Elijah Lester has studied nine years of jazz piano with Paul Bratcher. Elijah was recently selected as 2025 YoungArts award winner in Jazz Piano. In 2024, he played piano for Paul Carr's Jazz Academy Orchestra from 2024. In 2023, he was selected as the 2023 US Army Blues Solo Competition High School Division Winner and 1 of 42 students chosen to participate in Lincoln Center's Summer Jazz Academy from 2022 to 2024. Elijah has played in esteemed venues such as Dizzy's Coca-Cola Club, Caramoor Jazz Festival, and South Jersey Jazz Society. He currently attends Temple University in Philadelphia where he is a Jazz Piano Performance major studying under Bruce Barth and is the pianist for the Temple University Lab Band.
Elijah's biggest musical influences include Kenny Kirkland, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Kelly, Chick Corea, and Red Garland. His favorite recording is Straight No Filter by Hank Mobley. He is from Alexandria, VA and in his spare time, he loves watching sports and movies with his family.
