Sybil is teaching Cello Technique, coaching Cello Choir and a Chamber Group.

“Love Sybils teaching methods, very enjoyable.” Participant, 2016 LFM camp

“Sybil did an awesome job of choosing music for, and working with, our diverse group." Participant, 2016 LFM camp

Canadian cellist Sybil Shanahan can’t remember life without a cello in her hands. A passionate chamber musician, she believes deeply in music’s power to create community and embraces the musical diversity of her freelance career. Her enthusiasm for music and travel has taken her from her hometown of Toronto to concert series and festivals across Europe, South Africa, Canada, the United States, the Bahamas, and Buenos Aires. Current personal projects include the electrifying tango-fusion string quartet Cicada Woods and the Tadioli Duo, a collaboration with violinist Suhashini Arulanandam. Since January 2025 she has also appeared regularly with the Toronto Stage Quartet for the widely acclaimed Candlelight Concert Series. In addition to performing, Sybil is a published music arranger and the founder and contractor of Beaux Strings, a boutique Toronto-based strings ensemble specializing in live event performances.

An active recording artist, Sybil appears on the doubly nominated 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards tango album DISTANCIA by Solidaridad Tango. She also performed in the 120-piece orchestra for the award-winning soundtrack to the video game Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, recorded in 2021 during the height of the pandemic. As string arranger and contractor, she collaborated on singer Jonathan Michael’s The Sacred Project, broadcast on Vision TV and touring across Southern Ontario in 2024 and 2025. Earlier in her career, she recorded four albums and toured extensively across Canada and the United States with Ensemble Vivant. Her debut recording, Caprice (2014), with cellist Coenraad Bloemendal, features French Romantic duets. (Recordings)

A dedicated pedagogue, Sybil serves as an adjudicator for the Ontario Music Festivals Association and the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival. She maintains a thriving independent studio for adult cellists in Toronto and has been on faculty at LFM Music Camp since 2012. A frequent clinician, she recently presented workshops and concerts across Northern Ontario during the 2022–2023 season. Sybil completed postgraduate studies in Europe with renowned cellist Patrick Demenga and earned her undergraduate degree and teacher training at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, studying with Gregor Horsch.

Sybil's website.