SHAWN CONLEY
Bass, Composer
Hawaii born bassist and composer Shawn Conley grew up loving all types of music. This love of diversity of sound developed into a career that straddles many genres. He has been a member of the Silk Road Ensemble (founded by Yo-Yo Ma) for 10 years and is a member of the Brooklyn-based chamber orchestra The Knights. Recently, he won the principle bass position in the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Shawn will be releasing his first solo bass record this year, pairing Bach’s first cello suite with freely improvised pieces, exploring the connection between the two words.
You can hear Shawn on the GRAMMY Award-winning CD ‘Sing Me Home’ with Silk Road and Yo-Yo Ma as well as a new album with Rhiannon Giddens and the Silkroad Ensemble based on the American Railroad and the overlooked Indigenous and immigrant communities who built it. He can also be heard on The Knights catalog, including album “Azul,” and a new recording of composer Anna Clyne’s music, both featuring Yo-Yo Ma, and Beethoven and Brahms Violin Concerto featuring Gil Shaham.
As a studio musician, he has performed on multiple soundtracks including True Grit, Moonrise Kingdom, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Vietnam War documentary by Ken Burns and the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Shawn studied at Rice University with Paul Ellison and in Paris, France with Francois Rabbath. He currently lives in Honolulu with his wife Megan and their son, Osian.