Dr. Shannon Thompson

Biography

Shannon Thompson is Professor of Music in the School of Music at Western Carolina University where she has led the clarinet studio since 1997. She is the 2011 winner of the James E. Dooley Award for Excellence in Teaching Music, and her students have won numerous awards and honors, including thirteen concerto competition prizes. Dr. Thompson specializes in helping clarinetists discover their potential to express their own artistic voices by building new, healthy habits of sound production and technique. Her ClarinetFest 2012 presentation “The Signature Sound of Daniel Bonade and His Students” available on Youtube is utilized in clarinet courses throughout the country. In addition to applied clarinet lessons, Dr. Thompson teaches reed-making, conducts clarinet choir, and coaches woodwind chamber ensembles. She also instructs future band directors in the arts of teaching and playing woodwind instruments.

Shannon Thompson is bass clarinetist of the Asheville Symphony, and she has been recognized repeatedly in concert reviews for her performances as principal clarinetist of the Hendersonville Symphony. She has served on the faculty of the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy, and she is a frequent performer at the International Clarinet Association's annual ClarinetFest. As a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, Thompson’s performances include a wide range of music. She is an avid forager and transcriber of music, and her recent adaptations include music by Rebecca Clarke, Lili and Nadia Boulanger, Fanny Hensel, and Florence Price, as well as the music of jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli.

Education

• DMA, University of Texas Austin, Clarinet Performance / Music
• MM, Boston University, Clarinet Performance / Music
• BA, University of Oregon, Music

Teaching Interests

Shannon Thompson has led the clarinet studio at Western Carolina University since 1997. Under her direction, clarinet studio members have won numerous awards, including thirteen concerto competition prizes. She specializes in helping clarinetists discover their potential as musicians by building new, healthy habits of sound production and technique. This involves freeing up body movement which allows the flexibility necessary for clarinetists to express their own artistic voices. In addition to applied clarinet lessons, Dr. Thompson teaches reed-making, conducts clarinet choir, and coaches woodwind chamber ensembles. She also instructs future band directors in the arts of teaching and playing woodwind instruments.

Research Interests

Shannon Thompson is principal clarinetist of the Hendersonville Symphony and bass clarinetist of the Asheville Symphony. She served on the faculty of the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy, and she is a frequent performer at the International Clarinet Association's annual ClarinetFest. As a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, Thompson’s performances include a wide range of music. She is an avid forager and transcriber of music, and her recent adaptations include music by Rebecca Clarke, Lili and Nadia Boulanger, Fanny Hensel, and Florence Price, as well as the music of jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli.