camden Shaw
Camden Shaw has been the cellist of the internationally acclaimed Dover Quartet, called "one of the greatest quartets in the last 100 years" by the BBC Radio Magazine, since its inception in 2008. He has appeared in more than 1,500 concerts with the ensemble in the world's most prestigious venues, and has collaborated in chamber music with such renowned artists as Emmanuel Ax, Sheku Kenneh-Mason, Marc-André Hamelin, Leif-Ove Andsnes, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and others. Highlights from recent seasons include several duo performances with legendary bassist Edgar Meyer, and concerto appearances at renowned festivals such as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and CORE, both of which show Shaw's affinity for early classical and Baroque solo repertoire.
In addition to his substantial performing career, Shaw has increasingly become known as one of the preeminent cello teachers of his generation. With a uniquely robust presence on the online music teaching platform Tonebase, and a passionate following for his unique style of teaching and analysis under the moniker CelloMonk, his online presence is not in the style of the social media influencer and yet carries potent influence within industry professionals. Shaw has been on faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music since 2020, and in February 2027 will be the newest Senior Lecturer of Cello at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia, a school particularly renowned for its joint research with the University of Sydney into the science of teaching and learning.
Shaw gave his major concerto debut in 2009, playing the Brahms Double with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy Ball. With the Dover Quartet, Mr. Shaw won first prize and every special award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013, and the gold medal and grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2010. He graduated from Curtis Institute of Music in 2010, where he studied with Peter Wiley. Other major teachers include Norman Fischer, David Finckel, and Steven Isserlis. Mr. Shaw performs on a 2025 cello by Sam Zygmuntowicz of an original model, larger than average, thoughtfully designed to support the already legendary sound of the Dover Quartet.
Photo credit: Roy Cox