Kely Pinheiro is nothing like your typical classically trained cellist. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she grew up in a music-loving family and was drawn to the cello at a young age, but quickly realized she wanted to break barriers and stereotypes associated with the instrument.

In 2013, she joined Rio’s popular string orchestra Camerata Laranjeiras, where she began exploring different genres of music such as folk, pop, rock and Brazilian music and toured around Europe. Pinheiro moved to Boston in 2018 after receiving a full-tuition scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music. A year later, Kely backed up Norwegian artist Astrid S on her European tour. In 2022 Kely received her degree in Cello Performance as well as Contemporary Writing & Production and shortly after joined the Hadestown National tour.

Kely’s time at Berklee inspired her to start singing, writing, producing, joining the Nebulous string quartet (which she will perform with at this year’s festival), and most importantly finding her voice as an artist. Her relatable Portuguese and English lyrics are rooted in an attempt to connect her music to a broader, global audience and her heartfelt cello arrangements will surely move you as well.