Sheila Arnold was born on March 18, 1970, in Tiruchirappalli, South India, and is a German concert pianist of Indian descent. She trained with Etta Hilsberg, Isel Schwartz, and Heidi Köhler before studying with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the Hannover University of Music, completing her concert examination and receiving further guidance from Ferenc Rados, Hans Leygraf, and Elisabeth Leonskaja.

Arnold made her debut at the Berlin Philharmonie at age 17 and has since won prizes at numerous competitions, including the Steinway Piano Competition and the Viotti Competition, performing at venues from the Cologne Philharmonie and Leipzig Gewandhaus to concert halls in Mumbai and Lima. Since 2005 she has been a piano professor at the Cologne University of Music, and her recordings include Mozart, Chopin’s Preludes and Ballades, and Schubert’s Impromptus; she is also active in music education for children through the Rhapsody in School initiative.