Will Kjeer

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Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. Birthplace

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About

Will Kjeer is a jazz pianist, composer, and educator based in New York City. A graduate of the Juilliard School, where he earned a Master of Music in Jazz as the sole pianist admitted to his entering class, he is a current member of Juilliard's Artist Diploma ambassador ensemble. Kjeer tours regularly with folk legend Judy Collins and leads multiple ensembles including a jazz trio, a quintet with folk crossover elements, and a jazz/classical chamber group featuring string quartet. His performance credits include the Kennedy Center, Dizzy's Club at Lincoln Center, Ravinia's Bennett Gordon Hall, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He has collaborated with Dave King, Jerry Bergonzi, Adam Nussbaum, Sinne Eeg, Billy Peterson, and the crossover cello duo Empire Wild. An active educator, Kjeer has served as a clinician at Lincoln Center and maintains a private studio specializing in advanced jazz piano and audition preparation.

Trivia

Will Kjeer performed for Herbie Hancock as one of five piano finalists for admission to the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. His uncle, Kenny Horst, operated the legendary Artists Quarter jazz club in Saint Paul for eighteen years. Kjeer collaborated for three years with Midwest folk icon Larry Long, often referred to as the Pete Seeger of Minnesota. The late guitarist Russell Malone called him a pianist of exceptional heart.

Early Life

Will Kjeer grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he was immersed in the Twin Cities jazz scene from an early age. His uncle, drummer Kenny Horst, ran the Artists Quarter jazz club, and Kjeer performed some of his earliest professional gigs there as a teenager alongside veteran bassist Billy Peterson. He attended the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists for high school and then studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. During his high school years, he performed with the Dakota Combo and Minnesota Youth Jazz Bands and served as a Youth Artist in Residence for the PipJazz Foundation. Kjeer earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies from the California Institute of the Arts in 2019. After building a career in Los Angeles, he returned to Minnesota during the pandemic before moving to New York City in 2022 to attend the Juilliard School.