Sean Shibe | |
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 Sean Shibe records with Delphian Records inCrichton Church | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1992 (age 32–33) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation | Guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Classical Guitar, Electric Guitar, Lute |
| Labels | Pentatone |
| Website | Official website |
Sean Shibe (/ʃɔːnˈʃiːbə/shawnSHEE-bə;[1] born 1992) is aclassical andelectricguitarist fromEdinburgh, Scotland, UK. He is of English and Japanese ancestry.[2] He studied at theRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland (and was the youngest student to enter the then Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama)[3] and with Italian guitaristPaolo Pegoraro.[4] His debut album was described as "not just great guitar playing... the best [the jury] had ever heard" byBBC Music Magazine,[5] and "the best solo guitar disc I've heard" by The Arts Desk.[6]
Shibe also plays electric guitar, as on his 2018 albumsoftLOUD, on which he performsSteve Reich'sElectric Counterpoint, as well as electric guitar arrangements of works byDavid Lang andJulia Wolfe. Sean Shibe also performsGeorges Lentz's epic, hour-longIngwe for solo electric guitar.
Shibe also plays renaissance lute, performing 16th Century French repertoire at Baroque at the Edge,LSO St Luke's.[7]
Shibe was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1992.[4][8][9][10][11] His mother is from Japan.[12] He attended theCity of Edinburgh Music School,[12] as the only guitar student, until he was 14. He then moved to Aberdeen City Music School to study with Allan Neave before leaving at 16 to begin the Bachelor of Music course at the then Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He graduated in 2012 with first class honours.[13]
Shibe has performed as soloist with theBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,Scottish Chamber Orchestra,BBC National Orchestra of Wales,BBC Symphony Orchestra,Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Sinfonia Viva.[citation needed] He has performed at theBrighton Festival,[14] Aldeburgh Festival, St. Magnus Festival, East Neuk Festival and Marlboro Festival and Summer School.[citation needed] He made hisWigmore Hall debut in 2012 and has performed there annually since.[15]
In 2014 he performedAlasdair Nicolson's pieceMagnus, written specially for the event, at an 80th birthday celebration forPeter Maxwell Davies atGlasgow City Halls.[16]
He was one ofBBC Radio 3'sNew Generation Artists for 2012–2014, and performed with theBBC Singers in a concert broadcast live fromSt Paul's Church, Knightsbridge in January 2015.[17] His performances appeared on the cover disc of the February 2016 edition ofBBC Music Magazine.[18]
'Dreams & Fancies', his 2017 debut album released onDelphian Records, entered the UK Classical Specialist Charts at No.3.[19] BBC Radio 3'sRecord Review said of the album: "It's not often a guitar recital leaves me slightly stunned, but this one did. Just listen to the sound, the way Shibe changes the colour even during a phrase... what a seductive sound, incredibly clean playing, and almost miraculous changes of colour and timbre, never empty gestures, always to articulate the counterpoint and phrasing. Inspired by Julian Bream's pioneering spirit perhaps, but this is playing on an exalted level... If you only buy one guitar recital this year – it's called Dreams & Fancies."[citation needed] Graham Rickson atThe Arts Desk wrote: "This is the best solo guitar disc I've heard."[6]
Shibe's second full solo album, 'softLOUD', received the inaugural Gramophone Award for Concept Album of the Year. Martin Cullingford, writing in Gramophone Magazine, said: "We wanted to draw attention to those albums where a creative mind has curated something visionary, a programme whose whole speaks more powerfully than its parts. A thought-through journey, which compels to be heard in one sitting. A concept that makes a virtue of the genre. Our inaugural winner was a personal reaction to events: the EU referendum, the American elections, the murder of a British MP on the streets of her constituency... ‘Have we today forgotten how to speak softly and with grace; or is the real danger that we aren’t screaming loudly enough?’ asks Shibe in the sleeves notes, but, ultimately, through the programme itself. ‘softLOUD’ is a fascinating answer to the question of what, today, an album can do, and be."[20]
In March 2020 Shibe performed 'Ingwe' at "ear splitting volume"[21] at Wigmore Hall, resulting in over 20 audience members leaving the recital.[22]
Shibe's third album onDelphian, titled BACH wonGramophone Magazine Editor's Choice and sat at the top of theUK Official Charts for seven weeks.
In 2020, Shibe signed an exclusive, multi-album agreement withPENTATONE, and has released three critically-acclaimed releases with the label. In April 2024, Shibe won theBBC Music Magazine Instrumental Award for his albumProfesión.
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