CAITLIN KELLEY

Violinist Caitlin Kelley is the founder and artistic director of the Cannon Beach Music Festival. Hailed as “dazzling” by Peninsula Reviews, she is a versatile performing artist, equally at home with traditional classical and contemporary repertoire. Currently based in Seattle, she enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teaching artist.

As a soloist, Caitlin has appeared with orchestras across the country, including the Arlington Philharmonic, Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, Lake Union Civic Orchestra, Long Beach Chamber Orchestra, Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra, Olympia Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Community Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, Seattle Festival Orchestra, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Youth Symphony, Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. Caitlin was a winner of the 2022 LMC Frances Walton Competition, and also performed as a finalist in the 2023 George Gershwin International Music Competition in New York, where she received the prize for best performance of an American work. Caitlin has appeared many times on Classical KING FM in Seattle, and has also been featured on KUOW’s “The Beat”, KOMO TV, and NPR Music. As a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, Caitlin performed on the popular NPR show From the Top.

An avid chamber musician, Caitlin has performed with Camerata Pacifica and the Colburn Chamber Music Society, and collaborated with renowned artists including Daniel Hope and Menahem Pressler. Her festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, Holland Music Sessions, Innsbruck Institute, Juilliard’s FOCUS Festival, Laguna Beach Music Festival, Lake George Music Festival, Luzerne Chamber Music Festival, and Tanglewood Music Center. Caitlin is a member of Wild Up, the Grammy-nominated modern music collective, and is the violinist of the Vesper Piano Trio.

As a freelance orchestral player, Caitlin frequently performs with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She has recently appeared as guest concertmaster of the The Phoenix Symphony, North Corner Chamber Orchestra (NOCCO), Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra, and Federal Way Symphony. Caitlin is the former concertmaster of the Colburn and YMF Debut Orchestras, and previously served as Interim Assistant Concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra, Kentucky Opera, and Louisville Ballet. She held a first violin position with the New West Symphony in Los Angeles, and has also performed with the American Ballet Theatre, New World Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony.

In addition to performing, Caitlin is deeply committed to education and community outreach. While living in Los Angeles she founded and directed an outreach concert series, while also serving as a mentor for the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the Colburn Teaching Fellowship Program. As a recipient of the Juilliard’s Gluck Community Service Fellowship, Caitlin was involved in regular outreach performances throughout the greater New York area. Most recently, Caitlin participated in an outreach recital tour of central Washington State, which included interactive school performances and free community concerts. Caitlin is a dedicated teaching artist and works with many private students, both locally in Seattle and internationally through her online teaching studio. For more information, please visit www.caitlinkelleyviolinstudio.com.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Caitlin received a Bachelor of Music degree and Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School in Los Angeles, and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in New York. While at Juilliard, she was the grateful recipient of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship, Grunin Prize in Violin, and Samuel Simon Scholarship. Her former teachers include Robert Lipsett, Sylvia Rosenberg, Naoko Tanaka, David Chan, and Margaret Pressley.