David and Allison Keep made their four-hand piano debut in Germany in 2023, and are thrilled to be playing the beautiful Mason and Hamlin in the Harderywk Sanctuary.
A little bit about the musicians…
David Keep is a prize-winning pianist, theorist, and pedagogue. He has performed as recitalist, concerto soloist, Lied partner, and chamber musician through the United States and Europe. Recent recital venues include the Christian-Albrechts-Universität (Kiel, Germany), Bowling Green University (OH), Grove Music Festival (MI), Loyola University (IL), Lawrence University (WI), and Free at Three Recital Series (MI). His collaboration with artist Greg Lookerse (Hope College) produced an interdisciplinary exploration of George Crumb’s “Little Suite for Christmas”, funded by a grant from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship. The resulting multimedia performance was presented to church congregations across West Michigan in 2022, designed to inspire conversations about faith, discomfort, and music in Advent.
As a theorist, Keep has devoted much of his research toward understanding how meaning is perceived in music. Keep’s interests are centered on the music of Brahms, music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the connections between analysis and performance. He has presented his research at state, regional, and national conferences, and he has been invited to give lectures at Cornell University’s conference “Performing Clara Schumann: Keyboard Legacies and Feminine Identities in the Long Romantic Tradition” as well as at the Forschungszentrum der Johannes Brahms Gesamtausgabe, Musikwissenschaftlichen Institut of the Christian-Albrechts-Universität, in Kiel, Germany. Current research projects include studies on disability and virtuosity in Brahms’s music, harmonic sequences as signifiers of the sublime, and the relationship between dance gestures and un-notated performance conventions in waltzes composed for the piano, particularly as captured by early recorded piano performances in the era leading up to 1914.
Dr. Keep is an Assistant Professor of Music at Hope College, where he teaches piano and academic courses to majors and nonmajors, emphasizing both the rigorous pursuit of specialization in music as well as the exploration of the art form’s significance within a liberal arts curriculum. David holds a Ph.D. in music theory from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester; he earned a MM in piano performance with a minor in music theory from the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University; and he also holds a BM in piano performance from Lawrence University.
—
As pianist, educator, collaborative musician, and administrator, Allison Shinnick Keep advocates for the transformative role that music can play in society and in the lives of individuals. Her solo and collaborative performances have been heard across the US, Germany, Spain, and Japan, and in venues such as Bach-Saal (Kiel), Orchard Hall (Tokyo), Hill Auditorium (Ann Arbor), Helzberg Hall (Kansas City), and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall (NYC). A champion of American works, Allison’s repertoire includes compositions by Griffes, Liebermann, and Price, and she has appeared as soloist in concerti by Amy Beach (Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra) and Aaron Copland (Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra).
A dedicated teacher, Dr. Keep received extensive pedagogical training at the New School for Music Study in Kingston, New Jersey, where she served on the faculty for four years. She has also held graduate teaching assistantships at the University of Missouri – Kansas City and at the University of Michigan. Allison is currently on the faculty of Hope College (Holland, MI), where she teaches courses in piano and aural skills. She also maintains a vibrant private studio of pre-college pianists.
Allison seeks to contribute to the greater piano teaching community both locally and nationally through serving in administrative roles, presenting at conferences, and writing. She recently performed a lecture recital of nocturnes by women composers at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, in addition to co-chairing the New Professionals Committee. Her writing has appeared in the Piano Magazine, on the Piano Inspires Discovery Blog, and will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Piano Inspires Kids magazine. Dr. Keep currently serves as the secretary of the board of the PianoArts North American Competition, as well as the Teacher Education Chair for Michigan Music Teachers Association.
Allison holds a DMA in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan; she earned a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City; and she holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Oboe Performance with a minor in German from Lawrence University. She studied piano with Arthur Greene, Robert Weirich, and Catherine Kautsky, and her pedagogy mentors include John Ellis, Amy Glennon, and Mary Van De Loo.