Sean Shannon is a pianist and piano teacher based between Dublin and his native Ennis. He is currently completing a Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, studying piano performance with Professor Réamonn Keary on an entrance scholarship. He received his initial piano lessons from Maeghan Dineen at the Maoin Cheoil an Chláir in Ennis, later studying with Tatiana Timofeeva until he commenced his studies at the RIAM.
Sean gave his debut solo recital at glór, Ennis in 2019, aged 14 and has since given many performances and participated in numerous masterclasses and competitions; in 2020 he was invited to perform as part of “The 12 Acts of Christmas”, a series of livestream performances by Irish artists curated by glór. In 2021 he was appointed Young Associate Artist at glór and was featured in an episode of RTÉ Nationwide. He returned to the glór stage in 2022 to give another solo recital in September, and performed as part of the glór at 21 gala concert in November. 2023 sees him featuring in ‘Face the Music’, a three-part documentary series following a handful of students and teachers at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, airing on RTÉ One. Sean has also performed in the presence of President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins.
As well as successfully participating in various competitions such as the Feis Ceoil in Dublin and the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA) Ireland Piano Festival, Sean has been a recipient of the Eimear Noonan Music Bursary, the Ennis Lions Club Mary Keohane Bursary and a scholarship funded by the Maoin Cheoil an Chláir and Limerick School of Music. He has participated in masterclasses with pianists such as Dr. Martín Martín Acevedo, Dr. Hugh Tinney and Thérèse Fahy.
As well as solo performance, Sean is an avid chamber musician and has played in several types of group. Recently he performed as part of a piano duo and piano/violin duo in the new Vernon Studio at the Royal Irish Academy of Music as part of ChamberFest Dublin 2023.
Thorough classical music education aside, Sean is equally comfortable playing in a wide range of genres, having played in rock, pop, trad and céilí bands during his childhood.