'If it could have gone wrong it has gone wrong'. The last five years for Jessica Curry, a composer of contemporary classical game music, has been marked by severe illness and personal loss. She joins Hattie and Becca on Things Musicians Don't Talk About to share her journey being diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and subsequently shielding during the pandemic. She explains the emotional toll of isolation, the importance of community and support, noting the industry's lack of empathy and her efforts to promote inclusivity.

Jessica's latest album, born out of the adversity of this time, Shielding Songs, is an album of her choral music recorded with the London Voices, which is out now on Bandcamp.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have reached episode 100 and so decided, as a celebration, we'd take a wee look back... we might now regret it! Listen as we react to the first episode we made together, now over four years ago! Becca also tests Hattie on five years of hot takes – who said what and when?

Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow RSM on Instagram, X and Facebook.

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Support TMDTA

Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta

Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/v9jgf-things-musicians-dont-talk-about

Find TMDTA on all the socials at @tmdtapodcast

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Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal

Editor: Hattie

Music: Katy Ehrlich

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*Trigger warning: discussion of eating disorders, alcoholism, addiction*

From our live event at the Royal Society of Musicians on 22nd May 2025

Lauren McQuistin has been running the Instagram account @brutalrecovery for years now. Her advocacy for honest recovery discourse has resonated with many alcoholics, particularly with her with her trademark eloquence and dry humour. Lauren now shares her experience of eating disorders - anorexia and bulimia in particular - and how this was especially shaped by her time as a classically-trained soprano. We asked her about her journey through her musical training and her addictions, her views on why there is such a high prevalence of EDs in classical music, body image critique in the opera world, eating disorders as addictions, how her recovery looks day-to-day now, and her new book No Lost Causes Club. As Hattie and I say in the talk, we've really struggled to find someone in classical music to speak about this subject, so huge thank you Lauren for being that person.

Check out Lauren on Instagram and go read her new book!

Thank you to forScore for advertising with us and to the Royal Society of Musicians for their ongoing support.

forScore: https://forscore.co

Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow RSM on Instagram, X and Facebook.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Support TMDTA

Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta

Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/v9jgf-things-musicians-dont-talk-about

Find TMDTA on all the socials at @tmdtapodcast

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Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal

Editor & engineer: Oscar Gormley

Music: Katy Ehrlich

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hattie and Becca discuss the need for many creatives to prove themselves to others online, often sharing data about their work. Do we need a structure and numeric guide for practice or can it be intuitive? And how does this link to intuitive eating? They also go on to discuss the complexities of dealing with criticism, where that sensitivity comes from and how Hattie copes with empathy for performers whilst writing reviews

02:51 Workaholics and their quirks

16:20 Intuitive eating vs intuitive practice

23:55 Hattie receives criticism at work

26:15 Confidence, criticism and power structures

35:45 Writing reviews and empathy for performers

35:40 Cultural recommendations

We've got some absolutely stellar interviews lined up for release, with some MORE FILMED CONTENT 🤯 see you soon!

Thank you to forScore for advertising with us and to the Royal Society of Musicians for their ongoing support 🙏

forScore: https://forscore.co

RSM: https://www.rsmgb.org

-------------------------------------------------------------

Support TMDTA

Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta

Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/v9jgf-things-musicians-dont-talk-about

Find TMDTA on all the socials at @tmdtapodcast

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal

Editor: Rebecca Toal

Music: Katy Ehrlich

#podcast #musicpodcast #musician #mentalhealth

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been fighting the corner of the marginalised in classical music now for over 10 years. From a marriage breakdown to a queer awakening and struggles with learning repertoire, Jamie joins Hattie and Becca to discuss her experiences as a queer woman in America and her journey to discovering her ADHD. She also shares powerful insights into body positivity, her approach to music and the importance of using her platform to support marginalised communities

Jamie Barton is at London Classical Pride on 4 July. Tickets here!

Thank you to forScore for advertising with us and to the Royal Society of Musicians for their ongoing support.

forScore: https://forscore.co

Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow RSM on Instagram, X and Facebook.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Support TMDTA

Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta

Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/v9jgf-things-musicians-dont-talk-about

Find TMDTA on all the socials at @tmdtapodcast

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal

Editor: Emma Werner

Music: Katy Ehrlich

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Entering our YouTube era...! And we're talking about returning to things we didn't expect to: Hattie to America and Becca to the harp.

We also have a good ol' think about child prodigies, faith and praying, and Becca obsesses further about JULY.

We've got some absolutely stellar interviews lined up for release, so stay tuned.

Thank you to forScore for advertising with us and to the Royal Society of Musicians for their ongoing support 🙏

forScore: https://forscore.co

Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow RSM on Instagram, X and Facebook.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Support TMDTA

Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta

Feeling generous? Help us raise funds for the podcast: https://www.gofundme.com/f/v9jgf-things-musicians-dont-talk-about

Find TMDTA on all the socials at @tmdtapodcast

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hosts: Hattie Butterworth & Rebecca Toal

Editor: Rebecca Toal

Music: Katy Ehrlich

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.