Shaun joined the Phoenix Symphony as Principal Percussion in November of 2013. He began his studies at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. Shaun went on to complete a master’s degree at the University of Houston, and received an Artist Diploma from DePaul University in Chicago. His teachers included Ted Atkatz, Brian Del Signore, She-e Wu, James Ross and Richard Brown. While in school, Shaun was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Mr. Tilburg’s previous position was as the Principal Percussionist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played from 2007 until 2011. It was in Hong Kong that Shaun met his future wife, Madoka Suzuki. The pair moved back to the United States in the summer of 2011 and were married on a balcony overlooking Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
Shaun has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and San Antonio Symphony. He has received fellowships with the Tanglewood Music Center, National Repertoire Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Opera of the Ozarks and Music Academy of the West.
In 2016, riding the success of his snare drum method book ‘The Regimen’, Shaun founded a music publication company called Pocket Publications. With 20 publications and growing, Pocket Publications has quickly established itself as an innovator in the industry. Shaun’s compositions have premiered all over the world, including the USA, Canada, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Norway.
In his spare time, Shaun enjoys playing with his dogs (Dmitri and Hana), reading unnecessarily dense literature and learning about dinosaurs with his son, Keiji.
Mr. Tilburg has given master classes at the AZ Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion, the Colburn School, the New York Day of Xylophone and has also given classes in many universities across Asia. He joined the percussion faculty at Arizona State University in 2014 and the faculty of the Lynn Conservatory of Music in 2016.
Shaun is currently endorsed by the good people of Zildjian, Vic Firth and Dragonfly Percussion.
