Kelly holds a Mus.B (Hons) in music from Otago University and founded KSOM in 2011 with the goal of providing quality musical tuition to all – regardless of age, experience or location.

Her goal has always been to encourage the love of music, and help others realise the therapeutic benefits associated with making music. KSOM grew naturally, beginning with private piano lessons from a spare bedroom in 2011, and has grown to a 600+ student strong school, employing 10 core team members, alongside casual and intern opportunities, offering many different programmes and workshops for the local community.

Kelly herself is a classical pianist, favourite composers include Claude Debussy and Frederic Chopin. Kelly was first published in 2006, writing an article for the New Zealand Music Therapy Society Journal based her honours dissertation topic.