John Bebo Shiu

Double Bass

John (Bebo) Shiu currently performs as the Assistant Principal Bass of the Boston Pops Esplanade, teaches as Double Bass Artist Faculty at the Longy School of Music, and is Vice President of AFM Local 9-535. He recently earned his doctoral degree to become the first and the only DMA Double Bass graduate under Edwin Barker at Boston University. Dr. Shiu is currently the Director of String Ensemble at Bridgewater State University where he teaches various music theory, music history, and Anthropology courses. 

In 2012, he made his concerto debut in Panama City in association with the sixth annual Alfredo Saint Malo Music Festival. He won first place in the 2010 Bass Coalition Solo Competition in Winchester, Virginia and was the String Division winner in the 2006 Entergy Young Texas Artists Competition in Conroe, Texas. 

He maintains his tenured member status with the Austin Symphony Orchestra while freelancing and teaching in Boston. Bebo has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and other union ensembles. Guest masterclasses, lectures, and recitals have included Penn State University, Baylor University, Florida State University, Illinois State University, SUNY Fredonia, University of Massachusetts in Lowell, and Eastern Nazarene College. 

Bebo can be heard on recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP/Sound) which won a Grammy award for the recording of Tobias Pickner’s “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” and was awarded a Special Achievement Award at the 44th Gramophone Classical Music Awards.

He has collaborated for chamber performances with the New England Chamber Players, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Alea III, Radius Ensemble, Edwin Barker, and Blaise Déjardin. Bebo has been awarded numerous fellowships to attend the Aspen Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center. 

This is his second summer to teach and to perform at the Killington Music Festival.