She was born on July 21, 1936 in Noelville, Ontario Canada and was adopted by French Canadians Ovila and Beatrice Seguin. Shirley is the cherished aunt of Theresa Beauregard Sheppard, Raymond Beauregard, Michael Beauregard, and Elaine Beauregard Evans; she is the sister of Jeannette Seguin Beauregard and she is the cousin of many; Shirley also leaves behind many friends who were like an extension of her family whom she loved and touched deeply.
Shirley was a devout Catholic and a staunch supporter of many Catholic charities including Capuchin Franciscans and numerous others. Everyone who knew Shirley would agree that she lived her life like the Bible verse, Ephesians 4:32 – “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” Shirley was an extraordinary musician and genuinely believed that her accomplishments in music were a gift from God. She has been quoted to have said that her life goal in music was “ to glorify God and the church with music as the inspiration.”
At the early age of four Shirley displayed a prodigious talent for the piano. She was admitted at the age of five to Bendetson Netzorg’s School of Music in Detroit, Michigan and by the time she was ten she had given her first recital and soon thereafter appeared as a soloist with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. After graduating in 1954 from St. Gregory School in Detroit MI, she attended Marygrove College where she studied piano with Walter Schrott. She went on to win numerous national piano competitions including the 1956 Grinnell Brothers $1000 Scholarship, awarded to the most talented student in the state of Michigan. While at Marygrove College Shirley performed with many Michigan symphonies as well as the Scandinavian and Brussels symphonies. In 1958, after graduating from Marygrove College with a Bachelor of Music Degree, cum laude, she received a Fulbright scholarship to continue her musical studies with the noted French pianist Alfred Cortot and Jules Gentiles at l’Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris where she earned the Licence de Concert. Shirley continued to perform in concerts and competitions, receiving a silver medal at the Queen Elizabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels and a third grand prize in the Magda Tagliaferro Piano Competition in Paris. Shirley was also awarded the prize for the best interpretation of French music. In 1970, “My Fair Lady” composer, Frederick Loewe, was so impressed after hearing Shirley perform in New York that he personally planned for a concert in Palm Springs, CA.
In 1984 Shirley was selected to represent the United States as an Artistic Ambassador whose goal was to reach the hearts and minds of people through music by displaying America’s best talent in the performing arts world. After her selection she was quoted saying: “my expectations are to give the best of myself and to try to bring spiritual beauty. Also, I feel that I will be greatly enriched by knowing other cultures at a more in-depth and personal level”. In 1986 she was the guest of First Lady Nancy Reagan when she performed at the White House. In 1987 she returned to the nation’s capital to perform in the Artistic Ambassador Concert Series at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.
Shirley’s career took her around the world including Calcutta (Kolkata), New Delhi, Bombay (Mumbai), Kathmandu, Seoul, London, Paris, Sri Lanka, Beijing, Shanghai, Luxembourg, Prague, Rome, Ankara, Belgrade, Lisbon, Switzerland as well as throughout the United States and Canada. Her audiences included a broad range of attendees including Cabinet members, diplomats, royals, heads of states, world renowned musicians, music critics, etc. She was the author of numerous articles published in a broad range of music magazines and was mentioned in Abraham Chasin’s book “Speaking of Pianists.”
In addition to her work as a performing pianist, Shirley shared her musical knowledge with established and aspiring operatic singers as their vocal coach and accompanist. She also held professional positions as choirmaster and organist for various organizations in New York City. A meaningful joy for Shirley was instilling in her young audience a love for music. She accomplished this admirably resulting in her young students bonding lovingly with her.
Reviews of Shirley’s performances throughout Europe, Canada, the United States as well as the far east were consistently filled with praise. Adjectives used to describe Shirley’s performances included “Brilliant, Remarkable, Triumphant, Outstanding, Elegant style, Extraordinary talent.”
All who knew Shirley were immediately charmed by her incredible wit and her child-like infectious laughter. Her laughter will be deeply missed but Shirley Anne is now certainly enchanting the angelic choir in heaven!
Please join us in celebrating her life:
Wednesday August 25, 2021, at 1:00 pm
The Church of the Blessed Sacrament,
152 West 71st Street, New York.
Two of Shirley’s favorite prayers:
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing frighten you.
Everything except God passes away.
God alone is sufficient.
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