‘…the most perfect delivery I've ever heard live of the treacherous horn solo from Isaac Shieh (in the bass aria "Quoniam tu solus sanctus"). It might seem invidious to talk of stars when this is all about ensemble, but Shieh truly crowned the whole achievement.’ - David Nice, The Arts Desk
Headshot by Dan Nubian, 2021
Isaac Shieh is a New Zealand hornist, composer and researcher of minority ethnic Chinese background. Described as a “natural horn virtuoso” (The Horn Player), he frequently collaborates with composers and performance artists to create repertoire and performances that push the technical and musical boundaries of the instrument.
An active collaborator, Isaac was a Musician in Residence with Paraorchestra for 2024-25, in which he was the creative director and composer for two short dance films, The Breath After and A Body I Can’t Hold, which explore lived experiences with disability. He has also worked with Simeon Barclay for “The Ruin”, commissioned and presented by The Roberts Institute of Art, and composed original music for Ann Wall’s “Fragmented”, commissioned and presented by ClimArts and premiered at the 5th United Nations World Ocean Conference in Nice.
A performer with a diverse portfolio, Isaac’s solo album, Caprice Reimagined, will be released by New Focus Recordings on 11th July, 2025 featuring 12 new commissions for solo natural horn. He has also appeared as a soloist at the Edinburgh International Festival, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi, Bloomsbury Festival, and with the London Chamber Orchestra. Isaac has performed as guest principal horn with Irish Baroque Orchestra, Croatian Baroque Ensemble, and Academy of St Martin in the Fields to name a few. In addition, he performs regularly with Chineke! Orchestra, Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and Paraorchestra.
As a researcher, Isaac has presented at the Royal Musical Association, European Platform for Artistic Research in Music, 12th Biennial International Conference on Music Since 1900, as well as at universities and conservatoires around the world. He was also a panelist in Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRe), Coventry University’s In Conversation: Dance and Silence Panel Discussion.
Outside of music, Isaac is a current England International in the sport of para bowls as a director, and is a World Bowls Championships bronze medallist.
Caprice Reimagined
In 1835, Jacques-François Gallay regarded as “one of the last great hand horn players,” composed Douze Grands Caprices which embody the capabilities of the instrument in its most virtuosic form. In the past few decades there has been a renewed interest in hand horn playing, with an increasing number of horn players now pursuing historical horns as a specialisation. A new generation of players has emerged, capable of pushing beyond the boundaries and perceived capabilities encapsulated by Gallay in his Caprices. This project aims to expand the repertoire for hand horn and reflect the current capabilities of the modern-day hand horn player and the diverse musical aesthetics of our time: a set of 12 new works for solo hand horn – in response to Gallay’s Caprices – were commissioned from 12 living composers.
The project is supported by Arts Council England as well as The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust.
