Selected Press, Features, & News
Symphonina Foundation Podcast Interview by David Fogel - September 21, 2026
Composer David Fogel interviews Shelby about her journey through life and music, her recovery against the odds from M.E., and the process of recording "A Matter of Time: Perseverancia" with Raniero Palm's Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble.
The Cinematic Defiance of Shelby Lock's "A Matter of Time: Perseverancia" - Music Arena GH - September 16, 2026
"Shelby Lock and the Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble have joined forces on 'A Matter of Time: Perseverancia,' a sweeping modern classical single that turns physical gravity into something buoyant...
The piece opens in total vulnerability: a solitary, tentative sequence of piano notes drifting through gentle melancholy, like someone gingerly testing their balance on fresh ice. Soon, the strings slip in. The melody begins to coil and surge, swelling into a cinematic, unapologetically grand climax where grief and stubborn will collide head-on. Just as the emotional mass crests, the orchestration cascades softly down into an exhausted, peaceful resolution..."
"A Matter of Time: Perseverancia" Review - Haymai.com - September 13, 2026
"Engineering, mixing, and mastering the track herself, Lock utilizes her dual background as a conservatory-trained pianist and seasoned audio engineer to balance delicate solo passages against rich, stirring orchestral swells. Premiered in its early form at the Kennedy Center, the final production turns years of personal hardship into an uplifting, cinematic testament to hope and human endurance..."
"A Matter of Time: Perseverancia" Review - Jyla Blog - September 12, 2026
"Musically, the composition balances intricate classical structure with profound emotional weight. Recorded using a vintage Yamaha C7 grand piano captured via a ten-microphone immersive array, the piano performance feels intimate, rich, and deeply personal. The Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble adds expansive, sweeping warmth, seamlessly joining the performance despite being recorded across continents. The interplay between the piano’s delicate melodies and the swelling string section crafts a stirring contrast between quiet vulnerability and soaring strength.
What works exceptionally well is the seamless integration of technical engineering and artistic expression. Performing, composing, and engineering the mix herself, Lock ensures that every dynamic shift and room texture serves the narrative arc. The music unfolds with a natural patience, allowing moments of quiet reflection to build organically into passionate, uplifting climaxes that resonate long after the final note..."
Shelby Lock’s “A Matter of Time: Perseverancia” Turns Struggle Into a Powerful Story of Perseverance - September 9, 2026
"Shelby Lock’s 'A Matter of Time: Perseverancia' is a deeply emotional piece about persevering when life is too difficult. The music evolves in a way that is subtle and mysterious. Instead of singing, Lock communicates emotions of struggle, hope and determination through the piano and strings. The composition slowly builds up to a feeling of movement, as if the music is fighting against all odds to move forward.
The word ‘Perseverancia’ – which translates to perseverance – is an apt title for this piece. It’s not just a song about tough times, it feels like a song about how brave you must be to keep going when you don’t know what’s next..."
"A Matter of Time: Perseverancia" Review - Roadie Music Magazine - September 8, 2026
"Between moments of intensity and low notes and others that flow to tinkling sounds of a delicate sharpness, the instrument, along with the cello, makes A Matter Of Time: Perseverance have a format of pure determination and perseverance. A non-verbal dialogue of a visceral turn of overcoming."
[Review translated from Portuguese.]
Shelby Lock Finds Strength in "A Matter of Time: Perseverancia" - September 8, 2026
"Sheby Lock’s “A Matter of Time: Perseverancia” examines one of the hardest kinds of strength, the ability to keep going when the future seems impossible to reach because of your circumstances..."
“'A Matter of Time: Perseverancia' is a moving, meticulously crafted piece that carries real weight behind its title, a genuine testament to endurance on both sides of its collaboration."
Read the full Review on MusicOnTheRox.com
CanvasRebel: "Meet Shelby Lock" - April 16, 2026
In this interview with CanvasRebel, I got to discuss what it was like to move across the country and found my Santa Cruz recording studio Silver Moon Sound.
