Kelsey Lee Cate - Poiéma / Stories from the Piano (2019)

Kelsey fell in love with music when she was very young, and was improvising songs even before she learned to read. At age five, she began classical piano training, and learned to balance form and technicality while developing her own voice as an artist. Growing up, her family always had music playing in the house, and she spent a great deal of her childhood playing songs by ear. She also was captivated by the beautiful nostalgic melodies of jazz standards and the lush harmonies of classic musicals and old Disney movies, and enjoyed making her own arrangements. It was this love for improvising that led Kelsey to keep working at her own compositions, spending time “noodling” before and after her classical lessons growing up, in between worship practices at church, at home with friends and family during the holidays, etc. In junior high school, Kelsey began playing for weddings and other special events, sometimes playing with her sisters Courtney (violin) and Cayley (cello), who were at that time called “The Keogh Trio.”

Today, Kelsey is a sought-after pianist for weddings and private/corporate events in the greater Seattle area, and has been a regular performer at The Bellevue Collection, Canlis and the Space Needle. She has also been one of the featured pianists/vocalists in the annual Ten Grands show at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle since 2016. Kelsey likes to think of music as a bridge between herself and those she meets through performing. When she performs in public (such as at the mall in downtown Bellevue, WA), she especially enjoys moments with those who stop by the piano to listen. “I love it when visitors become friends who share how the music has impacted them, perhaps by reminding them of a loved one, or by giving them a sense of joy, peace and relaxation.” She also loves to encourage those who want to learn to play music, and hopes to inspire students of any instrument to keep their learning journey fun!

Most recently, Kelsey has released her debut album of solo piano compositions, called “Poiéma | Stories from the Piano.” Kelsey has performed several of the songs in this album at various house concerts in the Seattle area over the past few years, and plans to give an official album release concert soon to celebrate this new release!