It became clear that experiences outside of the practice room had much to offer to Vanessa’s teaching and playing. During her third flying trapeze class an almost debilitating fear of heights transformed into joy and exhilaration as she flew across the rig to be caught by a catcher. In the blink of an eye, a fear had transformed. Parkour has put her face to face examining self concept and the link between movement and mindset. The culture of judgment-free training and community support are two qualities from Parkour that have become foundations to her teaching.

The common thread connecting these activities is movement. Vanessa balances work as a flutist, Body Mapping educator, personal trainer, and parkour coach. Through these experiences, she has learned to view the art of music-making with a multifaceted lens that considers movement the source of expression. This idea holds the key to overcoming technical and expressive limitations, playing plateaus, and performing without pain. Her passion is educating musicians about movement to assist them in learning to move in healthy ways that fully support their musical intentions.

Vanessa shares her joy of music and movement as a faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her popular Body Mapping courses provide crucial information on the body’s design for movement in a judgement free zone working collaborative, which contributes to the development of musicianship, stage presence, and powerful connections with audiences.

A sought after clinician, Vanessa leads workshops at music schools, conferences, and festivals that include: Boston University Tanglewood Institute, PAMA International Symposium, Shepherd School of Music, Peabody School of Music, Via Academy, University of Michigan and Varna International Music Academy, among others.

She also is on faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College. In 2022, Vanessa edited the flute edition of Mountain Peak Music’s Big Book of Sight Reading Duets which includes a forward by Marianne Gedigian. She has been awarded numerous faculty development grants to further her study and reach new audiences. Her writing has been included in CelloBello and Flute Talk, and she is a contributor to Playing Well Anatomy and Movement Series created by Serap Bastepe-Gray of the Peabody Conservatory. Her blog, “Practicing Turned Upside-Down” is a resource for musicians to expand the way they approach and make music.