“Doing what is expected isn’t something everybody does well. Following years of classical training at the highest level, Shannon Hayden’s very non traditional interpretation of cello performance is an example of why that is a good thing. Running her instrument through more electronic gear and amplification than some metal band with a stolen credit card probably wasn’t something anyone back at the conservatory had in mind, though it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise these days. Art has always found ways to embrace technology without becoming a slave to it and Shannon’s compositions owe as much to her brilliant mastery of the cello itself as they do to the latest technical innovations which greatly expand the range and complexity of the instrument. Occasional heavy outbursts of distortion with elements bordering noise punk are matched with layers of lush ambiance combining both current and traditional styles with all the virtuosity of a player redefining our expectations of maturing young prodigies. Some musicians make you feel good about where music is headed and Shannon Hayden is one of them”

"Still in her early 20's, this classical cello/guitar virtuoso composes and performs a visionary fusion of classical and electronic that is stunning and mind-expanding." - Jim Manion, WFHB Radio Music Director

From a performance of David Lang’s “Pierced” at Yale University Sprague Hall

“...but the star turn was Shannon Hayden’s spectacular cello playing in David Lang’s punishingly intense Pierced for three soloists plus strings, offering the piece all the style and brawn it deserves.” - David Stephen Johnson of the New Haven Advocate

Concert Reviews

Lippy Magazine -

“Shannon is what I determined as an evidently superior talent in the music world, her ability to entrance the whole room with her single instrument’s eerie sounds and clever use of a loop pedal was an incredible feat and one to never forget.” Read more

Gaper's Block - 

"Few sets start off as strong and as determined as Shannon Hayden's  did on Friday night. An overlapping recording of Edie Sedgwick stood as the introduction to "Silver Superstar," leading the way for what is probably the best introduction to Hayden's music. There was an immediate grandness to her electric cello, which she loops over and over to create even more depth than the beginning moments promise."  Read more