Leyla Kabuli is a pianist and PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) at UC Berkeley. She completed a BS in EECS and a BA in Music with highest honors at UC Berkeley in 2021, where she was named UC Berkeley’s Top Graduating Senior and the 150th University Medalist.

Leyla studied piano, violin, and bassoon as a scholarship student in the Pre-College Division of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She was also the keyboardist of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra for four years. During this time, she studied piano with Yoshikazu Nagai and John McCarthy and orchestral keyboard with the late Robin Sutherland. In addition to winning top prizes in national and international piano competitions, she was awarded the Chopin Foundation of the United States scholarship, and three consecutive National YoungArts Awards.

Leyla has appeared as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the South Valley Symphony, Sonoma County Philharmonic, Nova Vista Symphony, Palm Springs Festival Orchestra, El Camino Symphony, Palo Alto Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, UC Davis Symphony, and Soli Deo Gloria of the Bay Area. She was a featured performer on NPR’s From the Top in 2016 and on TEDxBerkeley in 2020.

As a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist, Leyla continues to perform throughout the Bay Area and participates in benefit and outreach concerts. Her collaborations also bridge musical genres, most recently as the keyboardist for Jacob Collier at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.