Dr. Brad Meyer and Sherry Rubins
Dr. Brad Meyer
Dr. Meyer is the Associate Professor of Percussion at Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, TX). He is also the Chair for the Percussive Arts Society’s Health & Wellness Committee and Vice President of the Texas Chapter of PAS.
Dr. Meyer has been a longstanding advocate for both mental and physical health & wellness throughout the years with his numerous articles and conference presentations on various health & wellness topics.
Sherry Rubins
Sherry Rubins is a senior lecturer and coordinator of the percussion program at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Mrs. Rubins co- directs the percussion and steel drum ensembles and teaches undergraduate and graduate percussion majors. Sherry is Principal Timpanist with the Mid Texas Symphony, the Victoria Bach Festival, and the Mozart Festival Texas (San Antonio). Recently, she held the position of Acting Principal Timpanist and Acting Assistant Principal Timpanist/Percussionist with the San Antonio Symphony. Sherry now frequently performs as a substitute musician with the San Antonio Symphony. A busy freelance percussionist she has contracted and played for numerous touring shows including A Tribute to Prince, Weird Al, and Hugh Jackman. She has presented clinics and performances throughout the south Texas area, the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention, the Music for All National Percussion Symposium in Indianapolis, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
Sherry is an artist/educational clinician for the Zildjian/Vic Firth Company, Remo Percussion, and the Yamaha Corporation. She has been featured on the Zildjian and Vic Firth web sites. Ms. Rubins is an active long-time member of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) where she recently finished her term on the Board of Advisors. In the past she also served as Vice-President of the Texas Chapter of PAS.
Sherry has been a certified group fitness professional for over 30 years. She has taught many formats including step, strength training, yoga, and more. For many years Sherry has presented early morning workout sessions during PASIC.
About the Session
Helping young percussionists with mental health & wellness issues
Dr. Meyer and Mrs. Rubins would like to help fellow music instructors detect, understand, and assist young musicians with mental health & wellness issues. As more research becomes available, we are learning that by the age of 24, 75% of students develop mental health conditions that will affect them for the rest of their lifetime. Since music teachers are generally students’ main point of contact throughout their academic careers, they are in the ideal place to get students the help they need before their issues become overwhelming. We will discuss numerous ways to help students without trying to be an “unqualified therapist,” such as discussing scheduling daily activities, goal setting, the importance of sleep, regularity of eating habits, general mindfulness strategies, grounding techniques, regular exercise, and more.