Praised as a “highly accomplished pianist....with wonderfully rhythmic and robust playing” (New York Concert Review), Katelyn Vahala is a passionate soloist, chamber musician, educator, and arts advocate in the Los Angeles area.

In the summer of 2022, Katelyn was a finalist in the 2022 Leipzig International Bach Competition, where she performed with the Mendelssohn Kammerorchester Leipzig. In addition to winning the 2021 USC Thornton Concerto Competition, Katelyn is the first prize winner of the 2019 Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition, where she also won the Contemporary Music Award. Upon completing her Masters degree, Katelyn was named a 2018 Outstanding Graduate at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music.

One of Katelyn’s greatest passions is chamber music. As pianist of the Callisto Piano Trio, she was a prize winner at the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, where the trio was the youngest ensemble to ever compete in the senior division finals. Since then, the Callisto Trio has toured throughout Holland and Slovakia as part of the International Holland Music Sessions’ Masters on Tour and has served as Artist-in-Residence at the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles.

Katelyn has performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Het Concertgebouw, Salzburg Mozarteum, Bratislava Reduta Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg Union of Composers, Porto Casa da Música, and LACMA’s Bing Auditorium. Her past collaborations include performances with artists from the Juilliard and American String Quartets, as well as appearances with the Tandru Trio and the Julius Quartet. She has attended the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program, Perlman Music Program, Colburn Academy Piano Festival, Port Townsend Chamber Music Workshop, and Maine Chamber Music Seminar. Previous chamber music mentors include Ralph Kirshbaum, Seth Knopp, Itzhak Perlman, Roger Tapping, Andrew Cook, and Dr. Susan Svrĉek.

Katelyn holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from the University of Southern California where she studied with Dr. Lucinda Carver and Jeffrey Kahane. Katelyn is currently a USC Thornton School of Music faculty member, where she teaches Keyboard Literature. She is also a member of the piano faculty at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.