The Little Girl in the Yellow Dress: A Musical Memoir Digging for the Roots of Performance Anxiety - Softcover

When the fragile creative seed is first sown in a child’s life, those involved have the power to either cultivate it or hinder it. The Little Girl in the Yellow Dress shares the personal story of author Nancy Kaesler as she grows up trying to nurture her talent as a pianist, without a lot of outside encouragement.

Her story is not simply an inspiring memoir about overcoming performance anxiety; it also serves as an instructional guide for performers and teachers of the arts. Looking back on her life with an educator’s eye, the author connects her personal experiences to social views toward music and artists at the time.

By digging into the past, both personally and historically, Kaesler discovers that if she can get to the root of her anxiety, she will be able to provide the necessary conditions for her creativity to flourish—and the good news is that it’s never too late. Once she uncovers all the ways she should have been trained and encouraged, she can embark on that mission herself.

The creative journey is one of struggle, but it is also one of joy. Artists and teachers will appreciate Kaesler’s good-humored and encouraging story about what she’s learned along the way.

Nancy Kaesler, NCTM is a retired independent piano teacher living in Estes Park, Colorado, with her husband. Over the years, she has engaged in multiple aspects of musical performance, as a student, performer, teacher, performance judge, and teacher of teachers.

Kaesler holds degrees in piano pedagogy and performance, as well as English, from Southern Methodist University. She taught piano for forty-five years, first in Texas and later in Colorado. A Fellow of the Music Teachers National Association Foundation, she has served as president of the Colorado State Music Teachers Association and was awarded Teacher of the Year by that organization. A frequent judge for piano events around Colorado, she has also served the National Guild of Piano Teachers as an adjudicator in several other states. Furthermore, Kaesler co-developed the fifteen-hour course, “You and Your Studio: An Overview of Piano Pedagogy and Studio Management.”

In retirement, Kaesler enjoys spending her time writing poetry and volunteering in Rocky Mountain National Park.