Spellbinding... True poetry (The Strad)
International award-winning British cellist Jacob Shaw has enjoyed a career spanning nearly two decades and five continents.
He received his education at prestigious institutions across Europe: the Yehudi Menuhin School (UK), École Normale de Musique de Paris (France), Hochschule für Musik Augsburg-Nürnberg (Germany), and the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. A pivotal moment in his development was following the International Popper Cello Competition when he was invited to Bloomington, Indiana (USA), where he took lessons with Janos Starker and Csaba Onczay.
As a soloist, Jacob has performed in major concert halls worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Seoul Arts Center. He was twice invited to perform at the “Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra” in the Musikverein. His critically acclaimed debut CD led to numerous international radio and TV broadcasts (BBC, DR, BR, ORF, among others).
Previously, he held the “Cassadó Chair” as Professor of Cello at the Academia Marshall in Barcelona, becoming at that time one of the youngest professors of cello in Europe. He currently serves as Professor of Cello at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and Visiting International Chair of Cello at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.
In 2016, Jacob founded the Scandinavian Cello School (SCS), an innovative foundation supporting young musicians. Based on an 1800s farm near the UNESCO World Heritage site of Stevns Klint in Denmark, SCS welcomes around 150 guests annually. The school embraces a holistic approach to music education, combining outreach, community engagement, and self-sufficiency. In 2021, SCS went viral with a global reach of 2.1 billion views (source: Hypefactors), featured on the front page of The New York Times and covered by major media outlets worldwide. Today, SCS supports exceptional young talents aged 16–25 who regularly win top competitions, secure leading orchestra positions, and debut on major record labels.
Based in Denmark for over 15 years, Jacob is an active contributor to local life, serving on his village and harbour boards. Since recovering from stage 4 Burkitt’s Lymphoma in 2022, he has become a dedicated advocate for cancer charities and nurses’ rights. Outside of music, he is a passionate amateur chef and enjoys pursuing a self-sufficient lifestyle in the Danish countryside with his partner and their two young daughters.