With her warm, expressive voice, dynamic stage presence, and conscientious attention to musical detail, soprano Shannon Jongema is a mesmerizing storyteller on opera and concert stages alike. 

Shannon’s recent operatic and concert credits include the roles of Mimì (La bohème), Rosabella (The Most Happy Fella), and Julia (Der Vetter aus Dingsda) at the University of Memphis; Mme. Silberklang (Der Schauspieldirektor), Suor Dolcina/Suor Osmina (Suor Angelica), and soprano soloist (Mozart Requiem) with Varna International Music Academy in Varna, Bulgaria and on tour through northern Italy; soprano soloist (Elijah) with Rhodes MasterSingers; soprano soloist (Bach Mass in B Minor, Still And They Lynched Him on a Tree) with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Florida; as well as Lucy (The Telephone) and Mrs. Gobineau (The Medium) with Musical Traditions, Inc. in Altamonte, Florida. 

Shannon is passionate about storytelling through music, and she shares that passion by stage directing as well as singing. Shannon’s directing credits include Menotti’s The Medium, Wolf-Ferrari’s Il segreto di Susanna, and scenes from Verdi’s La Traviata at the University of Memphis. She has also assistant directed productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the University of Memphis, as well as Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and Cavalli’s La Calisto with Opera Memphis. 

At Southeast Missouri State University n the fall, Shannon is looking forward to presenting A Woman Who Minds Her Own Business, a faculty recital centering women's stories of resilience and reclamation through history. The program will feature works by Händel, Strauss, Larsen, and Dunphy. She is also workshopping a chamber opera project in which she will both direct and sing in a double bill of Menotti’s The Telephone and Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus. 

Shannon is currently serving Instructor of Voice and Opera at Southeast Missouri State University while finishing her Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance with a cognate in stage directing at the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. During her coursework at the University of Memphis, Shannon worked as a graduate teaching assistant in voice and opera and studied under Dr. Megan Grey. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in music and secondary education from Rollins College where she studied under Dr. Caitlin Mohr and Professor Amy Gifford.