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Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Shannon spent her childhood in Nebraska where music, art, and literature were highly valued in her extended family. Singing, playing the piano, reading, and writing were central to her early development. She moved to Montreal, Quebec as a teenager, where she discovered the flute and began formal lessons at the age of 17. Shannon studied privately under Carolyn Christie (MSO) at Vanier College and Concordia University, graduating in Jazz Studies, where she received the Pauline Donalda Scholarship for her academic excellence in music. After completing her teaching diploma in music at McGill University, she furthered her education by obtaining a Master's degree in Music from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, focusing on Jazz Composition and Arranging. Throughout her career, Shannon has taught music at Centennial Academy in Montreal and has been a part-time instructor at Concordia University since 1998, where she teaches classes in Jazz Composition, Ear Training, Harmony, and Arranging, along with offering private studies in flute. She has an extensive repertoire of original compositions for various ensembles, including her own quintet, strings, big band, jazz choir, guitar ensemble, and brass quintet.
Administered by the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema; focuses on cinematic arts practice and research-creation.