Before he was 20, Juilliard-trained cellist Keith Williams had performed as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra principal, in the 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 most recently being one of ten cellists worldwide selected for the Semifinals of the 2025 Washington International 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 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.