Shannon completed her Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music,  before completing a Master of Music with Mei-Lee Stocker at the University of Queensland.  She spent much of her youth performing with the Queensland Youth Symphony (QYS), eventually becoming principal cellist of the same orchestra.  As a member of QYS and their smaller touring chamber ensemble, Shannon has toured extensively throughout regional Queensland, South Korea, Japan and Europe. 

It was this last tour that sparked an ambition to study music overseas and in October 2001 she moved to Lucerne, Switzerland.  During her three years based in Europe, Shannon performed as both a soloist and a chamber musician.  Her orchestral experience includes performances with the Luzerner Symphony Orchestra, Aarth Operetta Company, Luzern International Music Ensemble, the orchestra at the Youth International Music Festival in Spain, and as a member of professional ensembles that perform for “Mass”.    Shannon completed diplomas in chamber music and  orchestral studies whilst at the Luzern Musikhochschule and undertook masterclasses with Gunars Larsens, Daniel Dodds, Truls Svane and Rafael Gintoli.

Since her return to Australia in 2004, Shannon has been performing as a member of the chamber music group, Collusion.  Having launched their inaugural    subscription series in 2006, Collusion perform around five shows a year to venues that have included the Bangalow Music Festival, Tyalgum, Brisbane Powerhouse, the Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Arts, The Thomas Dixon Centre and the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.