Thursday, August 6, 2026
6:00pm – 8:00pm

6:00pm: Wine & Light Refreshments
6:30pm: DMFTalk

TOWN HALL
Del Mar Civic Center
1050 Camino Del Mar

Innovative performer and composer Shannon Hayden has carved a distinctive niche in the music world, touring globally for over a decade with her unique setup: a 19th-century cello coupled with pickups and electronic modifications. Trained by legends like Janos Starker (Indiana University) and Aldo Parisot (Yale University), Hayden’s musicality has been equally shaped by a lifelong passion for experimental, electronically manipulated soundscapes. A “one-woman orchestra” (New York Music Daily) who defies musical convention, Hayden has spent the last decade quietly revolutionizing what’s possible with her instrument while reshaping the intersection of tradition and technology.

In this discussion and live performance, Shannon Hayden shares of a life path forged by creativity, innovation, and activism as she offers aspiring musicians and community audiences alike an honest portrait of what a life in the arts can look like. The evening unfolds as both an intimate conversation and an immersive concert as the audience experience a sonic evolution from Hayden’s neo classical work, to electro-ambient soundscapes, and from the works of others to her own compositions. The journey builds toward an exclusive look into “Concert for the Whales,” an unforgettable musical event on the water created alongside sailor and events producer Alejandra Castañeda. It is a visionary project that proves music is a living force, placing live art in direct dialogue with marine life, scientific research, and our shared environment. As fellow disciples of experience, join us for this unique evening of storytelling and sonic journeys.