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Canadian Sybil Shanahan has played the cello for as long as she can remember. Loving the diversity of musical life available to her as a freelance performer, Sybil seizes each opportunity to immerse herself in a wide selection of projects, ranging from performing alongside artists such as Seal and Sigur Ros, to playing tango, recording for Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, or performing classical great such as Brahms’ piano trios or Messiaen’s Quartet for The End of Time. Comfortable across many musical styles, Sybil currently performs with the classically based Tadioli Duo and she is the founder of Beaux Strings, an event music performance business for which she is also a published music arranger of several pops songs for string ensembles. She was the music arranger and contractor for singer Jonathan Michael’s “The Sacred Project” album airing on Vision TV in the spring of 2024. She is the proud owner of both a beautiful wooden cello by Maurizio Tadioli, and a carbon fibre Luis & Clarke cello.

A travel lover, Sybil’s lifelong commitment to the cello and the medium of chamber music has provided her with opportunities to perform around the world, including most recently debut performances in Buenos Aires and Brooklyn with Solidaridad Tango, an ensemble with whom she was a founding member from 2020-2023. A 2023 season highlight was her debut with Tapestry Opera, performing in the hit chamber opera, Rocking Horse Winner. Between 2010-2020, she performed and recorded extensively with Ensemble Vivant, “Canada’s chamber music treasure” (Toronto Star). Her first album, Caprice, was released in 2014 and features several previously unrecorded French Romantic cello duos with Coenraad Bloemendal. As a freelance performer, she has joined professional orchestras across the province, ranging from London to Thunder Bay.

A strong believer in the power of music to create community, Sybil manages a full private teaching studio for adult cellists based in Toronto, and she has been on faculty at Lake Field Music Camp since 2012. She is also a regular performer with Concert In Care, offering live music to people in care facilities across Southern 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. Her formative training was based in her hometown of Toronto where she began her studies with Barbara Pepper, and continued at Etobicoke School of the Arts, and the Royal Conservatory of Music with Coenraad Bloemendal. Website: www.sybilshanahan.com