Keith Williams

Before he was 20, Juilliard-trained cellist Keith Williams had performed as soloist, chamber musician, and
orchestra principal, in five of the most globally iconic concert halls: Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw,
Vienna’s Musikverein, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and Boston’s Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall.
Known for his “dramatic embrace of his instrument” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) with his playing praised
by the Boston Globe for its “fierce intensity and focused vigor” his performing career has been recognized
with top prizes in numerous competitions, including First Prize at Burbank Philharmonic’s
Hennings-Fischer Young Artist Competition, winning the prestigious Beverly Hills National Auditions with
his duo partner, pianist Dr. Andrew Boyle, and being one of ten cellists worldwide selected for the
Semifinals of the 2025 Washington International Competition, as well as Semi-Finalist in the 2026 Classic
Cello competition. He enjoys playing the standard and 20th-Century concerto repertoire with orchestras
across the United States, featured recently in California as soloist with the Biola Symphony Orchestra
(Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations) and the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra (Barber’s Cello Concerto.)
As an award-winning chamber musician, graduating with Honors in chamber music with his Master of
Music from University of Southern California, Williams has shared the stage with the critically acclaimed
Verona Quartet and UCLA’s Che-Yen Chen of the Ehnes Quartet, and is a founding member of the Los
Angeles-based Biola Piano Trio. He has worked with members from the esteemed Amernet, Borromeo,
Brentano, Cleveland, Colorado, Juilliard, Orion, and Shanghai string quartets, as well as renowned artists
such as Robert McDonald, Jeffrey Kahane, Max Levinson, Glenn Dichterow, Augustin Dumay, Yura Lee
and the Boston Trio. Festival highlights include Prussia Cove Masterclasses, the Taos Festival and the
cello fellowship to the Foulger International Music Festival, performing in Lincoln Center, as well as
Juilliard ChamberFest.
His experience as former principal cellist of three different orchestras has helped his students secure their
own principal positions, having played under the baton of luminaries such as Carl St. Clare, Alan Gilbert,
James Levine, Itzahk Perlman, Nicholas Mcgegan, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, among others. Dedicated to
education, Keith teaches the next generation of artists as Adjunct Professor of Cello at Biola University,
and also founded College of Cello, a school tailor-made for adult cellists. His students have also achieved
success in attending prestigious music festivals, including Aspen Music Festival and Sarasota Music
Festival. Keith completed his cello studies at the University of Southern California with internationally
celebrated soloist Ralph Kirshbaum for his Master of Music Degree, with honors in Chamber Music, and
with world-renowned pedagogue Timothy Eddy for his Bachelor’s Degree at the Juilliard School.
Excited about sharing the riches of classical music with anyone, Keith has played over fifty concerts
coast-to-coast with Groupmuse, a house-concert organization. Keith also regularly performs with the
Boyle/Williams duo, as well as with his wife and duo partner, pianist Sarah Rasmussen, on Music
Mornings, hosted by LA Music Lessons, a concert series for families with young children.