John (Bebo) Shiu maintains his tenured member status with the Austin Symphony Orchestra while freelancing and teaching in Boston. Bebo has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, New World Symphony, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He has performed locally with Boston Ballet, Emmanuel Music, Boston Cecilia, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Odyssey Opera, Metropolitan Chorale, Masterworks Chorale, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Back Bay Chorale, Cantata Singers, Zamir Chorale, Coro Allegro, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, and other union ensembles. Guest masterclasses, lectures, and recitals have included Penn State University, University of Massachusetts in Lowell, and Eastern Nazarene College.
He has collaborated for chamber performances with the New England Chamber Players, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Alea III, Radius Ensemble, Edwin Barker, and Blaise Déjardin. Bebo has been awarded numerous fellowships to attend the Aspen Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Dr. Shiu is currently the Director of String Ensemble at Bridgewater State University and teaches various music theory, music history, and Anthropology courses. In his spare time, Bebo currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Boston Musicians’ Association, serves on the Executive Committee of the MSCA Bridgewater State University local, and serves on the Board of Directors of MusiConnects.
Bebo can be heard on recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP/Sound) which won a Grammy award for the recording of Tobias Pickner’s “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” and was awarded a Special Achievement Award at the 44th Gramophone Classical Music Awards.
Bebo received his doctoral degree to become the first DMA Double Bass graduate under Edwin Barker at Boston University. In 2012, he made his concerto debut in Panama City in association with the sixth annual Alfredo Saint Malo Music Festival while teaching lessons and coaching chamber groups. He won first place in the 2010 Bass Coalition Solo Competition in Winchester, Virginia and was the String Division winner in the 2006 Entergy Young Texas Artists Competition in Conroe, Texas.
Teaching Philosophy
My music teaching philosophy is simple: mentor students to become not only musicians but also entrepreneurial ambassadors. I want to help students to achieve goals that they set for themselves, appreciate their own voice through their tone and personal interpretation, and foster independent thinking so that students can explore these goals more deeply on their own. While instruction implies a dependence on the teacher, I prefer to think of myself as a mentor, whose ultimate goal is the student’s independence. My objective is to help musicians perfect their technique regardless of their background, assist them to chart out their own musical phrasing, and inspire them to love the way that they sing and dance on their own instrument. My passion is seeing students able to apply these skills wherever their musical life may take them.