Contemporary Performance (Production Concentration)

Follow

• 

  Jazz & Valencian Folk Fusion

  Josep Alcaraz González
  2026

  This project investigates the integration of Valencian folk music and contemporary jazz through the composition, arrangement, and production of an original five-track EP. While the fusion of jazz with other regional traditions, particularly flamenco, has become a well-established field of artistic practice, Valencian musical heritage remains relatively unexplored within contemporary jazz contexts. The project aims to address this gap by developing a compositional approach that combines traditional Valencian rhythmic structures, melodies, poetry, and instrumentation with the harmonic and improvisational language of contemporary jazz. The research is based on an initial ethnomusicological study of Valencian traditional music, focusing on rhythmic patterns, asymmetric meters, and the concept of vares as described by authors such as Jordi Reig and the group Al Tall. These materials were subsequently explored through a practice-based research methodology, in which composition, rehearsal, performance, and reflection formed the main methods of investigation. The creative process resulted in the development of four original compositions that apply different strategies for combining traditional and contemporary musical elements. The results suggest that Valencian folk materials can be successfully adapted to contemporary jazz contexts while maintaining their cultural identity. The project demonstrates the potential of modal harmony, rhythmic transformation, improvisation, and hybrid instrumentation to generate new forms of musical expression. Furthermore, it proposes a practical framework for integrating Valencian traditional music into contemporary creative practices. Beyond the production of an original EP, this work contributes to the ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation, demonstrating how Valencian musical heritage can be reinterpreted through contemporary compositional practices. Furthermore, it explores the possibilities of a hybrid large chamber ensemble in which traditional instruments and jazz musicians operate within a shared musical framework. Ultimately, the project seeks not only to develop a personal artistic voice, but also to propose a model for the structural integration of Valencian folk traditions into contemporary jazz performance and composition.

• 

  ARES (Ancient Rhythms in Electric Skin)

  Evita Armienti
  2026

  Driven by the need to rediscover my roots, this project explores the South Italian traditional music genre Pizzica, in which chants have been passed down orally for millennia across different cultures, from Greek to Turkish to Spanish. My motivation is to heal the historical trauma of this tarantella (an Italian musical form inspired by the myth of the spider bite), transforming a rhythm born from patriarchal oppression and Dionysian rites into a tool for modern artistic expression. Stories, legends, recordings, ethnomusicological and anthropological studies, and interviews with musicians who today keep this tradition alive have been the core of this research to explore the technical elements (groove, chord progressions, modes, instruments, ...) and to understand the emotion and soul within. I composed several songs, and I selected three to be analyzed in this paper, all influenced by different modern music genres, such as Jazz, Rock, Electronic, and Contemporary Classical. The outcome is not just the reflection of my current artistic identity, but also the album that includes those songs and the other project I developed starting from the Pizzica. I hope that through my learning I can inspire people to recover, respect and appreciate ancient rhythms while embodying the sounds and traditions of the past.

• 

  SHARED CREATION - The essential collaboration between contemporary performers and composers

  Mattia Barbagallo
  2026

  This project, Shared Creation, examines why close, sustained collaboration between contemporary performers and living composers is essential to high-level artistic research, treating the performer as an active co-author rather than a mere player. Drawing on my decade-long partnership with composer A2 Abd El Monim, I introduce two related concepts: Creation Music, in which new repertoire is built around a performer's own technical and expressive identity, and Shared Creation (which is a practice within the Creation Music concept), a live performance model in which authorship is renegotiated through compositional modules left open to the performer during rehearsal and on stage. The research combines auto-ethnography, comparative case studies of historical performer-composer pairs, and practice-led research, documented through a live carte blanche concert, multitrack recordings, reflective journaling, and immersive video material. The process confirmed that this collaboration is most productive when modules remain neither too fixed nor too open, and that the resulting performance model is artistically valid and professionally extensible. Future steps include consolidating Shared Creation as a recognizable format and reintroducing this practice into the Sicilian cultural landscape.

