Alan Cary is nineteen years old, and grew up in Glen Allen, Virginia. He was born into a musical family that introduced him to music at around six years old. He began with piano lessons from his dad, and violin lessons from his mom, but after a few years moved to study piano with Dr. Hanson.

At the age of sixteen in 2020, he put the violin to the side in order to pursue piano seriously. Alan is currently a sophomore at Shenandoah Conservatory, studying with Dr. John O’Conor.

In his first year at Shenandoah Conservatory, he gave a freshman recital, performing Liszt’s Dante Sonata, among other pieces. In the summer of 2023, Alan went to Brevard Music Festival, where he performed Liszt’s Sonetto 104 del Petrarca. At Brevard, he studied with Jihea Hong-Park and Terrence Wilson.