Kensley Behel

Kensley Behel | kensley.behel@gmail.com

B.M. Clarinet Performance, Florida State University

M.M. Clarinet Performance, University of Michigan

Kensley Behel is a classically trained clarinetist from the southeastern United States. Ms. Behel had her solo debut with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at the age of 18 where she performed Louis Cahuzac’s Variations Sur Un Air Du Pays D’Oc. She graduated from Florida State University with her bachelor’s in clarinet performance, during which time she underwent surgery for Velopharyngeal Insufficiency. She went on to complete her master’s degree, also in clarinet performance, at the University of Michigan where during her final recital, her right arm when numb up to her shoulder.

Ms. Behel’s personal journey and struggle with injuries as a musician has led her to become a researcher in the field to create healthier and long-lasting careers for others. Ms. Behel also works as a freelance journalist within the American Olympic Movement to cover men’s gymnastics in Germany, Scotland, the U.S. and Canada. It’s through these multi-disciplinary experiences that she works to create a more able-bodied mindset within her own community to prevent injuries. Her current areas of interest and research include an epidemiological study in clarinetists, athletic identity in musicians, pulmonary function in musicians versus population norms, and faculty perceptions compared to student perceptions of studio faculty responsibility within colleges of music.

Ms. Behel is delighted to be among the first Ph.D. class to study Performing Arts Health in the world. It’s with this passion for the field and understood responsibility to help others that she strives each day to further raise awareness and create educational material for the future.