Keith Lawrence, viola

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , Keith Lawrence began playing viola at age 11. His study of viola continued at the Creative and Performing Arts Middle and High Schools in Pittsburgh, the Interlochen Arts Academy, and The Winchester Thurston School. After graduating from North Allegheny Senior High School in 1999, Lawrence enrolled as a viola performance major at the Oberlin Conservatory under the tutelage of Peter Slowik and Roger Chase where he received his undergraduate degree in 2003. Lawrence completed his graduate studies at the DePaul University School of Music as a student of Rami Solomonow in 2007.

Following a three-year tour with the Kecomosi String Quartet in four countries, Lawrence moved to Chicago where he was a founding member of the New Millennium Orchestra and Principal Viola for the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. He holds the Assistant Principal Viola position for the South Bend Symphony and has appeared as soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and other regional orchestras throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio .

Lawrence's awards include individual Gold Medal winner in NAACP's National ACT-SO Competition in 1999, finalist in the 2003 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne, Australia with the Kecomosi String Quartet, Jerry Goldsmith Scholarship recipient for the Henry Mancini Institute, and first place winner in the Pittsburgh Symphony Young Artist Competition.

As a freelance musician, Lawrence has played with such renowned artists as Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Shirley Horn, Christian McBride, Quincy Jones, John Williams, Tony Bennett, and Jerry Goldsmith. Lawrence, now twenty-six, continues to strive for musical excellence and enjoys a wide range of artistic endeavors. The newest member of Quartet San Francisco, he now resides in its namesake city.