Keats Rivas is originally from Birmingham, Alabama. He began his musical studies on piano, following cello a few years later. Mr. Rivas recently completed his Master's in Music in Cello Performance at Ohio University in Athens, OH (2023). Mr. Rivas completed his Bachelor's in Music in Cello Performance at Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL (2021), cum laude. This past year, Mr. Rivas pursued a cello Artist Diploma with Prof. Wendy Warner through the Schwob School of Music in Columbus, GA.

Mr. Rivas has played as an extra musician with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, the Gadsden Symphony Orchestra, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, the Northwest Florida Symphony, and the River Cities Symphony (Marietta, OH). He has attended many music festivals and served as an RA and Technical Intern, including the University of North Alabama Summer Music Camp, Stringendo (Florida), Cincinnati Young Artists Chamber Music Festival, the MasterWorks Festival (Spartanburg, SC), and Brevard Music Center (North Carolina), and Camp-of-the-Woods (NY). Mr. Rivas’s principal cello teachers have included Jose Rocha, Ronald Gardiner, Samuel Nordlund, Alan Harrell, and Carlton McCreery. Also, as a private teacher, Mr. Rivas has privately taught through several mediums, including churches, local music stores, and online. He previously attended Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

From 2022-2023, Mr. Rivas also served as the Church Pianist for First Presbyterian Church in Waverly, Ohio. This year, Mr. Rivas will attend Birmingham Theological Seminary this fall for a master’s in church music/worship. He enjoys exercising and playing video games in his free time and has completed a few half-marathons.