Carey Byron is an exceptional young talent who touches the hearts of audiences with her intensity and emotional performance style.

 

Carey began her formal piano lessons at the age of 4.  She won the Prodigy Award from the Atlanta Steinway Society at age 10 and was featured in the Atlanta Young Artist series at the Emory Chamber Music Society.  At age 12, she left her home in Georgia to attend the Colburn Music Academy in Los Angeles to pursue rigorous music studies under prominent musicians. At age 13, she was selected as a Young Scholar by the prestigious Lang Lang International Music Foundation, as well as a scholarship recipient of the Chopin Foundation of the United States for 4 years, after each year’s competitive audition process based on its rigorous requirements. Subsequently, she was named a winner in Classical Piano at the 2021 YoungArts National Competition, which identifies the most accomplished young artists in the United States. 

 

Carey has received top prizes in numerous piano competitions.  She won the Grand Prize award, as well as the Audience Favorite Award, at the 2019 MostArts Festival Young Pianist Competition in Alfred, NY.  She also won First Prizes at the Los Angeles Young Musician International Competition, Franz Liszt International Competition, California Association of Professional Music Teachers Concerto Competition State Finals, Atlanta Romantic Music Competition, and Georgia Music Teachers Association Competition, as well as Second Prize at the Music Teacher’s National Association competition (Georgia division).  She also won Third Prize at the Redland Bowl Concerto Competition (ages 13-30) at age 13.

 

At age 17, she was invited by the prestigious New York International Piano Competition as one of the youngest participants and received a Finalist award.   During the same year, she won Third Prize at the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition Senior Category (ages 17–22) and the Lee University Int’l Piano Competition (ages 15–24). 

 

Carey has performed solo recitals at prestigious concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Krzysztof Penderecki Concert Hall in Lusławice, Poland, Ignacy Jan Paderewski center in Kaśna Dolna, Poland, Jay Pritzker Pavilion at the Millennium Park in Chicago, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Werner Recital Hall, Karpati Recital Hall, Zipper Concert Hall, Miller Theater, Thayer Recital Hall, Warner Concert Hall, Cantigny Park, Beckwith Recital Hall, and many more.  She has also attended various music festivals such as the Colburn Music Academy Piano Festival, Cooper Piano Festival (Oberlin), Aspen Music Festival, Lee University Piano Festival, Art of the Piano, and Frost Chopin Academy and Festival. 

 

She has been an avid collaborator who regularly performs in ensembles such as piano trios, duos, and collaboration with ballet dancers.  She has also performed in a piano duo with the world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.  In 2021, she was invited by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to collaborate with the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles where she showcased her arrangement of “More Friends Than You Know,” in addition to her solo repertoire.  

 

Carey performed as a soloist with several orchestras since her orchestral debut in Italy at age 12 with the Brunesis Virtuosi Orchestra, under Maestro Uri Segal.  Since then, she has performed with the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra under Maestro Frank Paul Fetta, Midwest Young Artists Orchestra under Maestro Allan Dennis, and MostArts Festival Orchestra under Maestro Steven Thomas.  In July 2023, she will return to Alfred University to perform with the MostArts Festival Orchestra under Maestro Yuval Zaliouk as the Grand Prize Winner.  

 

Chicago Music Report praised her concerto performance at Millennium Park for presenting “a searching, warm reading…tracing the melancholy melodic contours with grace and sensitivity…”.   Her virtual concert, arranged by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, was featured in “5 of our Favorite Online Piano Performances” by Pianist Magazine as well as in L.A. Weekly Magazine’s “Music Pick.” 

 

Carey has performed in masterclasses for renowned pianists, including Marina Lomazov, Angela Cheng, Dae-Jin Kim, Yoshikazu Nagai, John O’Conor, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Boris Slutsky, Steven Spooner, Jon Nakamatsu, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Yoheved Kaplinsky.  She has previously studied under Elena Cholakova, Myong Joo Lee, Ory Shihor, and Fabio Bidini.  She is currently studying under Ning An. 

 

In her spare time, Carey enjoys developing an online piano teaching series on YouTube called “PlayPianoWithCarey,” in which she creates piano lessons for people of all ages who can use her program to learn to play piano and read music for free.  Her greatest passion is giving back to society through performances, as well as sharing the knowledge she obtained through years of music education with people who cannot afford such training.