Biography
A native of Buffalo, New York, Susan Shaw earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History at the University of Buffalo before moving to Vienna, Austria to pursue advanced studies in music performance at that city's prestigious Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst. As a performer on the "modern" or Boehm-system flute her experiences comprise a wide-range of North American and European venues, notably the Chautauqua Summer Music Festival, the Raimund Theater Orchestra (Vienna), the S.E.M. ensemble (New York City) and the Fort Dodge Symphony. A growing desire to unite her background in history with a passion for baroque music and for the “baroque” or one-keyed flute led her to recommence formal music studies at Oberlin Conservatory, where she completed a Master of Music in Historical Performance degree (2012) and was a recipient of The Dean’s Talent Award.
An active freelance and chamber musician, Susan can be heard in a variety of venues in and around Cleveland. She is co-founder and artistic director of Ensemble Belvedere, a Cleveland-based early music group and is also a dedicated teacher, maintaining a private studio and offering demonstrations and masterclasses in flute, historical performance, and music history. Susan is a frequent participant in early music festivals and workshops—among them the Baroque Performance Institute in Oberlin, Ohio and the Early Music Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia—and has had lessons with and performed at masterclasses for Barthold Kuijken, Wilbert Hazelzet, Jed Wentz, Christopher Krueger, and Sandra Miller. In her free time, Susan enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, reading, and a good cup of coffee. She also enjoys watching basketball and is a die-hard fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
An active freelance and chamber musician, Susan can be heard in a variety of venues in and around Cleveland. She is co-founder and artistic director of Ensemble Belvedere, a Cleveland-based early music group and is also a dedicated teacher, maintaining a private studio and offering demonstrations and masterclasses in flute, historical performance, and music history. Susan is a frequent participant in early music festivals and workshops—among them the Baroque Performance Institute in Oberlin, Ohio and the Early Music Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia—and has had lessons with and performed at masterclasses for Barthold Kuijken, Wilbert Hazelzet, Jed Wentz, Christopher Krueger, and Sandra Miller. In her free time, Susan enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, reading, and a good cup of coffee. She also enjoys watching basketball and is a die-hard fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
— performing with Ensemble Belvedere