• 

  Luminá

  Gabriela Bendeck
  2026

  LUMINÁ is a practice-based research project that explores the development of artistic identity through the intersection of Latin American musical traditions and contemporary pop production. Guided by the research question, How do my influences become my own voice?. The project investigates how my own cultural heritage, personal experience, and modern production techniques can coexist to create an authentic artistic language. Using an autoethnographic methodology, this research positions the creative process itself as the primary site of inquiry. Through songwriting, arranging, producing, recording, and visual identity development, the project documents the evolution of my artistic voice while reflecting on my experiences as a Colombian singer-songwriter and producer. The practical outcome of this research is a five-song EP that draws inspiration from genres such as bolero, salsa, ranchera, and música popular, reinterpreting these traditions through contemporary production aesthetics. Each composition serves as both an artistic work and a research, allowing me to examine different aspects of identity, storytelling, and fusion. Alongside the musical development, the project also explores the construction of a visual identity that integrates contemporary pop aesthetics with the colors, symbolism, and visual traditions of Latin America, reinforcing the project's broader exploration of cultural identity. The Results demonstrate that tradition and modernity are not opposing forces but complementary creative resources. Rather than abandoning cultural influences in pursuit of a contemporary sound, LUMINÁ proves that authenticity can emerge through the integration of heritage, experimentation, and personal artistic expression.

• 

  Aahista

  Harish Budhwani
  2026

  Aahista (Slow Down) is a multidisciplinary creative project exploring music as a vehicle for mindfulness, healing, and empathetic consciousness. Rooted in self-ethnography and performative research, this work responds to the modern conditions of digital isolation and emotional burnout by investigating how strategic musical arrangement can induce states of physical and emotional presence in both performer and listener. The project's methodology combines cross-cultural acoustic instrumentation with hybrid electronic production, weaving Hindustani classical vocal traditions with Western strings, piano, and multilingual songwriting across five original compositions. These pieces are presented alongside an immersive live performance design integrating environmental staging, intentional lighting, and narrative storytelling to cultivate a shared sense of community experience. Sustaining genuine presence within a high-pressure academic environment emerged as the project's central experiential challenge, mirroring the systemic pressures the work addresses more broadly. The project demonstrates that a disciplined practice of artistic mindfulness can transform both the creator's process and the conventional concert environment into a reflective space, offering a replicable framework for musicians seeking to leverage hybrid production and immersive performance to deepen human connection through their art.

• 

  Diversity of Music

  Pablo Escorihuela
  2026

  This Culminating Experience is a creative and research project that explores the connection between classical violin performance and contemporary musical languages. Through arranging, recording, performance, and reflection, I investigate how the violin can move beyond traditional classical contexts and interact with styles such as tango, bolero, jazz, pop, rock, and contemporary music. My main goal is to build bridges between tradition and innovation, using both acoustic and electric violin as tools for artistic exploration. The project focuses on developing a personal musical language through the reinterpretation of existing repertoire and the creation of new artistic material. Within the scope of this project, I work with arrangements, recordings, improvisation, sound experimentation, collaboration, and reflective documentation. The main artistic case studies are a contemporary version of Astor Piazzolla’s Vuelvo al Sur, a jazz-inspired arrangement of Armando Manzanero’s El Ciego, and a solo violin adaptation of Salvador Sobral’s Amar Pelos Dois. These pieces allow me to explore different approaches to stylistic fusion, including reharmonization, improvisation, electric sound, expressive freedom, and the transformation of vocal or popular repertoire into instrumental performance. Coming out of this experience, I have developed a stronger artistic identity as a versatile violinist, performer, arranger, and creator. This project also provides a foundation for future recordings, original music, live performances, and the continued development of Violincheli Brothers( project that I share with my brother) that as a project that connects classical instruments with modern audiences.

• 

  Community, Sustainability, and Access in Music Education

  Evan Fort
  2026

  This paper investigates community-based music education and performance programs through a comparative case study of the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Sedajazz Colectivo de Músicos in Valencia, Spain. The study examines how these organizations function, the factors contributing to their impact on their communities, and the characteristics that support their long-term sustainability amidst an unpredictable future. Through historical and contextual research, as well as interviews, site visits, and surveys, the study identifies key practices that contribute to the success of both organizations. A principal outcome of the research is the development of a set of fundamental characteristics that may serve as a resource for existing and emerging community-based music initiatives. The findings suggest that such institutions play an important role in fostering musical development, strengthening community cohesion, and expanding access to arts education and performance opportunities. By documenting and analyzing two successful models, this study contributes to a growing body of research on community-based music organizations and offers insights into their continued development and sustainability.

