Testimonials

Here’s what people are saying about Gary’s PTPM program –

Gary’s PTPM program has been incredibly helpful and inspiring for our students. Working in both masterclass and individual lesson settings, Gary gave students tangible methods to help achieve peak performances in auditions and concerts. His time with the studio increased student awareness and connection with the music, thus allowing them more freedom in their playing and more enjoyment in their performances.
Ryan Gardner—Associate Professor of Trumpet Oklahoma State University

Gary Ferguson brought his Performance Mastery program to Southern Methodist University with great success. His approach is new and insightful. Although a cognitive approach has been offered before, Gary brings a new vision to helping performers achieve their best results. The individual sessions with the SMU students were highly useful to our students. They all reported a new way of thinking about and approaching their performance issues. Gary Ferguson’s life experiences have led him to groundbreaking concepts on the cognitive and physical issues performers must face in their development. I believe the Performance Mastery Program will become a more and more important tool for performers of all ages and development.
John Kitzman—Principal Trombone Dallas Symphony – retired. Adj. Prof. of Trombone Southern Methodist University

Gary recently presented the first 2 parts of his Pathways to Performance Mastery Program at the Interlochen Arts Academy. This program is very thorough and well thought out! I can hardly wait to learn the rest of the program! This holistic program should be a part of every performer’s tool box as it is useful in all aspects of performing from the audition to the final performance! If you want to perform at your highest level, you need this program!
Ken Larson, Trumpet Instructor, Interlochen Arts Academy

Gary Ferguson presented his Pathways to Performance Mastery clinic at the Festival Institute at Round Top this summer, and the overall impact at the festival was remarkable. His masterclass presented a clear and fully developed plan for integrating mind, body and emotion in performance. Students and faculty alike benefited greatly from the class, and the students that sought out individual sessions with him showed significant improvement in just a matter of days. His approach integrated perfectly with my own private instruction of the students. Additionally, my personal experience with Gary that summer provided an invaluable springboard for me as I prepared for my successful audition with the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Micah Wilkinson, Principal Trumpet, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

I have worked with Gary for the last 2.5 years utilizing the PTPM program. In that time, I have noticed dramatic shifts in the way I approach trumpet playing. Gary’s ability to lead me to discover what was at the root of my most self-limiting habits and beliefs was in itself a revelation, but then he was able to go further and provide me with the tools to not only eliminate them, but also to recognize when new ones would begin and stop those as well! I can honestly say that the last few years of trumpet playing have been my most musically satisfying and I have Gary to thank for that! I believe all musicians would benefit greatly by working with him and have recommended him to everyone I know!
Ray Riccomini, Second Trumpet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Gary Ferguson’s class on performance excellence was one of the year’s highlights of the Division of Music at SMU. His suggestions for connecting the performer with the music were spot-on and the information he presented should improve our students’ chances of audition and performance success considerably. A well-researched and thoughtful approach that would benefit any musician trying to be a more convincing and reliable performer.
Tom Booth—Lecturer of Trumpet, Chair of Brass, Winds and Percussion at Southern Methodist University

Gary Jobe Ferguson’s Pathways to Performance Mastery workshops at UT Austin provided the students with fresh and tangible approaches to deepening their connections to music while practicing and performing. His Somatic inTUNEment process offers an accessible procedure for embodying the qualities in the music being performed, and aligning physical and mental energy for optimal performance. In the workshops, he guides the students through a series of activities that help them explore their current strengths and then clearly define who they want to be as musicians in order to imagine and execute positive changes in their habits. Gary’s enthusiasm for both music and coaching individuals in their journeys of personal growth are richly inspiring and contagious!
Kristin Wolfe Jensen, Professor of Bassoon, the University of Texas at Austin, Butler School of Music

Thank you for your recent masterclass to the brass players at Texas State on performance mastery. The information was applicable to all levels and presented in a clear concise manner which made it very accessible. During lessons this week, all of my students talked about your presentation and the impact it had on them with one commenting that it was “life changing.” They all discussed how they now feel more in touch with the music and not just seeing notes on the page and wanting to express themselves as artists. The faculty and students are all grateful for your presentation and hope to have you return in the near future.
Keith Winking, Trumpet Instructor and Director of the Jazz Orchestra, Texas State University

Gary Ferguson’s Pathways to Performance Mastery presentation for the students at Belmont University gave them a new and important perspective from which to process their music making. The presentation helped the students to connect to the music on a deeper, subconscious level, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of the musical language and help to free them from concern over playing “correctly”. Gary is to be congratulated for his important and helpful work in understanding ourselves and how we can reach our highest potential as musicians!
Joel Treybig, Professor of Music—Coordinator of Instrumental Studies, Belmont University School of Music