Cello & Piano Concert

Soul Strings Music presents Anna Shabalina on cello and Joseph Dowell on Piano.

Anna began learning music at the age of 9 with cello and piano. After a few years in public music school, Anna entered the Kazan Conservatoire Music College. At the same time, she learned the guitar and started to learn vocal techniques with tutors. She then continued her musical education at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (Moscow) as a cellist. While studying, Anna took part in various festivals, competitions and master classes with world-known musicians such as Arto Noras, Gustav Rivinius, Natalia Shakhovskaya, and others. She played many concerts with all kinds of chamber groups and as an invited artist for small Moscow orchestras. At the same time, she began her teaching career.Later, Anna lived in India for a few years, where she took part in many music concerts, festivals and “jams” as a cellist and singer. During that time, Anna also recorded a cello and musical saw parts for a few albums of Goan and international musicians.She moved to Canada in 2019 to explore new opportunities. Since she came to Canada, Anna has taken part in the Small World Music Emergence Cohort Program to learn more about the music industry in Canada, and she performed on small and bigger stages in Toronto including Art Starts To and DNA Project events as a solo musician and with classical chamber ensembles, such as Trio Teneramente and Untitled Ensemble, and pop bands.During and between lockdowns in Toronto, Anna collaborated with a Russian-Canadian pianist from Kazakhstan Milana Bunakova. They arranged and played tango and famous classical music together and managed to play a few small in-person and online concerts.Later on, Anna moved to the East Coast to go on her life and musical journey.

Joseph Dowell is a solo and Collaborative Pianist with over 25 years experience

He has been studying and playing piano in Halifax for most of his life. He is classically trained and followed the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) requirements to the ARCT level with honors. In 2011, Joseph received his piano performance degree at Dalhousie University. He received the Tietje Zonneveld scholarship in his third year and the following year received the William Tritt scholarship to participate in the Scotia Festival of Music’s Young Artists Program. After his undergrad he completed an additional year of advanced applied study and focused on piano pedagogy and collaborative piano. 

Joseph has performed many solo piano works over the years including Rachmaninoff’s 2nd piano concerto with the Dalhousie orchestra, Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ in concert, and many works by celebrated piano composers such as Bach, Scarlatti, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and more. In November 2023 he premiered his first contemporary piano piece written by composer James Rolfe. His favourites are romantic composers Liszt, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. Joseph is the resident pianist for Saint Mary’s University events and plays many solo pieces there. He also performs regularly at Christ Church Dartmouth as he is the pianist and organist there.