Symphony of Self™

"Your Life Is Music. It’s Time to Rewrite the Score."

-Ann Mracek

ann mracek - Biography

Ann Mracek is a multi-award-winning author, composer, pianist, conductor, and keynote speaker. She is the great-grandniece of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.

Her memoir, Unpacking the Attic: A Path to Healing Your Inner Child, has won 28 awards, including the International Impact Book Award, the Literary Titan Book Award, the Firebird Book Award, the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, and a Kirkus “Buy It” recommendation.

Her newest book, Symphony of Self: Compose Your Life, launched in May 2026 and reached #1 on Amazon in four music categories. It has earned the International Impact Book Award, the 2026 Firebird Book Award for Self-Help, the NY Big Book Award, and the ACCI Literary Excellence Award for Best Self-Help/Personal Development. Both books are finalists for Hollywood Author of the Year.

Symphony of Self™ is Ann’s method for personal transformation. It uses the laws of music, such as key signature, steady beat, dissonance, and rest, to help people rewrite their internal dialogue and compose the life they want. On stage, she moves between the piano and the microphone, performing her original compositions. She hosts the podcast Creativity With Purpose and the Symphony of Self™ Show, on her YouTube channel, Apple, Spotify, Podbean, and other podcast platforms.

Ann has composed more than 300 original works, including her Symphony No. 1, Shadow Dragon. She founded Mracek Studio in 1979 and has taught piano, voice, and composition there to more than 2,000 students. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music theory and composition from the University of Kansas, completing both in four years. She still composes at the piano almost daily.

She directed Aabla Raqs (Mirror Dance) Belly Dance Company as principal dancer, choreographer, and composer of its dance music. She is also the author of the children’s books My Best Friends Live in the Woods: The Adventures of Albert and Friendship Flies the Sun: The Ancient Egyptian Legend of Scarab Beetle.

Ann has one grown daughter and two adored grandchildren. She lives with her husband, Richard, in St. Louis, Missouri. Avid travelers, they have visited 23 countries, many of them more than once.