Bio (as a composer):
Described as “a hugely prolific musician with a wide variety
of skill sets” (newmusicbuff.com), Keane Southard (b. 1987) is a
composer and pianist who believes deeply in the power of music to change how
people think, feel, and act, and that it can be a catalyst for positive change
in the world. His music has been
described as “a terrific discovery” (Bandworld Magazine) and
“highly-professional and well-orchestrated” (Portland Press Herald) and,
taken as a whole, his works reflect his many diverse musical tastes, from
medieval chant to 70's rock, Bach to the Blues, and 19th century
romanticism to Latin dance forms. Keane
has been a recipient of many awards including the Yale Glee Club’s Emerging
Composers Competition, the Capital Hearings Young Composers Competition, the
Cecil Effinger Composition Award and George Lynn Prize from The University of
Colorado-Boulder, First Prize in the Longfellow Chorus International Composers
Cantata Competition, the Charles B. Olson Young Composer Award, and the Ars
Nova Singers Colorado Composers Competition.
He has received commissions from the Colorado State Music Teachers
Association, the Northeastern State University Wind Ensemble (OK), the
Arrowhead Union High School Wind Ensemble (WI), the Sounds of Stow Chorus and
Orchestra, pianist Christopher Janwong McKiggan, saxophonist Allison Dromgold
Adams, and cellist Christine Thomas Tsen.
He has been awarded residency fellowships at Playa and the
Kimmel-Harding-Nelson Center and summer fellowships at the Intimacy of
Creativity (Hong Kong), Bennington Chamber Music Conference, Bowdoin
International Music Festival, and Northeastern University Fusion Arts
Exchange.
In the summer of 2016, Keane
hiked the New England portion of the Appalachian Trail, a distance of more than
700 miles, which inspired the creation of his first symphony, commissioned by a
consortium of orchestras throughout New England with premieres in the 2017-18
season. In 2016, Waltzing Dervish:
The Wind Music of Keane Southard, recorded by the Northeastern State
University Wind Ensemble, was released and hailed as a “major debut disc” (newmusicbuff.com). Keane earned his B.M. from the Conservatory
at Baldwin Wallace University in composition and theory, his M.M from the
University of Colorado-Boulder, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in
composition at the Eastman School of Music.
His primary composition teachers include Kenneth Girard, Loris
Chobanian, Daniel Kellogg, Jeffrey Nytch, Carter Pann, Richard Toensing, Allen
Shawn, and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, plus additional studies with Samuel Adler,
Derek Bermel, João Guilherme Ripper, Brian Robison, and Hillary Zipper. An avid student of language and culture,
Keane speaks Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, and German in addition to
English. He spent 2013 in Brazil as a
Fulbright scholar researching music education and has also taught at Bennington
College in Vermont.
Bio (as a pianist):
Lauded for his “considerable keyboard
skills” (newmusicbuff.com)
and
his “really awesome” playing (WRSU
New Brunswick),
Keane Southard (b. 1987) is dedicated to the
performance of unknown/under-performed piano works that deserve to be
more well known, and past recitals have included works of Ives,
Finzi, Rzewski, Pann, Guarnieri, and Foulds. Also a composer, he has
premiered several of his own works as well as those of his
colleagues. Keane's recitals are organized into intriguing programs
each tied together by a theme. By combining the performance of
little-known musical gems with insights, personal connections, and
stories about the music and their composers, he creates an informal
concert experience where everyone is invited to explore music they've
never heard before. In addition, he is a rare classical performer
that isn't afraid to improvise, even occasionally performing complete
recitals consisting of free improvisations. As both a composer and
pianist, he brings a unique perspective to both the act of creating
and performing a musical work.
Recent engagements include solo
performances at Bennington College, Peru State College, the Boston
Public Library, the Bowdoin Music Festival, the Aspen Composers
Conference, the TUTTI New Music Festival at Denison University, the
Exchange of Midwestern Collegiate Composers at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City, the Society of Composers Region V Conference at
Augustana College, the College Music Society Rocky Mountain Chapter
Conference, and the Pendulum New Music Series at the University of
Colorado-Boulder. In November 2015, he performed as soloist in his
own Concertino for Piano and Wind Ensemble which was commissioned by
the Northeastern State University Wind Ensemble, and in November
2012, he performed as soloist in his own “Classical” Concerto
which was commissioned by the Sounds of Stow Chorus and Orchestra.
Keane has served as the keyboardist for the University of Colorado
Orchestra, University of Colorado Wind Symphony, the Colorado Wind
Ensemble, the Baldwin-Wallace College Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the
l(a Contemporary Ensemble. He is also active as a classical/vocal
accompanist as well as a jazz pianist. His piano teachers include
Barbara Jones and Robert Mayerovitch. In 2013, Keane spent the year
in Brazil as a Fulbright scholar doing research on music education.
Short Bio (as a composer):
Described as “a hugely prolific musician with a wide variety
of skill sets” (newmusicbuff.com), Keane Southard (b. 1987) is a
composer and pianist who believes deeply in the power of music to change how
people think, feel, and act, and that it can be a catalyst for positive change
in the world. His music has been
described as “a terrific discovery” (Bandworld Magazine) and
“highly-professional and well-orchestrated” (Portland Press Herald) and
his works reflect his many diverse musical tastes, from medieval chant to 70's
rock, Bach to the Blues, and 19th century romanticism to Latin dance
forms. He has been a recipient of many
awards, most recently winning the Yale Glee Club’s Emerging Composers
Competition and Capital Hearings Young Composers Competition, and has been a
fellow at the Intimacy of Creativity (Hong Kong) and the Bennington Chamber
Music Conference. Keane earned his M.M.
at the University of Colorado-Boulder in composition and is currently a Ph.D.
student in composition at the Eastman School of Music. His composition teachers include Kenneth
Girard, Loris Chobanian, Daniel Kellogg, Jeffrey Nytch, Carter Pann, Richard
Toensing, Allen Shawn, and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon. Keane spent 2013 in Brazil as a Fulbright
scholar studying music education.