Shelby Lock

Shelby Lock is an audio engineer, pianist, and composer on a mission to break  boundaries and inspire others. She is the founder of River Rock Records,  which is Central Virginia's only recording and mixing studio dedicated  to acoustic music. Since 2019, she has also served as Lead Engineer for  Chicago-based classical recording company Atlas Arts Media. With a B.S. in Audio Engineering Technology and a B.M. in Music Composition summa cum laude from Nashville’s Belmont University, Shelby enjoys using her  multi-faceted skill set to help musicians bring their recording projects  to life.

As a piano artist, she is  known for her expressive playing and genre-bending style. Shelby trained  classically for thirteen years while simultaneously playing by ear and  lead sheet in various local bands. As a lifelong nature lover, her  original compositions evoke her mountain surroundings through hints of  folk styles blended with cinematic melodies that transport the listener  to another time and place.

In 2016,  Lock made her orchestral debut as a composer with the Nashville  Philharmonic Orchestra’s premiere of her piece, “Out of Ashes.” It went  on to receive subsequent performances and be Finalist for the 2017  American Prize in Composition (Student Division). She was also invited  to become a member of the Nashville Composer Collective that same year.  In 2019, she completed a year of graduate study in Composition at the  Chicago College of Performing Arts where she oversaw the electroacoustic  studios as Composition Assistant.

As  an engineer and artist who happens to be a disabled woman, Shelby is  passionate about making the music industry more inclusive. She currently  serves on the Editorial Task Force of the Audio Engineering Society’s  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which aims to highlight the  work of audio engineers from under-represented groups. She also serves  on the Community Advisory Board of the Neuroimmune Foundation to help  raise awareness of encephalitis, ME/CFS, and related conditions.

Shelby’s goal in life is to use her music to bring healing and positivity to her listeners.