Stephen Kelly: pianist, composer
Stephen Kelly began his musical studies at the age of thirteen with the Russian maestra Galina Michniuk, formerly of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and received extensive further training from the Hungarian conductor, statesman, and piano virtuoso Erno Daniel.
Drawn to the music of India from an early age, he received his initiation into formal study from the tabla master Krishna Govinda while living in Paris. Stephen Kelly has concertized in France, Spain, and Central America as well as across the United States. He has recorded music of Chopin for Hollywood, served as judge of the finals of the Knox Concerto Competition, composed music heard at an international festival in Prague, and performed with members of the Paris Opera Ballet, Ballets Blaska, American Repertory Dance Theatre, and Rep-West Dance Company – with his collaborations earning him the EMO Award for Artistic Excellence.
The Los Angeles Times called his performance at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex “superb.” Pierrette Germain of France-Musique described his playing as “marked by interior lyricism and passion… the performance of the contemporary American Works was a revelation.” ABC de Sevilla praised him for “a very felicitous interpretation of the contemporary music.” Pierre Fournier, conductor of the Toledo Symphony wrote: “a masterful performance, especially in the Beethoven sonata…” Kennedy Center Award-winning composer Dane Rudhyar declared: “The best performance of my music I ever heard.” And Bob Hunka, music director for Paramount, wrote “your music works beautifully in the context of the film (Hardcover).” Kelly is unique among concert pianists inasmuch as he has developed the ability to perform not only classical European music, but also the ability to improvise within the strict forms of Indian classical music.
In 1998, Stephen Kelly co-founded (with sarod maestro Montino Bourbon and tabla virtuoso Gregg Johnson) a trio dedicated to a new form of music: classical in its roots and yet spontaneous and playful in its audacity. The Santa Barbara News-Press declared “the key element for this trio is the pianism of Stephen Kelly. Thoroughly trained along conservatory lines and experienced in both competitions and the concert stage, Kelly possesses a major-league technique. His keen ear has been honed the last five years by studying the music of India…the timbre of the piano was breathtakingly beautiful.”
Stephen, in addition to being a fabulous musician, is an amazing choreographer! Presently he is working with the company training dancers in percussion and spoken rhythm so that we can attain our goal of having the dancers play for performances as well as for company class!
Welcome Stephen!!
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