Jeffrey Keever, conductor, was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from Middle Tennessee State University. During his undergraduate career, Jeffrey studied trumpet under Alan Cox and Jose Sibaja, and conducting under John Concklin and Wolfgang Harrer. During his graduate career, Jeffrey studied conducting under Dr. Carol Nies.
Jeffrey is currently the Founder and Music Director of the Middle Tennessee Sinfonietta. He founded the ensemble in January 2021 with the purpose of providing music to those throughout Middle Tennessee, as well as create consistent collaborative concerts with all forms of the fine arts. More information can be found at www.mtsinfonietta.com.
During his conducting career, Jeffrey has quickly become a sought-after orchestral conductor throughout the world. Nationally, Jeffrey currently serves as Founder and Music Director of the Middle Tennessee Sinfonietta and has previously served as Head Conductor of the Middle Tennessee State University’s Concert Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of both the Middle Tennessee State University’s Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. He has previously guest conducted the Tennessee Philharmonic Orchestra, Vanderbilt University Orchestra, the Vanderbilt Opera Studio, the Prague Summer Nights Festival Orchestra, the Boston Conservatory Conducting Orchestra, the Curb Youth Symphony, and more. Internationally, Jeffrey has guest conducted the Hradec Kralove Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Sinfonia, and the IES Vienna Music Ensemble, and has been invited to guest conduct the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra and Savarian Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted in numerous masterclasses and festivals with Gerard Schwarz, Toby Purser, John Nardolillo, Lior Shambadal, and more.
Jeffrey is also a distinguished opera and musical conductor. He has previously served as an Assistant Conductor for the Vienna Opera Academy’s production of Così fan tutte in the world famous Musikverein, Assistant Conductor for the Prague Summer Night Festival’s production of Die Zauberflöte, and as the Conductor and Music Director for the premiere production and recording of A Vote of Her Own, a musical about the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Tennessee. He has also served as Music Director for A Bliss Effect, a new musical premiered in Tennessee. He has also been invited to be the Assistant Conductor for the Prague Summer Night Festival’s production of Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni in the world famous Estates Theatre, as well as the Head Conductor for a Nashville production of Matthäus-Passion.
Jeffrey has been a part of many summer festivals as a performer, including the Furman University Band and Orchestra Camp, Cannon Music Camp, Boston Brass Summer Intensive, and the Vanderbilt Music Acadamie in Aix-en-Provence, France. He was also a part of a concert tour in Costa Rica with the Blair Student Brass Quintet in the Summer of 2017, and was invited on another concert tour in Columbia with the Vanderbilt Wind Symphony in the Spring of 2018. Jeffrey was a student in Vienna, Austria for the Spring and Summer of 2018, where he studied trumpet and conducting under musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic and performed with the Wiener Akademischer Orchesterverein.
Jeffrey currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, and alongside his conducting career works as the Faculty & Academic Affairs Coordinator for the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University. He also serves as the Vice President of Creative Community Inc. and on the Board of Directors and as Music Interest Group Leader for the Rutherford Arts Alliance. He frequently can be found attending Broadway shows, going to symphony concerts, traveling, and drinking tea.