Andrea Keller (born 1973) is an Australian pianist and composer. She won three

ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Jazz Album is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The award for Best Jazz Album was first presented in 1987, when George Golla Orchestra, received a trophy for their album, ...

with ''Thirteen Sketches'', ''Mikrokosmos'' and ''Footprints'' and was nominated in 2013 for the album ''Family Portraits''.

Biography

Born to Czech parents in 1973, Keller grew up in Sydney, Australia. Convinced from a young age that she would be a musician, she studied piano, flute and saxophone at Sydney's

Conservatorium High School , motto_translation = Let there be light , location = Royal Botanic Gardens, off Macquarie Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = ...

. Inspired by her older brother, she penned her first compositions at the age of 10, and received her Associate in Music diploma with distinction on piano at age 14. It was around this time that she was introduced to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music and the art of

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. Continuing to explore classical, jazz and original musics throughout her teenage years, her musical path became more defined when she moved to Melbourne in 1993 to attend the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

(VCA). Since 1996 Keller has been an active educator in Melbourne's tertiary jazz and improvisation departments, including the faculty of the VCA and

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is the music school at the University of Melbourne and part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne City Centre on the Southbank campus of the University of Melbourne. Degree ...

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

and

Melbourne Polytechnic Melbourne Polytechnic, formerly NMIT, is an institute of higher education and vocational education (TAFE) located in Melbourne, Australia that has been operating since around 1910. In October 2014, the institute was renamed to Melbourne Polyt ...

(formerly NMIT). In 1999, Keller founded the Andrea Keller Quintet, which later became the Andrea Keller Quartet. She also co-founded the

Bennetts Lane Big Band The Bennetts Lane Big Band is an Australian large ensemble band playing jazz compositions and improvisations that was formed in 2001 to provide an avenue for original new work. Three musicians, Eugene Ball, Andrea Keller and Nick Haywood were app ...

.She plays piano for the

Australian Art Orchestra The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is one of Australia's leading contemporary ensembles. Founded by pianist Paul Grabowsky in 1994, it has been led by composer/trumpeter/sound artist Peter Knight since 2013 and led by pianist/composer/producer A ...

. Keller wrote her doctoral thesis at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

about the Estonian composer

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , rowspan="2" ,

AIR Awards of 2014 The AIR Awards of 2014 (or Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards of 2014) is the ninth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Meat Market, North Me ...

, ''Wave Rider'' , Best Independent Jazz Album Artist , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. ! , - ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, ''Thirteen Sketches'' , Best Jazz Album , , rowspan="8", ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, ''Mikrokosmos'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, ''Angels and Rascals'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, ''Little Claps'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, ''Footprints'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, ''Portraits'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, ''Wave Rider'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, ''Transients Vol. 1'' , Best Jazz Album , , -

Australian Jazz Bell Awards

The

Australian Jazz Bell Awards Australian Jazz Bell Awards, also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells, are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia. They were named in honour of Australian jazz pianist, composer and band leader, Graeme Bell (1914–2012), at ...

, (also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells), are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia. They commenced in 2003. , - , 2003 , ''Mikrokosmos'' – Andrea Keller , Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album , , - , 2008 , ''Little Claps'' – Andrea Keller Quartet , Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album , , - , 2012 , Andrea Keller Quartet , Best Australian Jazz Ensemble , , - , 2014 , ''Wave Rider'' – Andrea Keller Quartet , Best Australian Modern Jazz Album , , - , 2017 , ''Consider This'' – Andrea Keller and Tim Wilson Duo , Best Australian Instrumental Jazz Album , , - , 2018 , ''Still Night: Music in Poetry'' – Andrea Keller , Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album , , - , 2019 , ''Five Below Live'' – Andrea Keller , Best Australian Jazz Ensemble of the Year , , - * Note wins only

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. (awards 2005-2012 are unknown). ! , - ,

, ''Family Portraits'' , Best Jazz Album , , rowspan="3", , - ,

, ''Wave Rider'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

, ''Transients Vol. 1'' , Best Jazz Album , , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, ''Life Is Brut fl'' , Best Jazz Album , , , - , rowspan="3",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, herself , Outstanding Woman in Music , , , - , herself , Best Musician , , rowspan="2", , - , herself , Best Jazz Act ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Andrea 1973 births Living people Australian people of Czech descent University of Melbourne alumni Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni University of Melbourne faculty ARIA Award winners Australian jazz pianists Australian classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists Bennetts Lane Big Band members