Bethlehem Kelley is an Ethiopian American violinist born in Addis Ababa and raised in Lenexa, Kansas. As a soloist, Betti is a 2024 Sphinx Competition Laureate, having won third prize in the Sphinx Competition Senior Division. She is also a first prize winner in the Kansas City Symphony Young Artist Competition. Betti has soloed with the Sphinx Honors Orchestra, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Midwest Chamber Ensemble, the Rochester (MI) Symphony Orchestra, the Landmarks Orchestra, and the Kansas City Civic Orchestra.
Bethlehem has spent summers touring abroad as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States and studying and performing at various summer festivals around the world, including the Aspen Music Festival as a fellowship recipient, Sphinx Performance Academy, Center Stage Strings, the Summer Academy at ENCORE, and the Conservatoire Américaine at the Fontainebleau Schools. As the first recipient of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Scholarship for the Encore Chamber Music Institute, Betti performed recitals in Cleveland and Indianapolis alongside violinist Jinjoo Cho. Most recently she is participated Taconic Music Festival in Vermont and Classical Tahoe as a fellow.
An avid chamber musician, Bethlehem is a founding member of the Mia String Quartet. MSQ traveled to Delaware to participate in the Calidore String Quartet Seminar, was a finalist in the senior division of the Coltman Chamber Music Competition in Austin, Texas, and received the audience choice award at the St. Paul String Quartet Competition.
One of Betti’s most memorable musical experiences was leading a workshop for the violin studio at Addis Ababa University’s Yared School of Music in Ethiopia. Betti has also assisted with Professor Danielle Belen’s violin class at the University of Michigan and coached students in the Akron Youth Symphony Program.
Bethlehem is working on her master’s degree with Kathleen Winkler at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She earned her bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Michigan as a student of Professor Danielle Belen. Betti has performed in masterclasses with Simon James, Ida Kavafian, Alexander Kerr, Brian Lewis, the Pacifica Quartet, and the Danish String Quartet, to name a few. As a young violinist, Betti was a student of Kristin Velicer and Alice Joy Lewis.
Upcoming performances include a solo recital benefitting the Ashenafi Kebede Performing Arts Center at Addis Ababa University’s Yared School of Music. When she is not practicing, Betti enjoys reading and petting her cats.