About Us
Ardith Keef is a professional musician, university professor, attorney, and owner of Ardith Keef Gifts & Yarns.
In 1992 Ardith Keef started a small craft store to help support people needing employment, to support their crafts and to provide a local outlet for the sale of various Christian books and Bibles. Over time the store evolved into a thriving e-commerce business, ardithkeef.com, with the intention of supporting various mission organizations and missionaries. To date Ardith has been instrumental in sending much needed financial support as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medical supplies and medicines to support an Australian missionary surgeon working with SIM in Ethiopia. Another project was providing medical supplies to a jungle clinic in Ecuador. All of Ardith’s trips abroad have been self financed, and she has often hand carried vital medicines at risk to her own life, to bring life giving support to others.
Attorney Keef is licensed in Maine and is a member of:
The Maine Bar Association
The American Bar Association
Maine Trial Lawyer Association
Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Eastman School of Music and her J.D. from the Maine School of Law.
Currently professor at the University of Southern Maine.
Married to the pastor of the Anchor Missionary Fellowship.
Daughter of missionary parents (Central American Missions-Mexico)
Attorney Keef is fluent in Spanish.
Attorney Keef has donated hundreds of pro bono hours in extremely difficult legal cases. Some cases have involved rescuing children from abuse and others have been uniting parents with children who have been withheld from them. She has worked pro bono on behalf of missionaries who could never afford a lawyer. Ardith and her husband Bill operate a missionary guest house (The Isaac House) in Gorham, Maine, where traveling missionaries can rest and recover from the stresses experienced in the field. Often, the guest house is full of musicians and/or students. During the academic year, the guest house is open to a wonderful waffle breakfast on Friday mornings. Ardith’s music students joyfully participate (good food for University Students is always welcome).
Professional musician Keef is principal bassoonist of the Maine Chamber Ensemble, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, the New England Bassoon Quartet, a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the bassoonist of the Maine Baroque Ensemble, the bassoonist of the Issac Ensemble of Boston, and associate professor of bassoon at the University of Southern Maine. She holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with K. David van Hoesen. She has several years of postgraduate study with Otto Eifert with whom she now performs.
Formerly principal bassoonist of the Columbus Symphony, Keef has also played with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Monadnock Music Festival and the New Hampshire Music Festival. Previous teaching appointments include New York State University at Genesseo and Capitol University of Columbus, Ohio. Recent years have been busy with solo performances in South America, Europe, Africa, the Far East, Canada, the Soviet Union, as well as many of the United States.
