As a musician equally at home in vocal and chamber music, collaborative pianist Shane McFadden is an active performer in Chicago and throughout the United States.

In collaboration with The Gershwin Initiative and the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Shane performed with Eric Owens and Anthony McGill on George Gershwin’s personal Steinway. To kick off the first songSLAM Chicago, he shared the piano bench with composer Lori Laitman to perform selections from her song cycle Are Women People? with Fourth Coast Ensemble. He has also accompanied master classes of Andrew Garland and Joelle Harvey presented by the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago.

His most recent operatic engagements include music directing opera scenes at Atlantic Music Festival’s Vocal Institute, vocal coaching for Roosevelt University’s productions of Cinderella, Benedicta, and King Arthur, accompanying dance rehearsals for Roosevelt’s productions of Bagatelle and The Finishing School, and accompanying staging rehearsals for Evanston Chamber Opera Company’s Doctor Miracle and Susannah’s Secret. He was also a vocal coach for University of Michigan’s of Le nozze di Figaro, a production for which he also performed harpsichord continuo with conductor Chelsea Gallo.

As the recipient of the Martin Katz Fellowship for SongFest 2017, Shane performed in a series of song recitals at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, including a Songmakers' Almanac recital coached and narrated by Graham Johnson.

Shane is a founding member of the Saros Trio, an ensemble dedicated to exploring the vast range of works for clarinet, violin, and piano. The Saros Trio made their competitive debut at the 2018 Briggs Chamber Music Competition, where they won second prize, and with their performance of sb³  by Corey Dundee, they received the honor of best performance of a piece by a University of Michigan composer.

Shane received his Bachelor of Music degree in piano at the University of Kansas, where he studied with Jack Winerock and received the Carl and Frances Haven Preyer Award for Outstanding Graduating Pianist. He completed his Master of Music degree in collaborative piano at the University of Michigan, where he studied with Martin Katz. Shane is currently based in Chicago.