Mental Health and Music Symposium: Making Connections

Join us for a full-day symposium exploring the intersection of mental health and music. This inspiring event brings together leaders in healthcare, advocacy, and the arts to share perspectives and foster meaningful dialogue. Registration includes six continuing education credits.

Dr. Jessi Gold, Psychiatrist and author of

Deanna Seymour, DPN, Jacksonville University, Keigwin School of Nursing

Gabrielle Magid, CEO and Founder of Stronger Than Stigma

Composer Randall Standridge conducts the First Coast Wind Symphony in a performance of music from his powerful Unbroken Project.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and experience the healing power of music.

Info: Deanna Seymour, DPN Jacksonville University, Keigwin School of Nursing

Deanna Seymour is a Doctor of Nursing Practice with a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Specialty. She is a 20 year pediatric nursing veteran currently specializing in pediatric psychiatry. Her therapeutic specialty is Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Deanna's professional goal is to provide mental health services to children and families within her community.

Info: Gabrielle Magid CEO and Founder of Stronger Than Stigma, a “for us, by us” nonprofit social movement founded in August 2013 by Gabrielle Magid during her time at the University of Florida. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, the organization is led by millennials and deeply rooted in peer-to-peer mental health advocacy. Its mission is to dismantle the barriers and shame often associated with seeking help by building inclusive, relatable communities, both online and in person, through innovative programs like pop-up installations, comedy tours, and workshops that normalize conversations around mental health and affirm that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Info: Dr. Jessi Gold, Psychiatrist and author of How Do You Feel?
A stirring exploration of the emotional costs borne by those who care for others. Dr. Gold blends candid personal reflection, narrative accounts of four healthcare-worker patients, and illuminating research, she confronts the burnout, perfectionism, stigma, and emotional suppression embedded in medical culture; especially during the crucible of the COVID‑19 pandemic. As she journeys through therapy and her own near‑breaking point, Gold invites readers to reclaim vulnerability, foster empathy, and recognize that in order to truly care for others, we must first care for ourselves.

Info: Composer Randall Standridge conducts the First Coast Wind Symphony in a performance of music from his powerful unBroken Project. The unBroken Project is a poignant suite of concert‑band and orchestral compositions created to ignite conversations about mental health and destigmatize living with mental illness. The centerpiece, unBroken, draws deeply from the composer’s personal experiences, particularly his mother’s severe struggle with depression and the unwavering support of his family; and portrays the internal turbulence of mental illness through shifting textures, dissonant color, and eventual rise to resilience. As part of the larger project, Standridge has also released additional companion pieces, each tailored for various ensemble levels and crafted as expressive tools to inspire hope or channel emotional energy at various age and skill level.

Host or Publisher First Coast Wind Symphony