CHARLESTON, WV - The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (WVSO) announces the winner of this fall’s Youth Piano Concerto Competition, West Virginia University senior Azalea Kelley.

As the winner, Kelley will appear as a guest soloist with the WVSO at the Culture Center in Charleston on Nov. 18 as a part of the Young People’s Concert series. Kelley will play the first movement of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in f minor alongside the WVSO.

This year’s Young People’s Concert, People, Places and Feelings in Music, features a myriad of music that illustrates how music can represent characters in a story, elements of nature, and human emotions. With Music Director Maurice Cohn at the helm, students will be transformed by the music of Brahms, Bizet, Ravel, Strauss, Respighi, and Nicolai. Concert tickets to hear People, Places, and Feelings in Music on Nov. 18 in Charleston and Nov 20 in Morgantown are available at wvsymphony.org. The Young People’s Concert series is possible thanks to generous support from the EQT Foundation, Bernard H. & Blanche E. Jacobson Foundation, Daywood Foundation, Inc., Herscher Foundation, Katharine B. Tierney Charitable Foundation, Fund for the Arts, FirstEnergy Foundation, Kanawha County Schools, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the West Virginia Department of Arts Culture and History.

The WVSO would like to thank the Secretary Randall Reid Smith and the WV Department of Arts, Culture for serving as host for the Youth Piano Concerto Competition as well as the venue for the Young People’s Concert to be held in Charleston.

Competition winner Kelley has won first prize in competitions through the Birmingham Music Club Guild, International Young Artist Piano Competition in Washington DC, Texas International Chopin Competition, Gulf Coast Steinway Society and most recently the MTNA Young Artist competition in West Virginia (2023).

Kelley said, “My dream is to have a career as a concert artist, and I want to focus entirely on playing the piano and gaining as much performing (and competition) experience as possible that will help build my career.”

Kelley began studying classical piano at age 5 and dabbled in pop and jazz styles, never straying from her classical roots as she graduated from Beacon High School in New York City. After a brief time at Troy University in Alabama, Kelley transferred to WVU where she studies with Dr. Lucy Mauro. She will complete her Bachelor of Music degree this spring and is applying to artist diploma programs in piano performance.

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical and pops concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently in its 86th season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.