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 began summer of 2009
with the 20th Anniversary concert for Friends and Enemies of
New Music featuring Baritone Chris Pedro Trakas and works
by Adams, Bolcom, Cipullo and Yarmolinsky. Kelly was a music
director for the Composers and the Voice series at
American Opera Projects for two seasons. 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 Paula Kimper's 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. In November, Kelly returned to American Opera Projects
with its first semi-staged workshop of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern Are Dead, an opera-in-development by Hershel
Garfein directed by Mark Morris. Other contemporary music
performances include Vector 5, Cutting Edge Music, Downtown Music Productions, and the Guggenheim Museum’s Works and Process series.
Dedicated to the development of singers, Kelly returned to Ann Baltz's Operaworks in California in June completing five summers as a faculty member. As a visiting lecturer, Kelly music directed Hunter College’s flagship mixed bill, The Sisters of Nikolas Flagello and M. Choufleuri of Offenbach. 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.
An active performer, 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. Kelly was Assistant Conductor for Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore at New Jersey Opera Theatre. He spent two years as faculty member at Intermezzo Opera as Assistant Conductor for L’Enfant et les Sortileges, in West Palm Beach, Florida, and as head coach for performances of Mark Adamo’s opera, Little Women under the baton of Steven Osgood at the Hartt School in Connecticut. 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. Kelly was music director of the New York based opera company The CoOperative for six years. 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 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.
