The primary purpose of this document is to promote awareness of the phenomenon of professional classical musicians with ADHD. This is a topic that researchers have not previously studied in depth. This document contains anecdotes from the workplace, practical compensation techniques, and honest insights about the struggles and triumphs of the working musician with ADHD. Those who are a part of this unique population will likely resonate with the experiences of likeminded musicians and acknowledge, maybe for the first time, that they are not alone. The mainstream professional classical musician community will also benefit from this document. These musicians without ADHD will learn to notice and understand their colleagues who process information differently. Whether or not their counterparts with ADHD disclose a diagnosis, this understanding should promote empathy when working with such musicians who may need an extra moment to find a measure number in an orchestral rehearsal or need more frequent breaks in a chamber rehearsal. Finally, this document will help further the research of high-functioning adults with ADHD. “Too often people with lived experience hear about ADHD in relation to deficits, functional impairments and associations with substance misuse...or other disadvantages on almost every level of life... Perhaps other researchers should...document attributes that can promote or sustain well-being and flourishing in ADHD life.”

Jane Ann Sedgwick, Andrew Merwood, and Philip Asherson, “The positive aspects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder:a qualitative investigation of successful adults with ADHD,” ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, no.3 (2019): 250, https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s12402-018-0277-6 (accessed July 15, 2020).