Shaw Edwards
Shaw stands out as a cellist in his age category with a distinctive blend of technical skill and expressive depth. His performances are marked by a sensitive understanding of the music, demonstrating a maturity and insight beyond his years. Shaw’s approach to the cello is both precise and passionate, allowing him to convey the nuances of each composition with clarity and emotion.
Participated in VI Category – Cello.
Watch Shaw Edwards perform Cello Concerto No. 1, 1st movement by G. Bacewicz
Shaw Edwards was admitted into the Juilliard School’s Pre-College Program in New York City in 2020 as a student of Ms. Clara Minhye Kim. His first instructor at age five was Russian cellist Serafim Smigelskiy.
In the summer of 2022, he won the National Symphony Orchestra’s SMI Concerto Competition with the Lalo Cello Concerto, which he then performed in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
In 2019 he won First Prize in the Kaufman Center’s Concerto Competition, as well as Runner Up in that competition in 2018.
He was a Winner of both the 2020 and 2019 VIVO International Music Competition.
He received Second Prize in the 2020 Lyra Music Competition and Third Prize in the Lyra Music Competition in 2018.
He was a semifinalist in the 2022 Lyra Music Competition. He made his Carnegie Hall debut at age seven by placing First in the Olympic Music Competition, then later that year performed again at Carnegie Hall as Winner of the Crescendo Music Competition.
In 2016 he won First Prize in the Long Island Conservatory of Music Soloists’ Competition.
He was a featured performer on the 2017 Henry Schneider Scholarship Concert, then appeared in a piano trio in that concert in 2019, and again was invited as a soloist in 2020.
He was admitted into the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program in 2019 and played with the Solastra Trio. He returned to the NYYS with the Meraki Trio for 2020-21. His Stuyvesant High School piano trio was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Chamber Music of Lincoln Center high school competition.
As a member of Kaufman Music Center’s Face the Music program, he performed with Kronos Quartet at Weill Recital Hall in 2014. He was a part of Face the Music from the third grade and performed in more than 25 concerts.
He was also a member of the Mikka Quartet from ages 8-13 and was coached for three years by Kronos Quartet, then for one year by Ethel Quartet.
He did a concert of the complete Bach Cello Suites #1-4 at age nine at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition.
As a composer, his works have premiered at Goodman Recital Hall and Queens Museum in New York.
