Born: June 22, 1911 (New York, NY)

Died: October 25, 2007 (New York, NY)

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Harvey Shapiro was an American cellist and teacher. He began playing the cello at age 7 with Willem Willeke, and at age 9, he won a scholarship to study at the Institute of Musical Art. Upon graduation he won the Loeb Prize in 1932, as well as the Willem Willeke Scholarship to continue graduate studies at Juilliard, with a fellowship in conducting.

In 1935, he was named a winner in the Walter W. Naumburg Competition making his NY debut in Town Hall on November 11, 1935, under the auspices of Naumburg.

He was chosen by Arturo Toscanini to play in the cello section of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, becoming its principal cellist in 1943 to 1946. He performed prolifically as a studio and chamber musician. In 1947, he was a founding member of the WQXR Radio Quartet as well as a founding member of the Primrose Quartet and NBC Trio with violinist Josef Gingold and pianist Earl Wild.

From 1970, Shapiro turned his focus to teaching and at the recommendation of Leonard Rose become a longtime member of the Juilliard faculty teaching there for more than thirty years. He was referred to by students and colleagues as a "cello doctor."