Shauna Rolston, cello

Shauna Rolston is recognized as one of the most dynamic and enthusiastic advocates and performers of the music of our time. She has had an astounding number of works written for her.

The list of distinguished composers who have written for her and whose works she has premiered include Kelly-Marie Murphy, Heather Schmidt, Oskar Morawetz, Bruce Mather, Christos Hatzis and Chan Ka Nin, as well as Krzysztof Penderecki, Gavin Bryers, Mark Anthony Turnage, Rolf Wallin, Augusta Read Thomas, and Karen Tanaka. More recent commissions and premieres include a trio by Karen Tanaka, Ron Royer, and Kelly-Marie Murphy, a cello concerto with orchestra and children's choir by Gary Kulesha, cello concerti by Chris Paul Harman and Larysa Kuzmenko, and two major pieces by Heather Schmidt.

Shauna performs regularly around the world in London, Paris, Copenhagen, Budapest, Rome, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Seoul, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Sao Paulo, Prague, Ankara, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Boston, Washington, and Los Angeles. She has performed at many prestigious international festivals, as well as those in the USA and Canada. She has collaborated with conductors Krzysztof Penderecki, Bramwell Tovey, Andrew Davis, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Marin Alsop, Keith Lockhart, Andrey Boreyko, Alexander Rudin, and Yoav Talmi, among others.

Her future projects include a profile interview for the Biography Channel and recordings for Analekta, Naxos and CBC Records. Her latest video "A pairing of Swans" with prima ballerina Evelyn Hart directed by Veronica Tennant) was premiered at the 2004 International Moving Pictures Festival, and as recently been nominated for a Gemini Award.

Shauna is a Professor and Co-Head of the String Department at the University of Toronto. She is also a regular Visiting Artist for the Music and Sound Programs at the Banff Centre.