Amelia Ly, 11, began her piano journey at the age of four in Peoria, Illinois. She studied with renowned pedagogues, including Prof. Anna Nogaj, former dean of the Bradley University Piano Prep School and teacher of Krzysztof Jablonski, and Prof. Aneta Youngblood, a former director at Caterpillar with decades of European-based music education experience. Since 2022, Amelia has been a pupil of distinguished pianist Dr. Craig Nies, long-time professor at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, whose musical heritage traces back to Mieczysław Horszowski and the traditions of Beethoven, Czerny, and Chopin. Amelia recently concluded her annual solo recital at Blair School of Music in May 2024.
Featured by ABC News and NPR, Amelia has won numerous international piano competitions and performed at prestigious venues including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Philharmonie Amphithéâtre in Paris, and Beethoven House in Bonn. She has also appeared as a guest artist with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. Since her early years, Amelia has shared her music with the community, performing at retirement homes, annual Christmas concerts, Ignite Peoria, OSF Hospital, Peoria Women’s Club, and Dream Center fundraising events. In 2021, she presented her own ticketed solo concert at the Betty Jayne Performance Center.
In March 2023, Amelia performed with Dr. Nies at the Rachmaninoff 150th Birthday Celebration Concert, part of Vanderbilt University’s Sesquicentennial festivities.
Outside of piano, Amelia enjoys reading, dancing, drawing, swimming, singing, and playing the ukulele and guitar. She is an active member of her school choir and participates in her public school’s gifted program. In 2021, she was accepted into Vanderbilt University’s Program for Talented Youth (SAVVY), reflecting her dedication to both music and academic excellence.