importance of teachers continuing their own musical growth.
• Why she began intentionally seeking performance opportunities to build resilience.
• How regular performing helped strengthen her confidence as a musician.
• Anastasia encouraged teachers to embrace mistakes and focus on progress.

Links Mentioned

• Get your EARLY BIRD tickets for TopMusicLive 2026 here.
• The TopMusic Teacher Guide to Fearless Performing
• Anastasia's Facebook page:Piano with Anastasia
• Anastasia's Instagram page:@pianowithanastasia
• Practice Hacks for Musicians Course by Noa Kageyama

Today's Guest

Anastasia Cunningham is a UK-based piano teacher who has been teaching from her home studio in Hampshire since 2015. Her professional background began far from the music room, with earlier careers in analytical chemistry, training and management, making her return to music less linear, but deeply intentional. Musical throughout childhood, Anastasia rediscovered her love of music as an adult after encountering the Kodály approach through her daughter’s classes. What started as a parent’s curiosity grew into a twelve-year commitment to a local Kodály music school, where she became senior teacher and mentored and trained many new members of the teaching team. During this time, she also challenged herself to complete her Grade 8 piano exam before eventually transitioning into piano teaching. Yet alongside her teaching journey ran a quieter personal battle with performance anxiety. It had been an issue since she was a child and as an adult returner, even playing in front of her own students felt daunting. Four and a half years ago, she made the deliberate decision to return to piano lessons herself, determined not just to improve technically, but also to become genuinely confident at the instrument. In summer 2025, she was awarded her Performance ARSM - a significant milestone in that journey. But rather than a finishing line, it marked the beginning of a new chapter: one where she intentionally seeks out performance opportunities, embracing every chance to step in front of an audience and continue strengthening her resilience and confidence at the piano.

About Rachel Ehring

Dr. Rachel Ehring is a pianist, teacher, music ad