Thomas Kelly, Piano

Our Christmas concert this year will be given by the outstanding young pianist Thomas Kelly. Thomas started playing the piano at the age of three and became Kent Junior Pianist of the Year in 2006.  At the age of nine, he performed Mozart’s Concerto No. 24 in the Marlowe Theatre with the Kent Concert Orchestra.  Following his relocation to Cheshire, his performances regularly won him prizes at music festivals, including the Birmingham Music Festival, 3rd prize at Young Pianist of The North and 1st prize at Warrington Arts Council Initiative for the Development of Music (WACIDOM).  In 2021 Thomas was a finalist in the Leeds International Piano Competition and, more recently, was awarded 2nd prize and special prize for best semi-final performance at the Hastings International Piano Competition 2022.

He has also excelled at international competitions, being awarded First Prizes at the Theodor Leschetizky Competition, Lucca Virtuoso e Bel Canto Festival, Pianale International Piano Competition, Kharkiv Assemblies, Royal College of Music (RCM) Joan Chissell Schumann competition, Kendall Taylor Beethoven competition and the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe (BPSE) Intercollegiate Beethoven competition.

His appearances include concerts at Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, St John’s Smith Square, the Brazilian and Russian embassies in London, Poole Lighthouse Arts Centre, North Norfolk Music Festival, Paris Conservatoire, Bayreuth and Florence, at both the Teatro Del Sale and the British Institute.

Thomas is supported by the Kendall-Taylor award, the Keyboard Charitable Trust (since 2020) and Talent Unlimited (since 2021).  He was also the recipient of the Royal College of Music’s Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship 2023-24 (awarded to an exceptional pianist who has been accepted onto the RCM’s Artist Diploma course).