We are delighted that the outstanding pianist, and the 2022 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition prizewinner Thomas Kelly, has been announced as the recipient of the Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship for 2023-24, awarded by the Royal College of Music (RCM) and generously supported by the Philip Loubser Foundation (PLF).

This Fellowship, named after the renowned composer and RCM alumnus, is awarded to an exceptional pianist who has been accepted on to the RCM’s Artist Diploma course. 

Thomas Kelly, who studies with Professor Dmitri Alexeev and Professor Vanessa Latarche and graduated from the Master of Performance course in July 2023, commented “I am absolutely thrilled to be awarded the Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship and I am excited about the opportunities to meet fellow pianists and fellow artists, the opportunities to collaborate, and the potential this fellowship has to develop my career and open new artistic possibilities to me.”

A prize winner at the 2021 Leeds and 2022 Hastings International Piano Competitions, Thomas Kelly has won numerous international competitions including First Prize at the Theodor Leschetizky Competition, Lucca Virtuoso e Bel Canto Festival and Pianale International Piano Competition.

Previous recipients of the fellowship include Martin James Bartlett who is an exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics, Pavel Kolesnikov who has been celebrated for his thought-provoking programming, and Dinara Klinton who has received widespread acclaim for her recordings including a BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month.

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