Amelia Ly, a ten-year-old prodigy from Peoria, Illinois, began her enchanting piano journey at the tender age of four. Guided by the eminent Prof. Anna Nogaj, former dean of Bradley University’s Piano Preparatory School, and her daughter Aneta Youngblood, Amelia’s early musical foundation was nurtured with precision and care. Starting in 2022, Amelia had the great privilege to become a pupil of distinguished pianist Dr. Craig Nies, a longtime professor at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music. Dr. Nies attended the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with the eminent piano virtuoso Mieczysław Horszowski whose musical heritage ties to Beethoven, Czerny, and Chopin. 

Featured by ABC News and NPR News, Amelia has been awarded as an exceptional young musician and first-place winner in numerous international piano competitions. Her performances have illuminated some of the world’s most iconic stages, including Vienna’s Musikverein, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Paris Philharmonic’s Amphitheatre, Beethoven House in Bonn, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Amelia also performed as a guest artist for the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. Since a very young age, Amelia has been actively volunteering at numerous local retirement homes by giving solo recitals and annual Christmas shows and has also performed at Ignite Peoria, OSF hospital, Peoria Women’s Club, and Dream Center fundraising events.  Her ticketed solo concert was held at the Betty Jayne Performance Center in 2021. 

In March 2023, Amelia had the great honor to perform with Dr. Nies at Rachmaninoff’s 150th Birthday Celebration Concert which kickstarted the Vanderbilt University Sesquicentennial celebration. In Nov 2024, Amelia returned to perform at Carnegie Hall for the fifth time with the Orchestra Manhattan in collaboration with Maestro David Wroe.  In her spare time, Amelia is an avid reader and enjoys dancing, drawing, swimming, and singing while fiddling with her ukulele and guitar and being part of the school choir, but the piano has remained the most precious heritage that she cherishes the most. Amelia takes part in her public-school gifted program and is accepted into the Vanderbilt University Program for Talented Youth SAVVY program and American Mensa Club in 2021. With a luminous future ahead, Amelia Ly continues to weave her story through melodies, embodying the timeless beauty of music and the boundless spirit of artistry.