Khai West Heads to UCLA to Study with David Kaplan

Congratulations to Khai West, student of Chetan Tierra, on his acceptance to UCLA's music program, where he'll study with David Kaplan starting fall 2026. His audition repertoire included Ginastera's Piano Sonata, Liszt's Mephisto Waltz, Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat major, Beethoven's "Waldstein" Sonata, Bach's C minor Prelude and Fugue, and Chopin's "Octave" Étude, Op. 25, No. 10.

Khai's path to this point started in July 2023, when he came to Chetan at roughly an ABRSM Level 8, without much serious playing behind him. Chetan rebuilt his playing from the ground up, and Khai decided to pursue music as a career.

The turnaround showed up fast. Just seven months after he started with Chetan, in 2024, Khai won second prize at the San Diego Concerto Competition performing the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, a piece far beyond anything he'd tackled before. In May 2026, months before heading to UCLA, he added first prize regionally and second prize at finals in the Artist Division (17+) of the Pacific Stars International Piano Competition.

Congratulations, Khai. We can't wait to see what comes next.