Kelsey Maes

Collision Etudes by Alyssa Morris (b. 1984)
I. Summertime (Mary Cassatt)
III. Jimson Weed (Georgia O-Keeffe)
IV. Rainbow (Alma Thomas)
VI. My World is Not Flat (Margarete Bagshaw)

In the City at Night by Jenni Brandon (b. 1977)

Interruptions: Variations on a Wandering Mind by Kelsey Maes (b. 1997)
Theme
Var I. Fatigue
Var II. Anxiety
Var III. Distraction
Var IV. Low Frustration Tolerance
Var V. Boredom
Var VI. Demand Avoidance
Var VII. Anger Outburst
Var VII. Hyperfocus
Var IX. Everything

Program Notes:
This program explores unaccompanied oboe works by living female composers. Featuring works by Jenni Brandon, Alyssa Morris, and myself, the program demonstrates stylistic and expressive diversity that exists among living female composers writing for unaccompanied oboe.

Alyssa Morris describes her work, "Collision Etudes was inspired by and composed as a response to Gilles Silvestrini's wonderful etude collection: Six Etudes Pour Hautbois. Where Silvestrini's collection is based on six French Impressionist paintings, Collision Etudes is based on six paintings by female American painters. America is a melting pot, a beautiful 'collision' of cultures and beliefs. Collision Etudes highlights a collision of contemporary art styles, while bringing awareness to several significant female American artists." Each movement's title shares the same title as the painting and the corresponding artists are listed in parentheses.

Jenni Brandon wanted to write "a piece that uses the lovely, lyrical range of the English horn while at the same time composing something that was also rhythmically fun to play. In the City at Night focuses on just that; it is at times playful and fast like many lights blinking on just after dusk in the city. At other times it is quiet and serene like the city streets that are empty in the early hours before dawn. In creating this world I wanted the listener to be left with thoughts and impressions of a city after dark, and the lone voice of the English horn telling the story of a night adventure on the city streets."

The centerpiece of this program, Interruptions: Variations on a Wandering Mind, is my original work based on my lived experience with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Structured in a loose theme and variations form, it explores the contrast between how ADHD is perceived externally and how it presents internally. The theme is bubbly and joyful, with mordents and offset articulations that hint at anxiety and hyperactivity beneath the surface, as well as the pressure to hide ADHD traits. Each variation represents a different internal state. Fatigue quotes Brahm's Wiegenlied, slipping from G minor into G phrygian (flat scale degree 3) as if eyes struggle to remain open. Anxiety is marked by sudden dynamic and melodic shifts, irregular phrase lengths, and multiphonics that reflect cognitive overload and loss of grounding. This leads into Distraction, where swung, jazz-like material representing distraction clashes with a rigid, classical style representing the task at hand. The ending is a completely different idea, mirroring distraction's cyclical nature. Low Frustration Tolerance draws on research around eye tracking and pacing in ADHD and reflects my own difficulty reading multi-line parts. A quote from Appolon Barret's Progressive Melodies becomes increasingly disrupted as the musical line "wanders," repeatedly breaking in moments of mounting frustration. Boredom references Ravel's Boléro and the second movement of Beethoven's seventh symphony, evoking the numbing effect of repetition and under stimulation. Demand Avoidance is the only variation that abandons the shared tonal center of G, instead modulating frequently between F sharp major and A flat major, culminating in a resentful outburst on a high G. Anger Outburst channels unregulated anger through honking low notes and multiphonics. Hyperfocus, a lesser-known facet of ADHD, depicting intense focus on items of interest to the exclusion of everything else. A quote from La Scala di Seta by Rossini, the fast oboe excerpt, appears through uneven practice patterns, varied articulations, and chunking. Finally, the last variation weaves together elements of the theme with each variation using abrupt shifts between. The ending of the entire work is almost identical to the ending of the Demand Avoidance variation, underscoring the reality that even with coping strategies and self-accommodation, the world was not inherently built for neurodivergent people to thrive and the ongoing burden of navigating that mismatch remains.

Ultimately, this program invites the audience to experience the unaccompanied oboe as a vehicle for both virtuosity and vulnerability. It celebrates diversity in compositional voice, musical language, and human experience, affirming that there is no single way to sound, think, or create in the world of classical music.

Dr. Kelsey Maes is an oboist, music educator, and higher education professional based in Arizona. She teaches at Glendale Community College, Music & Arts, and works in the Graduate College at Arizona State University (ASU). She has previously taught at ASU and Phoenix College.

Kelsey has performed with orchestras across the U.S., including principal oboe with the Gilbert Symphony and subbing positions with the Scottsdale Phil, Symphony of the Southwest, West Valley Symphony, Danville Symphony, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony. She also competed in the 2023 Coltman and Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions, awarded as a semifinalist and quarterfinalist, respectively.

Committed to expanding contemporary repertoire for double reeds, Kelsey is a recipient of the 2026 International Double Reed Society (IDRS) 50 for 50 Commissioning Grant. She has presented at past IDRS conferences, and serves as the IDRS Social Media Content Coordinator and member of the IDRS Chamber Music Committee.

Kelsey holds a DMA, Music Theory Pedagogy Certificate, and MM from ASU, along with a BM from the University of Illinois. She studied with Martin Schuring and John Dee.