Franklin Keel, Cello

Franklin Keel, cello, is an Asheville native who began playing the cello at the age of six. After winning Principal Cello in the Asheville Youth Orchestra, he earned a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
When he returned to Asheville, he resumed his post in the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and co-founded the
Opal String Quartet, a group that has become active across Western North Carolina both as performers and as educators. He is currently the Associate Principal Cello in the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, and a very active
private teacher and freelancer in Asheville and Hendersonville.