Return to Member Bios
Dr. Sue Keller is a musician,
mom, and dentist! A founding Board member of the
WNEDBS and a classically-trained double bassist, Sue began playing in
4th grade
(age 9) in her elementary school in Fairview, PA. (She also
picked up the
trumpet a year later.) Her music teacher, Mr. Morris Youngdahl,
was a talented
bass, tuba player, and singer, and a major musical influence for Sue
from 4th
grade through 12th grade. With only a few years of private lessons, Sue
attributes most of her musical skills to actually PLAYING. She
played in the
pit for high school musicals starting in 6th grade, played in the
regional Erie
Philharmonic Youth Orchestra from 7th grade, and played in the high
school
marching band (trumpet) from 8th grade. She was selected to attend the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts in 1984 and apprenticed with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra from 1984-86 while still in high school (this was a union-paying gig, mind you!) In high school, Sue played principal bass for Pennsylvania District, Regional, and State orchestras, and earned 6th chair in National Orchestra in 1986. (She was also drum major and trumpet soloist for her high school corps-style marching band.) Playing in the Alleghany Summer Music Festival from 8th to 11th grade let her play the full classical reperatoire while sitting next to professional and college musicians. She learned a lot just by watching, asking questions, and playing in small bass ensembles during the festivals. Playing next to great musicians is a wonderful way to learn!
Sue earned her A.B. from Harvard University in 1990, her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from the University of Connecticut in 1994, and completed a residency in general practice dentistry in 1995 at Hartford Hospital, CT. She has owned her own dental practice in Greenfield, MA since 1995, with a special interest in creating positive dental experiences, dental wellness and preventive care, predictable restoration of severely damaged adult smiles, and sedation dentistry. Check her out at www.DrSueKeller.com.
Sue has lived in Deerfield, MA since 1993. She has been principal bass of the Pioneer Valley Symphony and the Commonwealth Opera, and has played with the Smith College Orchestra, Amherst College Orchestra, and Valley Light Opera. She made her long-wished for on-stage debut as a tenor with the Valley Light Opera for The Grand Duke in 2001 and HMS Pinafore in 2003. She currently sings with the Franklin Medical Center's Clinical Notes, a women's a capella choir.
Her husband, Sean, teaches math at Deerfield Academy, and they are the proud parents of daughter Hunter (2002) and son Avery (2004). (Sue regrets having missed performing in Off the Deep End II due to being 8 and 1/2 months pregnant with Hunter and giving up lugging the bass up the stairs of the Northampton Community Music School for rehearsals while playing show week of The King and I with the Commonwealth Opera!) After an almost 3 year break from playing bass, Off the Deeper End marks Sue's return to the bass scene. Sue is looking forward to expanding her repertoire by learning jazz improvisation this year; she can be found frequenting the jazz scene of the Pioneer Valley, picking up tips from the other bass players in exchange for bowing and technique lessons!
Link: www.DrSueKeller.com
Return to Member Bios