• 

  Maia Joëlle Foster- Before the Theory

  Maia Foster
  2026

  Before the Theory examines Black musical knowledge as an inherited and embodied cultural system transmitted through oral tradition, communal practice, and proximity across generations. Drawing on practice-based research, this project argues that what academic institutions categorize as instinctual Black musicianship is a sophisticated epistemological framework that predates and informs the theoretical structures used to describe it. The creative component, a collection of gospel-informed reimaginings of jazz standards and contemporary music, serves as both artistic expression and scholarly evidence, documenting what it costs to make Black music inside institutional spaces not designed to fully hold it. The accompanying written research grounds this experience in the scholarship of W.E.B. Du Bois, Kyra D. Gaunt, Samuel Floyd Jr., Philip Ewell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, bell hooks, and William A. Smith, among others. This project asserts that practice-based research is itself an argument about what counts as knowledge, that lived experience, embodied tradition, and cultural inheritance are not supplements to rigorous scholarship but are rigorous scholarship. Before the Theory is one document in a longer conversation about who defines musical knowledge, whose inheritance gets treated as scholarship, and what conservatories owe the traditions they were built on.

• 

  Project R.T.B

  KECHAO GAO
  2026

  This Culminating Experience project, RTB (Roots, Tension, Become), explores the development of my artistic identity as both a drummer and producer through a series of three original musical works. Drawing on autoethnography and practice-based research methodologies, the project examines how personal history, cultural identity, and professional experience shape creative practice. Each composition represents a different stage of my artistic journey: Roots reflects the foundational influence of jazz and early musical formation; Tension explores uncertainty and experimentation through avant-garde and electronic elements; and represents the integration of performance and production into a unified artistic voice. By documenting both the creative process and the resulting works, this project investigates how improvisational thinking, ensemble interaction, and rhythmic language can inform contemporary music production. Ultimately, the project aims to contribute a reflective model for musicians navigating the evolving role of performer-producer in today’s interdisciplinary music landscape.

• 

  Sharing An Orange

  Alexandra Hoskyns
  2026

  Sharing An Orange is a practice based research project which explores collaboration, creative direction, and visual storytelling through the creation of an EP and video series. Inspired by the poem The Orange Wendy Cope, the video series highlights female collaborations recorded live throughout Valencia, expressing themes of gratitude, mundanity, and shared joy. While the project originally was going to be a study on female collaboration, its focus evolved through the practice of videography, and expanded to include cinematography, camera direction, and project management. This allowed me to understand how storytelling can be communicated differently through both sound and cinema. This project demonstrates how collaboration and creativity reaches beyond the creative process of writing, and into every stage of video and audio production. Through this complex process, simplicity and accessibility of the message and creative direction can strengthen both artistic process, the recording process, and make final work emotional and deeply unique.

• 

  Music as Community: Sound as Sanctuary

  Kristin Jarvis
  2026

  This Culminating Experience is comprised of two main components: a five track original mixtape – including two original arrangements, two collaborative compositions, and one original composition – and a collection of collaborative works. Coming from a Western Classical background, the core of this project revolved around reconnecting with my Lebanese heritage through music, and utilizing collaboration in pursuit of the exploration and development of my artistic development. Through a series of peer-commissioned string orchestrations/arrangements, collaborative song-writing, live performances, and over thirty-nine studio recordings as a studio musician, my skills were sharpened and the scope of my artistic identity became more defined. Coupled with intensive exploration of musical expansions and techniques, these experiences paved the way for an expansion of my personal works, and resulted in the completion of four original arrangements, the creation of my first original composition, Nahda, and the curation of my first original mixtape, أرز الربّ (Arz Al-Rab), comprised of five studio recordings: two original arrangements of traditional Lebanese folk music, two collaborative electro-acoustic compositions, and my first original composition. In an effort to to invigorate my musical identity with the flavors of Lebanese music, ultimately to bring Lebanese music to the Lebanese diaspora and beyond, my thorough research, analysis, exploration, and re-discovery enlightened a new professional trajectory: Lebafuturism – an examination of the past, present, and future sonic identities of Lebanon, with the goal of curating community and creating platforms for the future voices of Lebanese music.

• 

  Missbehaving

  Wang jingqi
  2026

  This culminating experience documents a practice-based research project that explores the development of my artistic identity through the composition, performance, and production of an original collection of songs. Drawing inspiration from Black musical traditions, particularly R&B, funk, soul, and neo-soul, the project investigates how groove, vocal expression, and songwriting can be integrated into my own creative practice as a contemporary Chinese artist. Through an iterative process of composing, recording, arranging, and critical reflection, I examine how technical skills and artistic intention inform one another. The portfolio includes original works that explore themes of intimacy, identity, vulnerability, and personal freedom while demonstrating a range of musical approaches and production techniques. By combining creative practice with reflective analysis, this project contributes to my professional development as a songwriter, vocalist, and producer, while establishing a clearer artistic direction for my future career.

