“When he starts to play, his sound evokes everything in that face, creating the mystique…But his brilliance as an accordionist stands on its own. It’s there in his compositions too: the instantly recognisable qualities, with the softness and intimacy of coolness. His playing has the same simplicity and ease. But, it’s the sound that everyone remembers…Nevertheless, Shane only wants to give his audience something sacred by communicating with the language of sound, provoking their emotions and imaginations.” 

Accordion World - Issue: Winter 1998

Shane Brogan comes from the west coast where he was born along with his twin brother in 1971. His late father, Neil Brogan, who played the accordion, was a huge influence on the young boy’s desire to play the accordion. So with his mother’s encouragement, he began to study the accordion at the age of nine with his teacher, Jim Hutcheon, who is a fine musician from Ayr.

Shane went on to study music at Napier University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with a diploma in music, specialising in the accordion, piano and composition. He was the very first accordionist ever to be accepted by the university.

Whilst studying in Edinburgh, he enrolled on to Tommy Smith’s "Jazz Creative Improvisation" course. This was the catalyst that encouraged him to develop his talent more seriously within jazz. Shane finally graduated from the pioneering jazz school, The National Jazz Institute of Scotland, under the directorship of Tommy Smith – the world-renowned tenor saxophonist. Again, Shane was the first accordionist to have ever studied there.

Shane gave his first public performance when he was nine years of age in his home town of Ayr, then gradually along the west coast with his twin brother, Paul, who plays keyboards and drums. When he was fifteen years of age, he joined The Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra as one of their accordionists, which led to him going with them on three major tours abroad to Canada, U.S.A. and all around Europe, performing on television and radio, whilst recording albums and videos. Lately, Shane has been giving concerts in Hong Kong and The Philippines.

More recently, Shane has established his own music business, which involves performing, teaching, composing, arranging, recording, writing, copying, publishing and producing, etc., as well as his very own music school, The Shane Brogan School of Music. His future ventures include, performing, recording and touring.

Shane is available for performing at all types of occasions, private teaching, long distance correspondence lessons, or for whatever else he can help you with, either through mail or the Internet. If you need any further advice about the above mentioned services, please do not hesitate to telephone, e-mail or write to Shane at anytime, as he would be happy to help you wherever possible.