Shi-An is a classical concert pianist, curator and composer of film, video and concert music. He has recorded four albums: Rounded Binary, Posthumous, water and [alloy]. His film credits include Flight of the Butterflies, Softly - A GIANT STEP and Are You Happy With The Answer?. He has received positive press coverage in WBEZ Chicago, The Reader, and I Care If You Listen, among others. He currently lives in Chicago, IL.
PRESS BIOS
Pronunciation: SHEE-AHN or SHR-AHN (世 安)
Pronouns: they/them/theirs or he/him/his
Pianist Concise Bio:
Described as “steely and granitic… dreamy and sensitive …a tour de force…” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), pianist Shi-An Costello has trailblazed a path truly unique, with repertoire that spans the aesthetic sensibilities of four centuries, from J.S. Bach to Morton Feldman, from Frederic Chopin to Brian Ferneyhough. In recent years, Mr. Costello has appeared in recital with members of Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Toronto, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Winnipeg, Honolulu, and Thunder Bay Symphonies, the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago, and the Musical Pathways Initiative of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In his youth, Costello was a piano and theory student under Vladimir Leyetchkiss, one of the last pupils of the legendary Heinrich Neuhaus, and a trombone student under Richard Schmitt, former principal of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Former faculty of Boston Conservatory at Berklee and New Music School, Costello currently teaches a small private studio in Chicago.
Composer Concise Bio:
Shi-An Costello (b. 1987) is a musician with deep roots in contemporary art practices. A versatile musician-composer, Shi-An's music has been described as “in such spare textures and hushed dynamics, the smallest development seems seismic” (Chicago Classical Review) and “...unafraid of deep ambiguities.” (The Reader) Costello's music tends towards the idea of ‘transcription,’ real and imaginary, and the failed attempts to recover lost or forgotten sound, touching on thematic ideas like existentialism, race/ethnicity, and the natural world. Past commissions include new works for Access Contemporary Music, Missing Piece, Brianna Matzke’s The Response Project, Chromic Duo, High Concept Labs, The _____ Experiment, masso quartet, artists G. Funo O’Kain and Sandra Binion, music for various independent films, and works for Marina Kifferstein, Magnus Villanueva, Jonathan Hannau, Cacie Miller, and Sarah Albu. His music has been played at Tribeca New Music and Mise-en Place New York, Asian American Jazz Festival of Chicago, Alliance Française de Chicago and Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati) and has been programmed by groups all over the world, such as International Contemporary Ensemble, ThingNY, Thin Edge New Music Collective, Timepoint Ensemble and Conservatoire de musique de Lausanne. Costello's creative work has been supported in the past by the Illinois and Canada Arts Councils and Walder Foundation.
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