In 2019, Keely opened up her business, Amused LLC, to further her work in the arts, within the larger community, from Albuquerque, nationally and internationally. Keely was raised in Western NY, on the border of Canada. From a young age, she spent much of her time creating things and playing in nature. Formative experiences began before grade school, as she regularly attended Artpark, the only State Park in the US, devoted to the performing and visual arts, and from this young age, she was continually exposed to and participated in a variety of avant-garde visual and performing arts projects and presentations, and was later employed there. Keely began studying cello at age nine. In Middle and High School, Keely performed in a variety of orchestras as principal and assistant principal cellist, including the Niagara Community Orchestra, All County Orchestra, Niagara Youth Orchestra, Canada.

 

At James Madison University, VA, Keely continued cello studies. She began improvising, performing and recording with alternative rock bands, which she continues today, across multiple genres, including: jazz, blues, soul, funk and Kirtan. While gaining her BS degree in Visual Arts with a minor in Psychology, she created performance and installation art, while incorporating experimental cello compositions. In Albuquerque, Keely studied graduate level cello with David Schepps at UNM, while working on her MA in Educational Thought and Sociocultural Studies. For the last 16 years, she has balanced being a mom, educator and musician, by focusing on solo and duo cello works. In 2015, Keely began exploring electric and electro acoustic cello, and she currently composes and performs electroacoustic cello as “Celloquacious”, and is a founding member of “Delphi Project” with pianist/composer M. Elizabeth Garland. Meanwhile, Keely continues as a visual artist, and more recently has focused on macrophotography of nature.

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Most notably in her career, for the past 28 years, Keely has been devoted to integrating her creativity and expertise in education, with the visual and musical arts across content areas, and thus, Keely has been the following: graduate level Montessori instructor, Montessori professional development specialist, Montessori consultant, fine arts coordinator, cello instructor, visual arts instructor, supervising teacher, mentor teacher, writer and developer of gifted curriculum and assessments, and she has been a multi-age classroom teacher. All of these positions, have allowed Keely to reach children and adults, in order to coordinate peace, creativity and innovative thinking, to bring about a more integrated, purposeful and compassionate existence. Keely believes that her life work in education has been a work of artistic and conceptual creativity, manifested and entrenched within an educational community.

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Specifically, Keely is focused on creating both solo compositions and interdisciplinary performances as Celloquacious and in collaboration with pianist and composer, M. Elizabeth Garland through Delphi Project. While Keely continues to collaborate with musicians and artists nationally and internationally, she is also hired for independent session work. While continuing to teach for the public schools; she also teaches private cello lessons in her studio, private art classes in her workshop, and is hired for public and private cello performances for: weddings, yoga retreats, Interfaith retreats, conferences, gala fundraisers, private parties, gallery openings, and other special events. Keely is an active mom, who enjoys yoga, road trips, ski adventures, hiking, sailing and swim meets. As an active outdoorsperson and environmental activist, it's not a surprise, that her songs and macrophotography visual art are focused on nature, and are aligned with the elements: earth, air, fire and water. 

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