Canon Shibata
Cello
Celebrated for her "technically flawless and extraordinarily expressive playing" (Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi), cellist Canon Shibata has established herself as one of the most notable Japanese cellists of the rising generation.
A native of Japan, Canon SHIBATA was the first prize winner of the 14th Viva Hall International Music Competition and the second prize winner of the 92nd Music Competition of Japan. In 2022, she won the Grand Prize at Canada’s Robert W. and G. Ann Corcoran Concerto Competition, and the following year, achieved first prize in the Duo and Chamber divisions of the GGS Chamber Music Competition.
As a soloist, Canon has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, and the Gumma Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with notable conductors including Joshua Weilerstein, Naoto Otomo, and Toshiaki Umeda. In October 2023, Canon gave the Japanese premiere of Fazil Say’s Cello Concerto, "Never Give Up," alongside Shimpei Sasaki and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.
In January 2023, Canon debuted her first album, "Canon Shibata in Concert," released under Octavia Records, and was featured in Record Geijutsu Magazine. That October, she also began writing serializations for the Japanese Classical Music Magazine, Sarasate.
Canon is currently pursuing her Master’s degree under the acclaimed pedagogue Hans Jørgen Jensen at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. She received her Bachelor’s of Music at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, studying under Andrés Díaz and Hans Jørgen Jensen.
Canon Shibata plays on a rare 1694 Giovanni Grancino cello generously loaned by the Munetsugu Collection, and uses an Eugène Sartory bow loaned by Mr. Kenji Nishimura. She is supported by the Ezoe Memorial Recruit Foundation, Rohm Music Foundation, Yamaha Music Foundation, Rotary Japan Showa, and the Tokuji Munetsugu Music Foundation, and has been awarded the Daiko Foundation’s Scholarship Study Prize.
CHANEL Pygmalion Days 2025 Artist.
(As of September 2024)
A native of Japan, Canon SHIBATA was the first prize winner of the 14th Viva Hall International Music Competition and the second prize winner of the 92nd Music Competition of Japan. In 2022, she won the Grand Prize at Canada’s Robert W. and G. Ann Corcoran Concerto Competition, and the following year, achieved first prize in the Duo and Chamber divisions of the GGS Chamber Music Competition.
As a soloist, Canon has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, and the Gumma Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with notable conductors including Joshua Weilerstein, Naoto Otomo, and Toshiaki Umeda. In October 2023, Canon gave the Japanese premiere of Fazil Say’s Cello Concerto, "Never Give Up," alongside Shimpei Sasaki and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.
In January 2023, Canon debuted her first album, "Canon Shibata in Concert," released under Octavia Records, and was featured in Record Geijutsu Magazine. That October, she also began writing serializations for the Japanese Classical Music Magazine, Sarasate.
Canon is currently pursuing her Master’s degree under the acclaimed pedagogue Hans Jørgen Jensen at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. She received her Bachelor’s of Music at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, studying under Andrés Díaz and Hans Jørgen Jensen.
Canon Shibata plays on a rare 1694 Giovanni Grancino cello generously loaned by the Munetsugu Collection, and uses an Eugène Sartory bow loaned by Mr. Kenji Nishimura. She is supported by the Ezoe Memorial Recruit Foundation, Rohm Music Foundation, Yamaha Music Foundation, Rotary Japan Showa, and the Tokuji Munetsugu Music Foundation, and has been awarded the Daiko Foundation’s Scholarship Study Prize.
CHANEL Pygmalion Days 2025 Artist.
(As of September 2024)
