TERESA WENHART
Dr. Teresa Wenhart is a psychologist, neuroscientist, and musician whose work operates at the intersection of artistic practice and scientific reflection. Drawing on her own musical experience, she combines a sensitive understanding of artistic processes with a deep insight into how perception, emotion, and cognition interact in music-making. She studied Psychology and Musicology (B.A.), followed by a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience with a specialization in Neuropsychology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. She completed her PhD in the neuroscience of music perception at the Institute for Music Physiology and Musician’s Medicine at the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover, in cooperation with the University of Cambridge. Her artistic training includes several years of postgraduate studies in cello performance with Prof. Orfeo Mandozzi at the Zurich University of the Arts, as well as extensive experience in chamber music, choral singing, conducting, and international masterclasses. Alongside this, she works as a cellist in diverse musical settings, ranging from classical repertoire to cross-genre projects. Building on this scientific foundation, Teresa Wenhart continuously develops her approach to the instrument and artistic practice. A key focus of her work is the integration of neuroscientific insights into concrete musical processes. Her experience in neuropsychological rehabilitation has given her a nuanced understanding of mental processes, learning, perception, cognitive functions, and individual development.
In her work with musicians, she creates spaces where artistic questions can be explored alongside personal themes—such as performance anxiety, pressure, or artistic identity. Her further training includes emotional intelligence, project management, leadership, and certification as a schema-therapy coach. These diverse perspectives inform her integrative approach to artistic and personal development in musicians. A particular focus of her work is the development and application of schema-therapeutic approaches in the context of musicians. She is among the first to systematically transfer these methods to musicians, applying and scientifically investigating them in practice. In addition to her work in research and teaching, Teresa Wenhart is also active in industrial research and development in the field of hearing solutions and hearing protection for musicians. In this context, she has led, among other projects, the testing of a prototype in collaboration with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.