About

Short Bio

Shelby Lock is a pianist, composer, and audio engineer on a mission to break boundaries and inspire others. As a pianist, she is known for her expressive playing and genre-bending style. Her music evokes her mountain surroundings through hints of folk styles blended with cinematic melodies that transport the listener to another time and place.

In 2016, Shelby made her orchestral debut as a composer with the premiere of her piece "Out of Ashes" by the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra.  It went on to receive subsequent performances and be Finalist for the 2017 American Prize in Composition (student division). Shelby is also in-demand as a mixing engineer for acoustic and classical artists from throughout the States and beyond. Shelby’s goal in life is to use her music to bring healing and positivity to her listeners.

Long Bio

Shelby Lock is a pianist, composer, and audio engineer on a mission to break boundaries and inspire others. As a piano artist, she is known for her expressive playing and genre-bending style. Shelby trained classically for thirteen years while simultaneously playing by ear and lead sheet in various local bands. As a lifelong nature lover, her original compositions evoke her mountain surroundings through hints of folk styles blended with cinematic melodies that transport the listener to another time and place.

In 2016, Lock made her orchestral debut as a composer with the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra’s premiere of her piece, “Out of Ashes.” It went on to receive subsequent performances and be Finalist for the 2017 American Prize in Composition (Student Division). She was also invited to become a member of the Nashville Composer Collective that same year. In 2019, she completed a year of graduate study in Composition at the Chicago College of Performing Arts where she oversaw the electroacoustic studios as Composition Assistant.   

She is the founder of River Rock Records, which is Central Virginia's only recording and mixing studio dedicated to acoustic music. Since 2019, she has also served as Lead Engineer for Chicago-based classical recording company Atlas Arts Media. With a B.S. in Audio Engineering Technology and a B.M. in Music Composition summa cum laude from Nashville’s Belmont University, Shelby enjoys using her multi-faceted skill set to help musicians bring their recording projects to life. 

As an engineer and artist who happens to be a disabled woman, Shelby is passionate about making the music industry more inclusive. She currently serves on the Editorial Task Force of the Audio Engineering Society’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which aims to highlight the work of audio engineers from under-represented groups. She also serves on the Partnerships Committee of RAMPD and the Community Advisory Board of the Neuroimmune Foundation to help raise awareness of encephalitis, ME/CFS, and related conditions.

Shelby’s goal in life is to use her music to bring healing and positivity to her listeners.