A San Diego native, René Shapiro joined the Baltimore Symphony in 2002 as 2nd Trumpet then to his current position, as Assistant Principal Trumpet in 2005. René’s strong passion and talent for music has brought him to travel internationally performing with prestigious orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonia di Milano in Italy, the Namdo Festival Orchestra in South Korea, the Shira International Festival Orchestra in Israel, and many more. He previously studied with former Principal Trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charlie Schlueter at the New England Conservatory of Music and with David Hickman at Arizona State University. In addition to performing on stage, René also enjoys teaching – sharing his expertise as a former Adjunct Trumpet Faculty at Towson University – as well as teaching many students of all ages.

Outside of his time at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, René enjoys cooking delicious meals for his wife and two children. His daughter, Tehya, refers to him as a Master Chef in disguise due to his love for cooking and his flavorful kitchen experiments. He also enjoys going on adventure trips, especially going hiking with his family and his dogs, Rusty and Baxter.