Shannon McDonald, DMA

Adjunct Instructor of Music

Academic Areas: Clarinet, Music History

Degrees

DMA Instrumental Performance, University of Miami
MA Instrumental Pedagogy, Texas Woman’s University
BM Clarinet Performance, Kennesaw State University

Profile

At the age of fourteen clarinetist Shannon McDonald performed as a soloist at the Mid America Music Festival for an audience of over one thousand. The experience solidified in her a love of performing and the realization that sharing music with an audience of any size would become her passion. Since then, she has performed with many groups, including the Georgia Symphony Orchestra and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra. In addition to large ensemble work, Dr. McDonald especially enjoys performing chamber music and has founded several groups that have performed at many national and international conferences.

Dr. McDonald is an enthusiastic researcher in the fields of clarinet pedagogy, music education, and musicology. She has won the first prize in the International Clarinet Association’s Research Competition twice, most recently in 2021 for her research, “Accommodating Learning Differences in the Clarinet Studio: Private Teacher Experiences and Pedagogical Guidelines.” She has presented research at many conferences, including the Society for Music Teacher Education Symposium, International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, the Texas Music Educators Association Convention/Clinic, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors Conference, and the Florida Music Educators Association Conference.

In addition to teaching at Texas Woman’s University, Dr. McDonald is an active clarinet pedagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She is a member of the International Clarinet Association, where she serves on the Youth Committee, the Texas Music Educators Association, the College Music Society, and Pi Kappa Lambda. She resides in North Texas with her husband and three cats.

Page last updated 4:41 PM, February 20, 2024