Introduction
Few studies have explored life-long music-making among professional full-time contract Symphony Orchestra players. None have investigated orchestra lifestyle as a co-factor considering ageing.


Purpose
The current study examined orchestra musicians who have sustained a vocational career despite the ill-effects of aging for a longer number of years than any other profession requiring highly efficient and accurate expert motor-precision.


Methods
N = 52 full-time players from 5 professional Symphony Orchestras in 3 countries participated. This paper forwards a conceptual interface that puts forward the notion of successful positive ageing among orchestra musicians based on an 11-measure assessment package. The psychological scales were: Selection, Optimization, And Compensation (SOC); Life Management In The Occupational Domain (LMOD); Self-Evaluation Skills & Abilities (SESA); Lifespan-Longings (L-L); Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS); and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).


Results
The model of successful positive ageing advances a profile based on the following components: High SOC, High LMOD, High SESA, Low L-L, High PANAS-PA with Low PANAS-NA, High MBI-PA with Low MBI-DP and Low MBI-EE.


Conclusions: The study explored the attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of professional full-time contract orchestra musicians, and occupational lifestyle, leading to the conception of resilience to the ill-effects of ageing among Seasoned Musicians who have retained their music performance skills and career past the 5th Decade. The study puts forth occupational lifestyle of orchestra musicians as a possible co-factor in developing increased levels of protective immunity to neurodegenerative diseases than is usually depicted among the general population.