"Two years ago, I was living in rural central Virginia... I was working, but being so isolated from all the major music hubs meant I wasn’t progressing in my career as much as I’d hoped. So I did the cliche thing: I up and moved to the other side of the country to start over. I chose Santa Cruz because of its rich arts and music culture, its natural beauty, and its location. It’s just over an hour to San Francisco and most of the Bay Area, and only a five-hour drive to LA..."
Boulder Creek, CA KBCZ's The Bee (Elisabeth Carlisle) did a segment about me, my music, and my music education journey as part of Music in Our Schools Month on her show: The Art of the Song. She also played my solo piano piece “A Matter of Time.” Listen to the full recording in the player above.
The Recording Academy Chicago Chapter P&E Wing: Craft Session Series - Home Studio Set-up 101 - March 18, 2026
I was a panelist on the Recording Academy P&E Wing Craft Session: “Home Studio Setup 101” presented by the Recording Academy Chicago and Texas Chapters and the Academy's Songwriters and Composers Wing. Fellow panelists were Tim Palmer and Patrick Conlon, moderated by Dani Deahl.
The event description says: “This session breaks down the essentials of building a functional and reliable home studio. The program focuses on practical, budget-conscious choices alongside scalable solutions that grow with your needs. Attendees will gain clarity on how to optimize their setup for recording, writing, and producing, helping them create a workspace that supports creativity, consistency, and great results.
I was able to share insights and practical tips gained from creating my own studio Silver Moon Sound in a residential setting––a space designed not only to host clients but also to compose and record my own music.
Nashville Voyager: An Inspired Conversation with Shelby Lock of Santa Cruz - November 20, 2025
I was interviewed for a second time by Nashville Voyager, in a profile of my new recording studio Silver Moon Sound. We touched on everything from what sets apart Silver Moon Sound from other studios, to what mixing and mastering is and isn't, to taking risks in your career, to defining success, to how I advocate for disability inclusion in music both with and without words.
"The industry tries to tell you that your worth comes from how many followers you have, how many awards you’ve won, and how much money you’re making. But as artists and humans, our worth is inherent, and there is so much more to having a fulfilling music career than tangible, external metrics. I am an ambitious person with big goals, but for me what will always be the most important career-wise is getting to work on interesting projects that are artistically fulfilling with people I enjoy working with––ideally on projects that will still be enjoyed or have some kind of impact a few decades from now. In other words, for me the music and the people will always come first..."
RAA+D And RAMPD: Recording Academy Leaders On Disability, Neurodivergence & Inclusivity In Music - July 22, 2025
"One important step to being more inclusive is to stop assuming none of your collaborators or employees is neurodivergent or has a non-visible disability. Just because a disability isn’t apparent doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Also include accessibility information on your studio/office/event space website to send a message that people with disabilities are considered and welcomed." -Shelby Lock
Shelby Lock Elected as a Governor on the Recording Academy / GRAMMYs® Chicago Chapter Board - June 2024
Shelby was elected by her music industry peers in the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy / GRAMMYs® to serve as a Governor. Each of the Academy's twelve chapters has 20-30 governors who serve both members of the Academy and the greater music community through leadership and volunteer work. Her election reflects her peers' respect for her contributions to music and her track-record of leadership and advocacy in the industry.
"A Matter of Time by Shelby Lock" - One World Music Radio
Review by Steve Sheppard, November 17, 2022
"Shelby Lock has manifested one of the most inventive, exciting, and powerful solo piano pieces I have heard for utterly ages, with her latest single A Matter Of Time... What a pleasure it was to be allowed well over 4 minutes of musical mastery to just enjoy this breath-taking encounter. A Matter of Time by Shelby Lock is something amazing to experience,"
Kennedy Center Debut: Open Doors Festival - August 20, 2022
I made my debut at The Kennedy Center, performing my pieces “Acadia” and “A Matter of Time” as part of Open Circle Theatre’s Open Doors Festival. The Open Doors Festival is a celebration of artists of all disciplines who are disabled and/or d/Deaf. The performance can be viewed on YouTube at this link.
