biography

Sybil Shanahan has been described as “a rare cellist who so obviously loves both the instrument and the music. We have only to sit back and enjoy the experience of her playing.” (Stephan Rieckhoff, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande)  As a chamber musician and travel enthusiast, Sybil has had the pleasure of performing in festivals around the world, including much of Canada, Europe, USA, Argentina and South Africa to date.  A contemporary performer comfortable across many styles, Sybil is a founding member of Solidaridad Tango, North America’s original all-women tango orchestra. She is one half of the classically-based Tadioli Duo with violinist Suhashini Arulanandam, and has run her own event music business, Beaux Strings, since 2011. Her genre diverse playing has been featured on several recordings for songwriters, bands and film scores, and she is a published music arranger of pop covers for string based ensembles. As a freelance orchestral musician, Sybil has performed in professional ensembles across the province from St. Catharines to Thunder Bay, and has appeared backing such notable artists such as Seal and Sigur Ros. Sybil performs on either her wooden modern Italian cello nicknamed “Tiny”, or her Luis and Clark carbon fibre cello called “Octo.”

Committed to the importance of fostering a continued love of classical music, Sybil is an avid teacher and maintains a cello class for adults in Toronto. She was the principal cellist of the community based NYCO Symphony Orchestra from 2010-2017, where she was featured soloist performing Tchaikovsky's “Rococo Variations” in 2012.  She participated in the first ever staged opera in Nassau, Bahamas in 2011, and while there, performed at a special fundraising event for the El Sistema program for music education.  Similarly in Canada, Sybil has performed concerts, and given masterclasses through Euterpe and Axis Music, community benefitting organizations whose mandates include providing the highest calibre live music and music education to students who would otherwise not normally get to experience it.  She was a member of the piano quintet, Ensemble Vivant, “Canada's chamber music treasure.” (Toronto Star) between 2010-2020, and is featured on 4 albums with that group. Her debut album, Caprice, was released in 2014 on the ERDECO label. This recording features several previously unrecorded French Romantic cello duos with Coenraad Bloemendal. Strongly interested in classical contemporary music, she has collaborated with notable composers Betsy Jolas, Jonathon Harvey and David Philip Hefti, and, performed in Amsterdam's famous Gaudeamus Festival and the ISCM World Music Days in Slovenia. 

Sybil holds a Master’s Degree from the class of cello soloist Patrick Demenga in Lausanne, Switzerland.  She received her undergraduate degree in performance from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she also studied the Viola da Gamba parallel to her work with Gregor Horsch, principal cellist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.  As a student, she was the principal cellist of the European Youth Chamber Orchestra in Austria, and joined the Orchestre Symphonique de Bienne, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (Switzerland) and the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (Holland) as part of their prestigious orchestral internship programs.  Sybil was a national finalist in Holland's Yamaha International Music Scholarship, and a prizewinner in the Rovere d'Oro chamber music competition in San Bartolomeo al Mare, Italy, with Duo AfriCan, a piano/cello duo formed in 2004 with pianist Mareli Stolp.

Sybil is grateful for her formative years of training in Toronto as a member of the Young Artists Performance Academy (now known as The Taylor Academy) of the Glenn Gould School.  Her debut concerto performance occurred at the age of nineteen when she performed the Lalo Cello Concerto with the Etobicoke School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra.  She went on to attend the Banff Centre for the Arts chamber music program, and was the winner of several awards, among which were the Elora Festival Young Performer's Competition, the Gooderham Music Scholarship and the Bill Weatherspoon “Most Outstanding Performance” award.

Website: www.sybilshanahan.com

SHORT BIO

Cellist Sybil Shanahan has played the cello for as long as she can remember. A contemporary performer comfortable across many musical styles, Sybil is a founding member of Solidaridad Tango, the Tadioli Duo, and runs her own event music business Beaux Strings for which she is a published music arranger of several pops songs for string ensembles. A travel lover, Sybil's lifelong commitment to the cello and the medium of chamber music has provided her with the opportunities to perform around the world, including much of Canada, USA, Europe, Argentina and South Africa to date. Between 2010-2020, she performed and recorded extensively with Ensemble Vivant, “Canada's chamber music treasure” (Toronto Star). Her debut album, Caprice, was released in 2014 and features several previously unrecorded French Romantic cello duos with Coenraad Bloemendal.

Sybil manages a full private teaching studio for adult cellists is based in Toronto, and she has been on faculty at Lake Field Music Camp since 2012. As a freelance performer, she has joined orchestras across Ontario. When not involved in musical pursuits, she can often be found on her paddle board, skis or bike, or tending to her spoiled cats. Sybil completed her University education in Europe. She holds a Master’s Degree from the class of cello soloist Patrick Demenga in Switzerland and a Bachelor from the class of Gregor Horsch in Amsterdam. Website: www.sybilshanahan.com

Sybil is a member of the American Federation of Musicians (Toronto Musician’s Association 149) and an ACTRA Apprentice Member.

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