At the age 5, Shepherd began studying cello at the University of Texas String Project where he was fortunate to study with several wonderful teachers including Daniel Kopp.  His family moved to Chattanooga in 2020, and he began studying with the formidable Annie Camp.  While in middle school at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, he participated in both the Intermediate and Advanced Strings Orchestras and served as the Principal Cellist in the Lower East Tennessee Junior Orchestra Clinic.  He currently attends the Baylor School and serves as the Principal Cellist in the Chattanooga Youth Symphony.  Shepherd is the second of seven brothers and enjoys, in addition to Dvorák and Scriabin, Alice in Chains, Seal, and the Bee Gees.