Kayden Kelly is the first place Senior Division winner of the inaugural Nina Simon Competition and a 2023 Junior Cliburn Festival Artist. He began playing piano at age five and made his recital debut at age 11 at the National Theater of Costa Rica for the Costa Rican Vice President. He made his orchestral debut three years later in Italy. Kayden has subsequently had three performances at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, NM, and played with orchestras at the Cincinnati Music Hall, Vanemuise Concert Hall in Estonia, and the Berlin Admiralspalast in Germany. 

Kayden has been part of the Mozartium International “Young Excellence” Academy in Austria, Curtis Summerfest, PianoTexas, Amalfi Coast Festival, Algarve Music Series, Perugia MusicFest, and Aspen Music Festival. He has participated in masterclasses with esteemed musicians such as Piotr Paleczny, Olga Kern, Anne McDermott, Dmitri Alexeev, Boris Slutsky, Jerome Lowenthal, Hung-Kuan Chen, Jacques Rouvier, Wu Han, Christopher Elton, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. 

On local, national and international radio stations, Kayden has been interviewed and performed including NPR From the Top and Young Artists Showcase on New York's classical radio station WQXR (Dec 2023). Additionally, he has contributed to several children's radio programs about classical music, both with educational talks and piano performances, that were broadcasted across 35 stations in 6 countries. In 2019, Kayden received an award for his musical talent and dedication from the Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.

Kayden has performed in over 21 solo public performances in the US, Europe, and Latin America. This fall, he performed Liszt Piano Concerto No.1 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra receiving accolades from local press. Additionally this fall, he presented solo piano programs accompanied by discussions on composers for both the New Mexico Museum Foundation Donors Circle and at the Salon de Virtuosi, hosted by the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York.

Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Kayden is currently studying under Fabio Bidini at the Pre-college Music Academy of The Colburn School in Los Angeles.