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Jonathan Keeble

2023 Distinguished Service Award

 

Professor of Flute at the University of Illinois and Past NFA President, Jonathan Keeble enjoys a robust career as performer, pedagogue, and clinician. He is the flutist for the award-winning Prairie Winds and Aletheia Duo and principal flute of Sinfonia da Camera. Keeble spends his summers performing and teaching at Aria International, Madeline Island Chamber Music, and the University of Illinois Pre-College Flute Seminar. At Illinois, where he has taught since 2002 and currently chairs the Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion Area, Keeble is one of two faculty in the School of Music’s history to receive the Provost’s Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. In Spring 2017 he received the College of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA) Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2015 FAA’s Award for Excellence in Service. Keeble has held teaching posts at SUNY Fredonia (1994–95) and Oklahoma State University (1996–2002) and taught masterclasses throughout the U.S. and in New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Ecuador, Korea, Hong Kong, and more.

Jonathan Keeble

Photo By Michael Bersin

Keeble’s dedication to the profession shows in his continuous contributions to the NFA, from chairing the 2008 Kansas City convention “F6 Flute: High Winds” to hiring for an Executive Director and serving on the 50th Anniversary Planning Committee. As Vice President and President (2008–12), he advanced the NFA’s standards of professionalism: increasing transparency, streamlining procedures for efficiency and fairness, facilitating membership access, developing year-round resources, and modernizing branding and online presence. Keeble appears regularly as performer, adjudicator, clinician, panelist, and presenter at NFA conventions, where he has premiered several works for flute and harp as a member of the Aletheia Duo and appeared on numerous headliner and gala concerts. At the Salt Lake City convention in 2019, he premiered Richard Prior’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra with the NFA Gala Concerto Concert Orchestra. Keeble contributes periodically to The Flutist Quarterly.

Keeble’s performance, pedagogy, and service stems from a “pay it forward” mentality, rooted in his upbringing in a family of artists in rural Washington and reinforced throughout his training with self-sacrificing flutists—Frances Risdon (Spokane Symphony), Walfrid Kujala (Northwestern University), and Bonita Boyd (Eastman School of Music). Just as Keeble’s teaching centers on elevating artistry and developing each student’s unique personal and musical voice, his commitment to humanity and equity in our profession—and his understanding of service as a way of life—makes his contributions to the flute community indispensable.

Read Jonathan Keeble's The Flutist Quarterly tribute here.