Music performance anxiety among students of the academy in Lithuania

Music performance anxiety (MPA) affects amateurs, students and professional musicians. We aimed to analyse MPA among students of music performance in a higher education academy in Lithuania. A sample of 258 music performance arts students of the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy participated in this study. The Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI) was used for assessment of MPA. High MPA was associated with less concert activity, poorer perceived performance self-efficacy, and lower academic achievement grades. We did not find gender effects on MPA. Results revealed that 20.2% of the students reported difficulties in coping with MPA. Our findings inform music educators about the need to address MPA and coping with MPA in the process of teaching.