HENRY SHAPARD HOLDS THE COVETED POSITION OF PRINCIPAL CELLO OF THE VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
Additionally, he also bears the distinction of being not only one of its youngest members, but the youngest of anyone holding down that chair among any major orchestra. It’s a heady task and one that was off eredto him three years ago at the age of 21. It’s particularly impressive considering this was not initially his life plan growing up in Cleveland, Ohio. “When I think back to my childhood, my primary dreams (at least from around age seven to age thirteen) revolved around baseball,” he says. “I was a pitcher and am a very competitive person, so I think I always imagined that I would somehow claw my way into the starting rotation of a MLB team someday. “Of course, like most children with professional sports dreams, those melted away when I became a teenager, but my love for the game and admiration for the work ethic of professional athletes remained.” Citing extremely supportive parents, the Shapard family somehow got a Cello into young Henry’s hands at the age of three, and the rest would quickly become history.
“My mom was in charge of ensuring that I practiced every single day and so by the time I was a teenager, I had built up a fair amount of technical skill,” says Shapard. “Around that time my baseball dreams fi zzled and I fell in love with watching the Cleveland Orchestra.” He adds, transitioning from playing baseball to madly practicing cello was a natural switch and he’s grateful to the many role models in Cleveland who ensured he stayed the course as he grew. In May 2020, Henry Shapard graduated with distinction from Yale University with a degree in history and was named Phi Beta Kappa. In addition, he was awarded the Bach Society Prize, the Sharp Prize, the Selden Memorial Award, and the Berkeley College Arts Prize. While at Yale, Shapard served as Principal Cello of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, assistant conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director of the Berkeley College Orchestra and Saybrook College Orchestra.
Aside from his orchestral duties, he led an all-cello rock group at Yale called “Low Strung,” touring to China, Singapore and the U.S.Prior to his current appointment, Shapard held the position of Principal Cello with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was named by former VSO Conductor, Bramwell Tovey.
“Some days, as I’m walking onstage at the VSO, I think of my childhood dream of walking onto the fi eld in Cleveland and try to convince myself that I’m not so far off from what I fantasized about back then.”
After a successful audition conducted in a rather nerve-wracking, secretive selection process Henry Shapard became the youngest member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Now a Vancouverite, he speaks glowingly of the acclimatization to a new country and the inherent bond with his fellow musicians.“I have the best colleagues!” he says of the VSO. “They have always treated me as an equal, which has been helpful not just for my day-to-day confidence at work, but also my growth in the Principal Cello role.”Shapard notes one thing about playing in a professional orchestra is musicians spend an enormous amount of time in very close quarters with their colleagues so they bond quickly.
“This has made it so that my primary tie to Canada is, in fact, my colleagues and the work environment at the VSO,” he says. “Four years here have absolutely flown by.”
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VANCOUVER SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The VSO School of Music is a 25,000 square foot, state ofthe art music school on Seymour Street, adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre. Founded in 2010, the school’s mission is to enrich lives.
“The VSO School of Music is a bustling institution with programs, master classes and events that serve our creative community in Vancouver,” says Jay Schreiber, Director of Facilities Operations and Customer Service. “Our youngest students can start at three months of age with ‘Mini Music Makers’ classes and our oldest learners are well into their 80’s. ”The School of Music offers individual or group instruction by members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, in addition to numerous other high caliber music educators. “Our incredible faculty of over 150 music professionals in the Metro Vancouver area is anchored by our orchestra members and dedicated instructors in the areas of jazz, cultural music, early childhood education and composition.”
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Additionally, the school features the spectacular performance theatre, Pyatt Hall and accompanying reception space, ideal for a vast array of arts, entertainment, or by corporate or private groups utilizing the space for performances, recordings and special events.
Away from the stage of the Orpheum, Henry Shapard is actively involved as a faculty member of the prestigious VSO School of Music. It’s within this role he off ers his expertise in the hope young aspiring musicians will similarly follow suit and develop a genuine love for, and connection with, the world of music. Outreach is another element of this young man’s life, including performing his craft in prisons. Playing casual cello sessions at institutions for incarcerated adults and youth is something he developed in his home State of Ohio. “These experiences have proven to be deeply meaningful,” As has his instrument of choice, the cello. “I have always loved the sound. Often, professional musicians are asked if they could go back in time and pick a different instrument, what would they select. “Most of my colleagues in the VSO say they’d go back and pick the cello. Cellists usually say we wouldn’t choose anything else!” And while his current ‘Field of Dreams’ is the stage at the opulent Orpheum Theatre, Henry Shapard still has visions that harken back to his earliest memories in the U.S. Midwest. “Some days, as I’m walking onstage at the VSO, I think of my childhood dream of walking onto the field in Cleveland and try to convince myself that I’m not so far off from what I fantasized about back then.”
