Kelly Larson began her viola studies at age 9 in the Chicagoland area. She attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education in 2001. Upon returning to Chicago, Kelly began her career as a high school orchestra director in the public schools and became a member of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra in 2002. In 2016, Kelly received her Master of Music in Viola Performance from DePaul University, where she studied with Rami Solomonov. Kelly has also performed with the South Bend Symphony, the Elmhurst Symphony, the Illinois Philharmonic, and the Racine Symphony before becoming the co-principal viola of the Wisconsin Philharmonic in 2019.