• 

  Bittersweet

  Madison Jones
  2026

  My Culminating Experience project is a body of work titled Bittersweet, written and created from my life experiences during my time in Valencia, Spain. Written as a narrative-driven concept album, Bittersweet encapsulates loneliness, emotional moments, change, growth, friendships, and love. It is a glimpse behind the curtain of my heart. It is more than music alone; it is a story. My fellow Berklee Valencia colleagues and I collaborated to bring my vision for this project to life, which will soon be shared worldwide. It is not only an album but also a story that inspired me to work with a visual artist to depict my vision for each song, and it also inspired me to write a poetry book titled It’s bittersweet, isn’t it? The poetry book will be published shortly after the album release and will feature the artwork created for the album. This project allowed me to discover a stronger version of myself and define my artistic identity. Throughout the creative process, I found myself gaining a deeper understanding of life and how I fit into its story.

• 

  Intersections of Influence: South African musical identity through comparative analysis and creative practice

  Jesse Julies
  2026

  This thesis explores the intricate nature of artistic identity within the realm of musicianship, with a particular focus on the experiences of a coloured person from Cape Town, South Africa. It examines the psychological and creative challenges faced by artists who navigate the complexities of multiple cultures and traditions, often struggling to find a sense of belonging. The research investigates whether a definitive approach to the creative process exists or if the pressures of self-comparison and self-criticism—exacerbated by social and historical oppression—hinder authentic artistic expression. Through a combination of theoretical analysis and personal reflection, the study considers how overcomplicating the process of music creation may serve as a response to insecurities rooted in cultural and societal dynamics. Ultimately, the thesis seeks to illuminate the nuanced balance between striving for artistic excellence and embracing the imperfections that make each artist’s journey unique, especially within marginalized communities.

• 

  Popstar Roadmap from Demo to Touring artist

  Merle Korthout
  2026

  Growing up between Ibiza and the Netherlands, surrounded by the energy of live music and festival culture, ignited a lifelong dream: to perform my music on stages around the world. This Culminating Experience project, titled POPSTAR ROADMAP – FROM DEMO TO TOURING ARTST, investigates what it truly takes to become a touring artist from the start. Exploring the artistic, professional and personal development required to build a sustainable career in the contemporary music industry. At its core, the project asks: what is the roadmap a pop artist must follow to graduate from performing demos to headlining tours? It was all about telling others how to do it, but during the CE project I discovered who I am, and how I developed as an artist here in Valencia, and what my next destination is on my own roadmap. The project takes a practical, hands-on approach across three interconnected areas. First, the development of the Popstar Roadmap Magazine a research-based guide documenting the key steps, competencies, and milestones emerging artists need to reach in order to build toward a professional touring career. Second, the creation of a complete artist package for Merle Kee, including a brand book, electronic press kit, website, social media presence, and a five-year career plan. Third, the production of a one-hour original live show featuring a cohesive repertoire of original songs and showcase community-building with ‘meet me at the rooftop’ what will take place 7th of July in Valencia ‘sky bar sea you hotel’. Through this process, the project reveals that becoming a touring artist is not the result of a lucky break, but of deliberate and structured preparation: mastering vocal technique, building a committed team, developing a clear artistic identity and creating meaningful audience experiences. By developing and trying this CE project, I developed a new concept I want to focus on, what will be ‘Meet me at the rooftop’.

• 

  Between Stage and Studio: Exploring the Transformation of Original Music Across Performance Contexts

  Júlia Kozáková
  2026

  This culminating experience explores the relationship between live performance and studio production through a series of original songs developed during my master’s studies at Berklee College of Music. The project focuses on how music changes when moving between the stage and the recording studio, and how different artistic and technical decisions influence the final result. The research combines case studies of selected artists with practical experimentation through my own compositions. Some songs began as live performances and were later adapted for studio recording, while others originated in the studio and were subsequently explored in live settings. Throughout the process, I worked with different musicians, producers, arrangers, and engineers, gaining experience in songwriting, arranging, recording, production, and performance. By comparing different versions of the same songs, I explored questions of authenticity, collaboration, arrangement, sound design, and the balance between acoustic and electronic elements. The project documents not only the development of individual compositions but also my own growth as a songwriter, performer, and producer. Ultimately, it reflects on the creative possibilities and challenges that arise when music moves between live and recorded environments.

