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Shane Anthony Wiebe was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1983, the youngest of three children. At an early age Shane’s family packed up and moved to Abbotsford, British Columbia, where he’s lived ever since.

All through his younger years, Shane sang in church choirs and at youth groups, but when he came across Tony and Marlene Funk at 16, things began to change. At 17, Shane headed to Germany with Tony Funk and the Columbia Singers, singing and touring throughout Europe. It was on this very trip that Shane would meet his future wife, Angela Bensler, who was also singing in the choir. Later that same year, Shane began singing with the Vancouver Cantata Singers and the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Singers, stretching his skills as a choral singer.

After graduation and the passing of Shane’s father, Shane entered flight school with intentions of becoming a commercial pilot. Due to the intensity of the course load, combined with his musical endeavours, Shane withdrew from the program on September 10th, 2001. The next day marked a change in global transportation and the end of Shane’s pursuit of a commercial pilot’s license. He did earn his private aviators license, however, and can be seen buzzing about the Fraser Valley skies from time to time.

In winter of 2001, Shane would again come across the lovely Angela Bensler. She was in need of a pianist to accompany her on the violin at a Christmas concert and had sought out Tony and Marlene Funk for a suggestion. The two musicians became great friends and began dating in June of 2002. They were engaged in July of 2003 and married that December. Music for both Shane and Angela remained a hobby, and they performed at various locations throughout British Columbia. However, in April of 2004, having been urged by relatives to enter the Canadian Idol auditions, the next phase of Shane’s musical journey began as he climbed to a “Top Five” spot on the hit TV show.

Shane signed a national distribution deal with Universal/Fontana North, and his debut album hit stores throughout Canada in July, 2005. The CD includes 11 tracks: nine originals (written or co-written by Shane) and two covers of songs Shane performed on Canadian Idol (Gordon Lightfoot's "The Way I Feel" and Bob Dylan's "Forever Young").

Since starting his musical career, Shane has had the privilege of working with such musicians as Lionel Richie, Gordon Lightfoot, Adam Gregory, and more.

While on tour in Stratford, Ontario, Shane and Angela discovered that their duo would soon be a trio. In November 2005, their first child, Joelle Anna Marie, was born and has brought an unimaginable amount of joy to the Wiebe family.

That same November, Shane and Angela headed to the studio to record their first Christmas tune together. Their version of “What Child Is This” ended up on the Canadian radio charts during the 2005 Christmas Season.

In October 2006, Shane was chosen as a candidate for the Bootlegger Generation B Campaign. Going up against 53 other competitors across the country, Shane came out on top and was awarded $10,000 to put toward his musical endeavours. This money is now being put to good use as Shane and Angela's join album is currently in the works.

The summer of 2007 brought yet another miracle into the Wiebe family when Josiah John Anthony, Shane and Angela's second child, was born.

Shane now spends most of his time writing, performing and working towards his Bachelor of Business administration at the University College of the Fraser Valley.

Shane Wiebe biography
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