Robert Shannon

Biography

As a performer, educator, and recording artist, pianist Robert Shannon has traveled across the world performing and teaching a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach to John Adams. A double-degree alumnus of Oberlin, Shannon earned a Master of Music at the Juilliard School. He has studied with Klaus Goetze, Arthur Dann, Jack Radunsky, Ania Dorfmann, Dorothy Taubman, and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

In recent seasons, he has appeared in Beijing, London, Hamburg, New York, San Francisco, and Caracas. His numerous performances and recordings on the Bridge label of 20th- and 21st-century composers such as George Crumb, Carla Bley, and John Harbison have been met with critical praise, particularly his penetrating interpretations of such American composers as Charles Ives.

He has appeared at the Grand Teton, Tibor Varga, and Sacramento American Music festivals; as a guest artist with the Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players; and in duo recitals with his wife, Haewon Song, who also is a piano professor at Oberlin Conservatory. He is the founder and director of the Cooper International Competition for Piano at Oberlin, an important international youth competition.