• 

  On the Interaction of Polyphony and Jazz

  Danila Kutuzov
  2026

  This project explores the mechanisms of an interaction between the classical fugue form and jazz idiom. The goal of the work is to systematically analyze both classical and jazz works based on the principles of strict counterpoint and jazz harmonic and rhythmic language. The first and main part of the study is aimed at developing a theoretical framework: based on an extensive historical and stylistic analysis (from Baroque origins to contemporary jazz experiments), methods for adapting imitative techniques to the jazz context and ways of their symbiosis are identified. The particular attention is paid to the concept of quasi-improvisation as a means of combining and capturing jazz spontaneity and strict polyphonic structure. The practical outcome of the project will be the author’s own testing of the identified patterns: the creation, arrangement, and studio recording of three original compositions. The subsequent methodological commentary on these compositions will help fill a gap in the relevant literature of the musical field. The work has practical value for educational courses in polyphony, composition, and the history of jazz, and also offers the performer a new methodological path for integrating academic discipline into creative practice.

• 

  How Oppression Influenced the Music We Know Today

  Ana Moura
  2026

  The main objective of this research is to investigate how deeply oppression and discrimination affected music throughout the years. The study first approaches the definitions of the topics, while questioning whether there it influenced and how the music scene in diverse countries. Next, the research aims to examine whether there is any relationship rhythmically speaking and the level of oppression in different cultures. The study also seeks to understand if dictatorship and censorship also influenced the musical path of the time and in which sense it’s different from oppression and discrimination. Another central point of the work is the association of this research with what I do as an artist and what I want to do in the future regarding these subjects. Finally, the investigation addresses a matter that it’s still a relevant topic nowadays defending minorities that faced barriers and are still fighting for their place in the music industry.

• 

  From Past to Future: Re-imagining the role of the violin

  Karley Parovsky
  2026

  Classical and bluegrass training in violin and fiddle music provide a strong foundation in harmony and melody; however, this study seeks to explore the equally vital dimension of rhythm and groove. By developing the violin's percussive potential — through techniques such as the chop and strum bowing — this project aims to expand musical expression across a broader range of styles and collaborations. Drawing on historical research into the violin, interviews with professional players and music educators, and the composition of five original pieces, this study demonstrates that the violin is a far more versatile instrument than it is commonly credited for being. Collaboration with the Cuareim Quartet further informed new avenues of practice and experimentation, including the slap bow. Findings from interviews underscore the extraordinary moment we are living in: new techniques for the instrument are actively being developed and explored. This project concludes that violinists, composers, and music educators share a responsibility to teach and encourage the next generation of players to think more creatively about the role of the violin in music. Doing so will not only liberate individual artistic expression but will ensure that this remarkably versatile instrument remains relevant in the contemporary musical landscape.

• 

  Refining My Musical Voice

  Liana Polanco
  2026

  This culminating experience explores the process of refining my musical voice through five interconnected areas: analysis, composition, arrangement, production, and performance. The project begins with an analytical study of Charlie Parker’s improvisational language to identify the musical elements that could meaningfully influence my own artistic development. By combining quantitative analysis with qualitative reflection, I examined Parker’s improvisations on “Cherokee”, “Blues for Alice”, and “Donna Lee”, identifying and organizing his most frequently used improvisational resources into a practical framework for study and application. Part of these findings were applied into three original compositions. Throughout the academic year, I sought for diverse musical experiences, contributing to 76 projects that include recording sessions, live performances, and production projects, while documenting my artistic growth through reflective practice. Rather than imitating Parker’s style, the objective was to internalize aspects of his musical language in pursuit of greater freedom of expression. I believe this experience strengthened my skills as a guitarist, composer, arranger, and producer, while establishing a foundation for the continued development of my own musical voice.