Wavy Music News by The Wavy Awards features artists from historically excluded groups such as women, LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC, and people with disabilities. This week, they featured Shelby Lock's new single "A Matter of Time" as part of their ongoing efforts to highlight diverse talent and as part of ME/CFS Awareness Week. They shared both the single and the story behind it. The Wavy Awards are a partner of RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), of which Shelby is a professional member.
Nashville Voyager interviews Shelby Lock about her career so far and where she's going next. It also discusses the obstacles she has overcome along the way:
"I am a mix engineer, composer, and pianist. I specialize in mixing acoustic music genres such as classical and folk... I’m always thinking in terms of how to use my skills to support what an artist is trying to say. I’m told that what sets me apart is that my mixes are very musical, and I’m detail-oriented without sacrificing the big picture. As a composer, I understand how to build and shape a song, and as an engineer, I know what techniques I can best use to do that..."
Alumni Interview with Shelby Lock
presented by the Belmont University Audio Engineering Society Student Section and Belmont Women in Audio - April 4, 2022
Event description: AES and Women in Audio are excited to co-sponsor a talk from Belmont graduate Shelby Lock! Shelby is a mix engineer, composer, and pianist who works with acoustic and classical artists throughout America and beyond. She is Owner of the Charlottesville-area recording and mixing studio River Rock Records and Lead Engineer for Chicago-based Atlas Arts Media. A three-time Finalist in the American Prize in Composition (Student Division) and Winner of the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2016 Composition Competition, Shelby holds a B.S. in Audio Engineering Technology and a B.M. in Music Composition from Belmont University. Shelby was recently featured in the AES Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Editorial Initiative, highlighting her work and achievements alongside advocacy for disabled engineers.
Audio Engineering Society, Diversity and Inclusion Editorial Initiative: Shelby Lock - February 15, 2021
Shelby Lock is featured in the first edition of the AES's Diversity and Inclusion Editorial Initiative. She shares her story of being a working audio engineer with a disability and offers suggestions for how to make the audio industry more inclusive.
"Above all else, accessibility means not making negative assumptions about a person’s skills just because they happen to be disabled... Being able-bodied is not the ultimate litmus test for being a good engineer. We must let people sink or swim in our industry not based on their health status, but based on their skills, work ethic, and attitude."
Audio Engineering Society Inside Track - 3rd Quarter 2020
Garry Gottlieb, VP for the Eastern USA/Canada Region interviews prominent AES members for their work both inside and outside the Society. Shelby Lock is interviewed as Virginia Events Coordinator for the District of Columbia Section in an exclusive video for AES members.
Belmont University: "Lock Named as Finalist for American Prize in Composition" - March 12, 2018
Belmont University: "Lock Receives Multiple Recognitions for Classical Composition Work" - April 7, 2017
The Daily Progress: "Albemarle County Composer's New String Quartet Will Premiere at Wintergreen Festival" - July 9, 2015
The Piano Cloud: "Editor's Choice: Shelby Lock 'Lirio'" - December 28, 2014
“'Lirio,' which is the first release from a forthcoming brand new piano solo album from Shelby, is a wonderfully beautiful and refreshing piece which manages to combine an epic flow with a genuine sense of optimism that one would expect from the young artist enjoying her first flush of recognition and success." - Andrew Eales
WINA 1070: Interview with Lily Garay and Shelby Lock - November 25, 2012
GRAMMY® in the Schools: "Open Mic Night Dazzles" - July 14, 2012
"The highlights of the night came from several individual artists, who stood out even amongst their exceptional peers. Shelby Lock’s 'Airborne' composition on piano was haunting, peaceful, and beautiful. The intricate notes and patterns seemed to all fit together into a complex harmony..." - Nicole A. Powell