Franka Mavriček (Croatia/Austria) is a solo, orchestral, and chamber musician with an active international profile. She studied flute with Melanija Gradečak (Music School Varaždin), Hansgeorg Schmeiser (former; Volksoper Vienna), and Erwin Klambauer (Vienna Symphony Orchestra), and piccolo with Peter Verhoyen (Antwerp Symphony Orchestra). She is also a certified mental coach and works at the Myndvoice Institute for Stage Presence.

Her artistic work has been recognized through awards in numerous international competitions, as well as by Rotary International for outstanding artistic achievement. In 2023, she was nominated for the Würdigungspreis der Stadt Graz, an honor awarded for exceptional artistic and scholarly contributions.

She is currently pursuing a PhD in music psychology, focusing on performance anxiety and its psychological, cultural, and socio-economic dimensions, under the supervision of Ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Matthias Bertsch (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna) and Prof. Dr. Daniel Scholz (Universität zu Lübeck).

On the Multidirectional Relationships between Music Performance Anxiety, Perfectionism, Excellencism, Impostor Phenomenon and Socio-economic Status

Music performance anxiety (MPA) represents a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing affective, cognitive, somatic, and behavioral symptoms that profoundly affects musicians’ psychological well-being and performance quality. It often appears comorbidly with other psychological phenomena that can play a substantive role in both the genesis and perpetuation of MPA. Perfectionism is marked by unrealistically high personal standards and disproportionately harsh self-evaluative processes, pursued with a relentless insistence on flawlessness, and it is to be conceptually differentiated from excellencism, which denotes the pursuit of exceptionally high yet realistically attainable standards, approached through sustained effort, deep engagement, and resolute commitment, while maintaining a capacity for adaptive flexibility. Impostor phenomenon is characterized by enduring self-doubt and the pervasive perception of personal achievements as undeserved or deceitful, while socio-economic status is defined as access to economic, social, and educational resources.

This study investigates how music performance anxiety, impostor phenomenon, perfectionism, and excellencism co-occur and potentially reinforce one another among musicians and music students. It also examines whether socio-economic status moderates these links, highlighting how social and economic conditions may shape these psychological dynamics.

The findings may offer a differentiated perspective on musicians from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and contribute to psycho-educational research. They may also provide a foundation for future work and inform the development of targeted interventions aimed at strengthening coping strategies and psychological resilience in musicians.