Shannon Gaffney is a multifaceted vocal artist and educator based in NYC. She serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Voice at New York University.

 

As an opera singer, musical theatre performer, voice teacher, writer, and theatre practitioner, she has found several avenues to pursue her passion for the arts. Currently, she is a candidate for her Post-Masters Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy at New York University. She recently earned her Master of Arts in Musical Dramaturgy and Performance, also from NYU, and she holds both her BFA in Musical Theatre and BA in Creative Professional Writing from Manhattanville College. 

 

In May 2023, Shannon wrote, directed, and performed in her original play “When the Fat Lady Sings,” in which she integrated opera, art song, and musical theatre repertoire to emphasize the harmful impact of fatphobia, as well as evolving cultural body standards, for women in the opera and musical theatre industries. The show made its New York premiere at the Gene Frankel Theatre. 

 

Shannon has been seen onstage with Utopia Opera and Amore Opera. She has proudly performed with Opera Collective of New York City. She appeared in the Emphatic Operatics showcase at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music’s Open Stages Festival, where she performed works from Tosca, Don Giovanni, and La Bohéme, to name a few. She has served as a ringer and cantor at Grace Church of White Plains, Church of the Highlands, and Christ the King Yonkers, among many others. As a musical theatre performer, her favorite past roles include Kate Monster in Avenue Q and Rona Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. As both a performer and teacher, Shannon advocates for training across styles and developing unique strategies to best serve each genre.

 

Shannon made her directorial debut with Zombie Prom, as the Artistic Director of the Gallatin Theatre Troupe. She was also the Artistic Fellow for the J2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company’s 2022-2023 season off-Broadway, serving as Assistant Director for their productions of Woman of the Year and Sugar. In addition to her directorial work, she curated and moderated post-show talkbacks for Woman of the Year, Sugar, and The Goodbye Girl. As a dramaturg, her other credits include Hopelessly Devoted to You: Songs of Passion and Pining with the Gallatin Graduate Mainstage and The Three R’s: Revolution, Rebellion, and Resilience with the Village Light Opera Group. 

 

Shannon formerly served as a Staff Writer for On Stage Blog, where she wrote pieces addressing racism, transphobia, fatphobia, and other forms of oppression within the musical theatre industry. She was also a proofreader and typesetter for the second edition of Flop Musicals of the Twenty-First Century: How They Happened, When They Happened (And What We’ve Learned) by Stephen Purdy.

 

In addition to her voice and theatre work, Shannon is pursuing her 200-HR Yoga Teacher Training certification from My Vinyasa Practice. She is committed to fostering a yoga community that welcomes all bodies, all abilities, and all backgrounds. Her practice, “Music in You Yoga,” serves as a safe space for performers and non-performers alike to flow without judgment.

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Outside of her professional pursuits, Shannon loves writing fiction and poetry, celebrating Halloween, and ordering a Venti iced coffee unsweetened with light cream and two splenda.