Sean Shibe Will Perform at The 92nd Street Y Next Month

The 92nd Street Y, New York will present Sean Shibe, guitar, a live, acoustic-electric performance, at Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnhold Center, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128 on November 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM. In-person tickets start at $45, with livestream access available for $25. 

One of the most original minds on his instrument, Shibe performs a concert for every guitar music lover - the program's first half on classical guitar, the second half on electric. A remarkably fluid artist, Shibe takes the audience from a Bach cello suite to two premieres of works by major contemporary composers, to a live performance against a pre-recorded tape of himself. The evening features the New York premiere of Thomas Adès' Forgotten Dances (the composer's first published work for an instrument other than keyboard),the New York premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning Tyshawn Sorey's new work For Bill Frissell, and Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint for guitar and pre-recorded track, written for and premiered by Pat Metheny.

For Bill Frissellwas commissioned by Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Britten Pears Arts, Vancouver Recital Society, and The 92nd Street Y, New York. This Tisch Music event is part of the Marshall Weinberg Classical Music Season.

Online streaming will be available for 72 hours following the performance.

Sean Shibe continues to establish himself as a boundary-pushing force in contemporary classical music. This past July, he performed the world premiere of Mark Simpson's electric guitar concerto, ZEBRA, at the 2025 BBC Proms. Highlights of the 2025/26 season include his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Adès; a residency at the Southbank Centre including his debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra led by Marin Alsop; a residency at Porto's Casa da Música; recital tours across the U.K., Europe, and U.S.; and the premieres of works by Tyshawn Sorey, Poul Ruders, Carola Bauckholt, and Ben Nobuto.

Recent engagements include a residency at Wigmore Hall, featuring a program marking Pierre Boulez's centenary; a U.K. tour with folk fiddler Aidan O'Rourke; collaboration with mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska on an exploration of the Orlando myth incorporating electronics, melodica, protest songs, and spoken word; and a critically acclaimed U.S. tour with tenor Karim Sulayman of their Grammy-nominated album Broken Branches.

Shibe works closely with a diverse range of musicians and ensembles. He has collaborated with The Hallé, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Northern Sinfonia; with conductors Krzysztof Urbański, Anja Bihlmaier, Delyana Lazarova, and Andrew Manze; flutist Adam Walker; violist Timothy Ridout; singers Allan Clayton, Ben Johnson, Robert Murray, and Robin Tritschler; and performance artist Marina Abramović, among others.

Shibe is an ardent supporter of contemporary music, working with composers to experiment with and expand the guitar repertoire. Premieres to date include works by Thomas Adès, Oliver Leith, Cassandra Miller, Sasha Scott, Daniel Kidane, David Fennessy, Shiva Feshareki, David Lang, Freya Waley-Cohen, and James Dillon. He is equally committed to the canon, pairing bold, new pieces with his own transcriptions of J.S. Bach's lute suites and 17th-century Scottish lute manuscripts.

Shibe's recordings have consistently garnered critical acclaim. His latest solo album, Profesión, received the 2024 BBC Music Magazine Award. Broken Branches was nominated for the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album, and his solo album Lost & Found won the OPUS Klassik 2023 Award for Solo Instrument. Vesper, featuring the world premiere of works for solo classical guitar by Adès, Birtwistle, and Dillon, is set for release in 2026 on Pentatone.