• 

  Y Seguimos: Compositions Inspired by Social Change, Reconnection, and a History of Colombian Resistance

  Xandra Salazar
  2026

  Y SEGUIMOS: Compositions Inspired by Social Change, Reconnection, and a History of Colombian Resistance examines the legacy of Ana y Jaime, a Colombian sibling duo whose work emerged from the Nueva Cancion movement in the late 1960s. They gained notice during a protest music festival titled Coco de Oro in 1971, San Andres, Colombia. By conducting harmonic and lyrical analysis of three selected songs of their debut album, Díre a mi gente, this project contextualizes the historical significance of their music and draws parallels to themes shaping today’s society through original compositions. It investigates the intersections of cultural heritage, protest music, and contemporary artistic practice to deepen an understanding of music as a tool for social resistance. The project culminates in a curated live event titled Ritmos y Movimientos: Canciones de libertad del mundo, honoring the spirit of Coco de Oro and gathering artists and audiences in celebration of a living tradition of creative resistance.

• 

  Demystifying creativity

  Masha Soeiro
  2026

  Demystifying Creativity is a research project on the concept of creativity - an attempt to findtools and techniques that can help me and others untap the creative potential within us. By researching the practices of different artists, I gathered insights about the methods and approaches used in their journeys. These were both broad and philosophical or specific and analytical, with resources including books and video interviews, as well as scores and recordings, making it a personal compendium of ideas that triggered my own creativity. As a result, I was able to pinpoint fundamental elements that I believe can both be a starting point and permanent fuel for one’s creative journey, ultimately expressed in this project by a set of original compositions where I combine the elements of jazz, western classical, soul, funk and folk music; coupled with the analysis of other artists’ pieces and a reflection on the composition process and habits developed, as a consequence of my research. My ultimate goal is to break the mental barrier, set by western classical music education, that exists between being an interpreter or a composer and to find a way to combine both roles.

• 

  From Mozart to Monk: Bowed Strings in Contemporary Music

  Brady Thomas
  2026

  This paper documents the composition & production of a two-movement suite for string quartet and jazz quartet. Motivated by a love of these two distinct traditions and a lack of repertoire combining them, the project explores the unique textural and expressive capabilities of this hybrid ensemble. Drawing on elements from classical chamber music — motivic development, extended string techniques — alongside jazz elements like improvisation, the suite attempts to combine these traditions in a way that highlights their strengths while treating them as equals. The compositional process began with four motifs, two of which became primary recurring material throughout the suite. The production process was challenging, requiring creative solutions such as staggered recording sessions, tempo mapping, and the creation of a full audio mockup. This paper documents the key decisions made throughout each stage of the project, offering insight into the obstacles and rewards of writing for this unique hybrid ensemble.

• 

  Breaking Patterns: A case study of different applications of traditional rhythms in odd time signatures.

  Matheus Vazquez
  2026

  This research presents a reflective and analytical account of discovering my artistic identity as a drummer and composer. The study traces a clear trajectory beginning with my original compositions, which emphasize a strong engagement with Brazilian rhythms and progressive music. Through a combination of observational models and performative research, I explore the adaptation of traditional Brazilian rhythmic structures into odd time signatures, establishing them as the primary rhythmic foundation of my work which has an approach stylistically informed by progressive rock, jazz fusion, and the Canterbury scene. This process culminates in the creation of a methodological framework for translating traditional binary rhythms into patterns within odd time signatures, grounded in the use of diverse ostinato structures. While this method emerges from my cultural background and personal artistic practice, its broader objective - and that of the research as a whole - is to illuminate new pedagogical and creative pathways. It aims to support students in developing fluency within odd time signature grooves and to encourage the creation of new musical ideas through the reinterpretation of traditional rhythmic materials and its application to more diverse contexts.

• 

  Opening the Box: Cracking the Code of Mental Health in the Music Industry

  Sydney Young
  2026

  Professional musicians face a high-risk landscape of occupational stress, performance anxiety, and severe identity fusion. This creative project addresses these vulnerabilities by developing a self-guided creative processing workflow designed to de-escalate the autonomic nervous system and bypass cognitive resistance. Drawing inspiration from creative music therapy, free improvisation and historical serialist constraints, this practice-based research establishes a mathematically constrained system that translates autobiographical data such as geographic coordinates, calendar dates, and descriptive words, directly into scale degrees. This serialist scaffolding blended with free improvisation acts as a tool for cognitive offloading, and silencing the inner critic. The system was applied to write, rehearse, perform and record three original compositions: "Trust Fall", "This Isn't Goodbye" and “The Witch”. By transitioning through composing, rehearsing, and recording phases, this project explores how musical constraints foster emotional liberation and improvisation allows for autotelic healing. The project contributes a practical, preventative framework for music professionals seeking to safely reclaim their instruments as self-directed sanctuaries of healing.