About Kelsey Maes

Dr. Kelsey Amber Maes is a passionate music educator and performer. Her day jobs consist of serving as a Format and Curriculum Advisor in the Graduate College at Arizona State University (ASU), and teaching music courses at Phoenix College and ASU. Outside of academia, she is the International Double Reed Society (IDRS) Social Media Content Coordinator and a member of the IDRS Chamber Music Committee. As an active freelance oboist, Kelsey has performed with orchestras nationwide, including the Gilbert Symphony, Scottsdale Philharmonic, Symphony of the Southwest, West Valley Symphony, Danville Symphony, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony. She was a semifinalist and quarterfinalist in the 2023 Coltman and Fischoff National Chamber Music Competitions, respectively.

Modified from a portion of her doctoral research paper, her article entitled "Arundo donax or Bust? Have we always used Arundo donax for double reeds?" was published in The Double Reed in June 2025. At the 2025 IDRS Conference, she presented a lecture on applying aural skills to the oboe and led a cane selection workshop with a published literature review, analysis of her own reed studies, and live processing demonstrations using a microscope. At the 2024 IDRS Conference, she presented her doctoral research on alternative natural materials for oboe reeds. Additional professional affiliations include membership in the College Music Society and Society for Music Theory.

Kelsey holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, Music Theory Pedagogy Certificate, and Master of Music degree from Arizona State University, along with a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She studied oboe with Martin Schuring and John Dee.

Outside of music, Kelsey enjoys spending time with her fiance and their three dogs, one in every size!