Pianist Kelly Horsted, a native of Sioux City, Iowa, enjoys an
active career in NYC as an accompanist and vocal coach specializing
in new opera, art song, and role preparation.
An enthusiast of new music, Kelly begins his second season as
co-music director for the Composers and the Voice series at American
Opera Projects. His collaboration with American Opera Projects has
also included performances of Tarik O’Regan’s Heart of Darkness and
music direction for several readings of the opera The Bridge of San
Luis Rey. He assisted preparing the cast of Patience and Sarah for
the chamber opera’s premiere at the Lincoln Center Festival. Other
contemporary music performances include Friends and Enemies of
New Music, Vector 5, Cutting Edge Music, Downtown Music
Productions, and the Guggenheim Museum’s Works and Process
series.
Kelly began 2007 as music director and visiting lecturer for
Hunter College’s flagship mixed bill, The Sisters of Nikolas Flagello
and M. Choufleuri of Offenbach. During summer of 2007, Kelly
participated in the Wintergreen Festival headed by Larry Allen
Smith, where his performances included Respighi’s adaptation
of Monteverdi’s Orfeo as well as two Liederabends.
During the summer of 2006 he joined the faculty of New Jersey Opera Theatre as Assistant Conductor of Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore. In July 2006 he returned to Intermezzo Opera as Assistant Conductor for L’Enfant et les Sortileges, in Orlando, Florida. During 2005 he was head coach for performances of Mark Adamo’s opera, Little Women under the baton of Steven Osgood at Intermezzo Opera at the Hartt School in Connecticut. He spent four summers as a faculty member at Ann Baltz's Operaworks in California. He was music director of the New York based opera company The CoOperative for six years.
Mr. Horsted was music director for performances of Cosi fan Tutte at Merkin Concert Hall with director Janet Bookspan, and for Harrisburg, PA’s Opera in the Park. He performed at Wall to Wall Bernstein at Symphony Space. As a coach at the Mannes College of Music, he served as music director for performances of Ned Rorem’s Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters. Kelly served as staff accompanist at the International Workshops in Graz, Austria, and at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival in Brunswick, Maine. Kelly performs community outreach programs regularly as part of Trinity Church’s Concerts to Go, and as music director of La Piccola Opera with Arts Horizons.
Mr. Horsted is a gifted and versatile young pianist whose other performances include appearances at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and the prestigious Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, as well as Fountainbleau, France and NBC’s Weekend Today Show. He earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Eastman School of Music, where he was a fellowship recipient and 1st place winner in the Kneisel Lieder Competition.
