Read on to discover how baritone Huw Montague Rendall manages to avoid burnout…
Burnout is probably something you need to experience in order to avoid it in future. This is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. It can occur when you experience long-term stress and feel under constant pressure.
You need to recognise the signs ahead, in order to take evasive action. But here is what I’ve learned…
Work with people you trust and can be open with
One crucial thing in avoiding burnout is finding the best partners to work with. How do you know who these are? Trial and error, unfortunately. I have come close to burnout working with people who don’t know what they want to achieve, who use you as a kind of experiment, or who don’t listen to your opinions or questions.
We make the best music with the people we trust and can be ourselves with. All of my close chamber music collaborators are extremely open, lovely people and we all share some fundamental human truths – trauma, anxiety, whatever. Knowing that there is someone there that you can be open with is very important, otherwise the stress can just build up – especially if, like many musicians, you are a people pleaser.
Make sure you take a break… and exercise!
Next is exercise, which is crucial as it helps the body to recover more quickly. It’s a great stress relief too: if I’m feeling anxious, I’ll go for a run.
Another major reliever of stress is my dog, Maurice, a long-haired dachshund!
Avoiding burnout… take time out to rest
Last but not least: rest. Of course we are all hugely busy nearly all of the time. But it’s so important to have, every year, some time when you’re simply not performing.
I had some cancellations earlier this year and thought about trying to fill the time. Instead, I took nearly four months off – much more than I had taken in the previous few years combined. I came back from it feeling like a new person.
Huw Montague Rendall’s ‘Contemplation’ is released on Warner Classics on 6 September.