Communicate with clarity, empathy, and confidence
– on stage, in rehearsal, and beyond – without burning out or losing yourself.
Have you ever left a rehearsal, lesson, or collaboration thinking:
"I stayed quiet again, even though I knew what needed to be said."
“I wanted to support them, but I ended up completely drained.”
“I spent the entire break listening to someone else’s problems and felt depleted as the rehearsal started again.”
If that sounds familiar, this workshop may be the most important 3 hours you invest this year.
This might be you:
You've spent years perfecting your craft, yet the conversations that really matter – with colleagues, students, parents, concert organizers, exam boards, or fellow jury members – still leave you drained, tangled, or unsure.
Why?
Because no one ever showed you how to be present and set boundaries… to listen and lead… to care and stand your ground.
A colleague’s personal problems consume your break, leaving you already spent when rehearsal restarts. Another person’s stage fright affects your own energy level. You give your all to a student and feel empty after the lesson. Someone asks your advice beyond the agreed time, and you end up working after hours, disregarding your personal life. On committees, you find it hard to voice your perspective clearly.
The cost? Your energy, your clarity, and sometimes, your love for the work itself.
That's what The Needs-Based Compass can give you back.
What is The Needs-Based Compass?
It’s a simple but powerful framework to guide your real-time conversations, rooted in Nonviolent Communication, Needs-Based Coaching, and relational neuroscience.
This isn't a theory. It’s a map you can use immediately to:
Listen for what truly matters beneath the words – in yourself and others
Speak with clarity, even in charged or vulnerable situations
Support others without abandoning your needs
Show up as grounded, clear, and connected, no matter the context
Who this is for:
This workshop is for musicians, music educators, and creatives who want more ease, balance, and clarity while navigating artistic excellence and complex human dynamics. Whether you are a...
Performing musician longing to navigate relationships with colleagues, concert organizers, agents, technicians, and audiences more smoothly
Music educator seeking to balance student needs, caregiver expectations, and
your own energyConductor, choir leader or artistic director wanting to honour ensemble dynamics while maintaining your artistic vision
Composer wishing to communicate your ideas with authority in commission discussions and collaborations with performers
Dancer longing to voice your needs to choreographers and production teams
Visual artist, photographer or filmmaker wanting to collaborate with clients,
galleries, funders, and creative teams more effectively
You’ll walk away with practical tools you can use the very next day.
Price
EARLY BIRD Price: 75 € available until 11th of February
Regular Price: 110€
You will receive the recording after the call.
Why it works:
Experiential – you'll feel the difference, not just learn about it
Relational – built for human connection, not just information
Practical – walk away with tools, not just inspiration
Evidence-based – backed by neuroscience, NVC, and lived experience
What you can expect to learn and experience:
Attunement – not just to your instrument and fellow musicians, but to yourself.
Presence – stay grounded with yourself while remaining open to others, so you never lose yourself in the demands of the moment.
Understanding what drives you and others - communicate based on this understanding to bridge disagreements and miscommunication. When you see beneath the surface, conflicts can transform into connection.
A memorable structure for conversational flow – get to what matters in every discussion. No more rambling exchanges or energy-draining tangents – just clarity, purpose, and closure.
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You’ll learn the Needs-Based Compass – a 3-part map that helps you track what truly matters in any interaction. You’ll stop leaving conversations confused or replaying them in your head. Instead, you’ll know what to say, what to ask, and how to stay anchored when emotions run high.
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You’ll see the framework modeled in real time, then practice it in breakout rooms. This helps you build an embodied understanding, so when the pressure is on, you can respond with calm and clarity instead of freezing, pleasing, or over-explaining.
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You'll receive simple phrases and powerful questions that help move conversations from tension or confusion toward clarity and connection. They become your go-to tools. No more "What do I say now?" spirals.
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Learn how to tune into your own needs before you override them to be nice, helpful, or professional. Stop saying yes when you mean no. Set boundaries without guilt. Show up wholeheartedly and stay generous without emptying yourself.
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This isn't just about communication – it's about reclaiming how you show up in your relationships, your art, and leadership. When you and your nervous system work together, you radiate presence. That's what makes people lean in, open up, and remember how they felt with you.
What you'll get in this 3-hour workshop:
This workshop will help you:
Navigate difficult conversations in rehearsals without losing yourself
Support students and their parents while maintaining clear boundaries
Recover your energy between sessions instead of carrying everyone's struggles
Speak up in professional settings (committees, juries, auditions) with confidence
Recognize when you're approaching your capacity limit – and honour it
Transform exhausting interactions into connecting ones
For musicians and creatives who want to move from surviving the industry to coming home to themselves.
Facilitators
Medea Bindewald
Medea bridges professional coaching with classical music. She founded
IN TUNE Coaching to help musicians create sustainable careers that honour both their art and their wellbeing, offering 1:1 sessions and musician-focused programs in English and German.
Medea's work is grounded in her own experience as a harpsichordist and music educator, including seven years teaching at the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig. Her approach to coaching is inspired by Nonviolent Communication, Internal Family Systems, and trauma-informed practices from Resonant Healing.
Medea advocates a cultural shift within the classical music world, moving away from traditional paradigms of competition and evaluation toward collaboration, authentic expression, and each person's unique contribution. She is passionate about exploring how coaching principles can be meaningfully integrated into music education to support the next generation of artists.
She shares regular reflections on musicians' wellbeing in her monthly LinkedIn newsletter, The Well-Tempered Musician.
Read more about Medea
Gitte Brandenburg-Carlsen
Gitte has been teaching Nonviolent Communication since 1997, and equips people with tools for compassionate dialogue and needs-centered awareness. As a Needs-Based coach, she invites clients to explore their inner landscape, recognize authentic needs, and meet themselves in their being rather than merely in their doing - an approach that cultivates lasting self-awareness and meaningful transformation.
Gitte is a certified occupational therapist who blends somatic, psychological, and psychiatric expertise into her coaching practice. Her training as a body-oriented psychotherapist and Resonant Healing practitioner allows her to weave physical sensations into psychological insight. Her decades of experience in psychiatric settings have sharpened her ability to integrate mind-body dynamics, helping clients build the skills needed to function optimally in their specific contexts while honoring the whole person.
Read more about Gitte
