Instrumentally Healthy

Howdy! My name is Brandi Berry Benson and I am a professional musician and music educator based in the Chicagoland area. My career has taken me throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and I feel privileged to have worked with world class artists in breathtaking venues.  I have been playing the violin for 28 years now, with nearly 20 of those years as a professional with many orchestras, chamber ensembles, and my own ensemble that I co-direct.  My career has been full of great musical moments, but not without a few bumps on the road in the form of overuse injuries, strained muscles, and even an involuntary twitch in my right thumb that decided to show up right before a solo concerto performance. That was nerve-wracking to say the least!

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Through each bump in the road, however, I was able to figure out a solution, keep playing, and through a journey of seeing chiropractors, a physical therapist, and now an acupuncturist, all of those health professionals helped me overcome each injury that came up against me.  There is one important lesson about my health that I learned, and that is that the success of the treatment is dependent on the daily habits and choices I make to help bring about the best outcome of those treatments. I have a responsibility to my body to fill in the gaps with good supplements, eating right, exercising and strengthening, stretching, listen to my body, and be aware of my technique. The treatments alone were not as effective without these daily decisions, and, quite honestly, those daily habits and choices were the key to a successful treatment and continual improvement. 

 

The moral of this story is that there is no one-size-fits-all, and likely there will be some trial to find what is the best solution for you on your performing health journey. I started Instrumentally Healthy to be a facilitator and problem solver. I am here to help, and believe that we can make music-making healthy together.