Andrea Keeble is a Melbourne based, Australian violinist, educator and composer.
Andrea is a violinist and director of the Keeble Collective (formerly Ad Hoc Collective), a body of musicians formed to perform and workshop fresh new works and commissioned projects. She is a member of Cosmo Cosmolino (a gypsy-inspired quintet), Collider (new music sextet) and The David Chesworth Ensemble. She has currently performs with Cam Butler & His Orchestra and as a regular guest violinist with MSO.
Recent overseas tours include James Hullick’s BOLT Ensemble Terrains: JOLT Swiss Australian Sonic Festival Basel, Switzerland 2011, Silo String Quartet Carnegie Hall, USA, 2008, The David Chesworth Ensemble Paris and UK 2007, Aphids’ Skin Quartet by David Young USA, Belgium, South Africa 2005. National tours include The Black Arm Band “murundak”2008 and My Friend the Chocolate Cake 2005 and 2011. Andrea has worked with an extensive range of artists including The Brodsky Quartet (UK), John Rose, Anthony Warlow, Topol, Hugh Jackman, Rene Geyer, Katie Noonan, Archie Roach, Kutcha Edwards, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Mick Harvey, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, The John Butler Trio, Rod Stewart, Shirley Bassey, Antony and the Johnsons (UK) and Boy George (UK); conductors Mariss Jansons and Parvo Jarvi; composers Brett Dean, David Chisholm, Andrée Greenwell, plus many more. She has worked as a casual violinist for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) since 1993 as well as many International touring Musicals and Australian ensembles and orchestras including Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.
Andrea has conducted many film scores in collaboration with David Bridie including the Aria Award winning Film Score “In A Savage Land”, “Tempted” and “The Man Who Sued God”.
As an educator, Andrea has worked in a number of the MSO’s Education and Community Outreach Programs, including “Pizzicato Effect” (2010 – 2019), “Artplay” and its Creative Workshop program for underprivileged schools (2009). In 2010, in collaboration with The Black Arm Band and The Fred Hollows Foundation, Andrea took music workshops in the indigenous community at Wadeye, NT. She has also been involved in Orchestra Victoria’s education program.
Andrea is currently a lecturer in The University of Melbourne‘s ‘Masters in Performance Teaching’, lecturer and tutor in string composition at Melbourne Polytechnic, tutor with Melbourne String Ensemble and an AMEB examiner (Australian Music Examinations Board). She has lectured in ‘Instrumental String Teaching’ at the University of Melbourne (2005 – 09), been a Music Faculty staff member at Monash University (1995 – 2018) and was Chief Adjudicator for the Melbourne Schools String and Orchestra Festival in 2002. She worked on Fintan Murphy’s “Violin Alive” DVD Series (Twofold Media) as editor, consultant and performer. She is active in supporting the musical community and has appeared as soloist with the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra (Vic.) and mentor with the Kooyong Chamber Players and as guest leader with the Stonnington Symphony Orchestra. She has lead successful workshop programmes with Baimbridge College (Hamilton, Vic), Resonance String Orchestra (Woodend, Vic), Crashendo and Squawkestra.
Andrea has a healthy private teaching practice sought after by many professional teachers, students and performers for her focus on technique with effective body use (in relation to the Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais Method), performance anxiety strategies, efficient and creative practice skills through the use of improvisation, composition and a range of musical genres.
As a composer, Andrea has independently released two albums of original compositions, “Teeter” (2011) and “Congratulations” (2017). She was awarded an honourable mention in the “International Songwriting Competition” USA (2005). She was commissioned and composed “Suite Actuality – a Suite in 7 movements for String Quartet, Voice and Visuals” (by Dotahn Caspi) for the Festival of Slow Music (Ballarat) in 2014. Andrea’s recordings are also included on Collider “Words” (2013), Silo String Quartet “After the Dark” CD (2008), Stroll “Carnival of Lost Souls” CD (2006), and on Cosmo Cosmolino’s “Bel Air” (2011), Aria nominated “Nektar” CD (2005) and “Streetsweeper” CD (2000). Andrea’s music has featured on Damian Heffernan’s independent dance film “A Gentle Spirit” (2013), Pradeep Laxminarayana’s Indian Bollywood short film “The Blind Violinist” and performed by the Bayside Chamber Orchestra. She has worked with The Salamanca Theatre Company (Hobart) as composer and her compositions have been performed in numerous concert series and festivals including the Sydney Festival, Musica @ La Mama Series, The Big West Festival, Red Hill Festival, The Southern Grampians Promenade of Sacred Music Festival, Apollo Bay Music Festivals, Merrepin Arts Festival (NT) and Festival of Slow Music (Ballarat, Vic).
Andrea’s debut photographic exhibition was at the Guildford Lane Gallery in conjunction with the “Teeter” CD launch in 2011. These images became the foundation for “Suite Actuality”, a Suite in 7 movements for String Quartet, Voice and Visuals (by Dotahn Caspi) created in 2014.