Japanese-Australian cellist Shuhei Lawson’s performances have taken him to places overseas including New Zealand, the US and domestically in Australia.
He has performed at festivals including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music 2018 (Townsville), the University of Oklahoma String Academy 2019 (USA), the Adams Chamber Music School 2020 (NZ), as a 2020 and 2021 Brisbane Music Festival Young Artist, and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Cello Festival 2022. Through these festivals, Shuhei has performed in masterclasses with leading cellists including Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Timo Veikko-Valve, István Várdai and Guy Johnston. He has won many prizes including second place in The 2021 Enkor International Music Competition, winner of the RSL Youth Development Program, the 4MBS Virtuoso Award and the Ross Peters 4MBS Prize.
In addition to performing at a variety of music festivals, Shuhei has also performed with Australia’s leading ensembles such as the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Queensland Pops Orchestra and with members of the Goldner String Quartet and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Shuhei completed a Bachelor of Music at Griffith University, Queensland Conservatorium in 2020 under the guidance Hyung Suk Bae (QSO). His teachers have included Simon Cobcroft (ASO), David Lale (QSO) and Dr Meta Weiss (Boulder, Colarado). He has also benefited by such luminaries as Julian Smiles, György Déri and Yoshika Masuda.
Shuhei will begin his final year of training at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in 2023 under the guidance of Howard Penny. Outside of music, Shuhei has a passion for cooking and fishing.
Shuhei’s training at ANAM is fully supported by ANAM Syndicate donors Di Jameson and Frank Mercurio
Shuhei plays a Y. Chen cello generously donated to ANAM by the estate of the late Dr Keith Penny, and a Pierre Guillaume cello bow generously on loan to ANAM from Jannie Brown
Photo by Pia Johnson