John Sheard is a Canadian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

, producer and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

, who throughout his thirty year career has recorded and performed with many North American artists, and is most recognized for his work on

Stuart McLean Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program ''The Vinyl Cafe''.Vinyl Cafe The Vinyl Cafe is an hour-long radio variety show hosted by Stuart McLean that was broadcast on CBC Radio and was syndicated to approximately 80 U.S. public radio stations through Public Radio International. It aired on Sunday at noon EST and ...

''.

Career

Sheard has served as the music director for

'' touring orchestra since 1998, and has also been the music director for many

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

programs, including

Peter Gzowski Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...

's "Red River Rally" Morningside show. Sheard's recording history has led to over 200 records, as both solo and backup, with such artists as

Rita MacNeil Rita MacNeil (May 28, 1944 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray t ...

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in S ...

Sylvia Tyson Sylvia may refer to: People *Sylvia (given name) * Sylvia (singer), American country music and country pop singer and songwriter * Sylvia Robinson, American singer, record producer, and record label executive *Sylvia Vrethammar, Swedish singer cre ...

Dan Hill Daniel Grafton Hill IV (born 3 June 1954) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major international hits with his songs " Sometimes When We Touch" and " Can't We Try", a duet with Vonda Shepard, as well as a number of other chart ...

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and th ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Mary Margaret O'Hara Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the List of years in country music, 1970s and 1980s. Nearl ...

Colm Wilkinson Colm Wilkinson (born 5 June 1944), also known as C. T. Wilkinson, is an Irish tenor and actor who is best known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in ''Les Misérables'' (in the West End and Broadway) and for taking the title role i ...

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Willie P. Bennett and

The Henrys The Henrys is a Toronto-based, "nearly instrumental" quartet. Their music features the sound of an antique slide guitar called a kona (and other slide guitars), along with various other instruments, including pump organ, conch shell, guitars, vo ...

. Sheard has composed and/or arranged for various artists, including

Murray McLauchlan Murray Edward McLauchlan, (born 30 June 1948) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. He is best known for his Canadian hits "Farmer's Song," "Whispering Rain," and "Down by the Henry Moore". Early life Mc ...

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blu ...

The Nylons The Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's " Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' " The Lion Sleeps Toni ...

Shirley Eikhard Shirley Rose Eikhard (7 November 1955 – 15 December 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter. Although moderately successful in Canada as a performer in her own right, she had her greatest Canadian and international success as a songwriter for ...

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and '' Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), '' ...

, Caitlin Hanford and

Quartette In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

. His work has appeared on various U.S. television shows, including ''

A&E Biography ''Biography'' is an American documentary television series and media franchise created in the 1960s by David L. Wolper and owned by A&E Networks since 1987. Each episode depicts the life of a notable person with narration, on-camera interviews, ...

'', '' Sunset Beach'', ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and ...

'', ''

Sesame Park ''Sesame Park'' is the Canadian version of ''Sesame Street'' co-produced by Sesame Workshop and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The series originally functioned as a re-edited version of the original American series, and was named ''Sesame ...

'',

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

, ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. The soap, which aired on ...

'', '' General Hospital'' and ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

''. As a producer Sheard has worked with

The Guess Who The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of " Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After ...

Buster Poindexter David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...

, Gregg Lawless, Caitlin Hanford,

The Good Brothers The Good Brothers are a Canadian country, bluegrass and folk music group originating from Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band's core members are Brian Good (guitar), his twin brother Bruce Good (autoharp) and younger brother Larry Good (banjo). B ...

and more.

Solo

While he always reported to enjoy working with great singers and players, he has also recorded some of his own music. Sheard's first solo CD, ''Jerusalem'', consists largely of pieces that he performed at Vinyl Cafe concerts across Canada. Sheard is said to be grateful to Stuart McLean for giving him musical

carte blanche A blank cheque in the literal sense is a cheque that has no monetary value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative sense, it is used to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or vague, and theref ...

on his show which was largely responsible for the creation of ''Jerusalem'' and his second CD, ''Nocturnus''. Sheard's disc ''Polyhymnia'' is a collection of hymns and carols, featuring selections gleaned from the 1938 revision of the 'Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada', and includes Sheard's moving rendition of The Coventry Carol. His latest disc, ''88'', so named for the 88 keys on an average piano

musical keyboard A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, s ...

, is composed primarily of pieces composed by Sheard. It was recorded at

Metalworks Studios Metalworks Studios is a music recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1978 by Gil Moore of the Canadian rock group, Triumph. Over a span of 40 years, Metalworks has been the recipient of Canadian Music Week's ...

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...

Personal life

He is the brother of novelist

Sarah Sheard Sarah Sheard (born February 13, 1953, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian novelist. Sheard published her first novel, ''Almost Japanese'', in 1985. Her latest novel, her first political fiction, came out in fall, 2012. She has been a creative writ ...

and singer-songwriter

Mia Sheard Mia Sheard is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter. Sheard was classically trained at the Royal Conservatory of Music."Crowd chatter matters little to Sheard". ''Edmonton Journal'', October 24, 2002. She released her debut album ''With Love and Squal ...

, and the great-great-grandson of

Joseph Sheard Joseph Sheard (11 October 1813 – 30 August 1883) was an English architect and politician. He was Mayor of Toronto from 1871 to 1872. Born in Hornsea, near Hull, Yorkshire, England, his father died when he was only six weeks old, leaving four you ...

, a former

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

. Sheard currently lives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheard, John Canadian radio personalities Canadian record producers Living people 21st-century Canadian pianists Year of birth missing (living people)