Lissie Shanahan

Lissie Shanahan is the Principal Flutist of the Asheville Symphony, a position which she has held since 2009.  She also serves as the Piccoloist of the Winston-Salem Symphony.  Ms. Shanahan has previously served as Principal Flute with the Asheville Lyric Opera and Second Flute with the Western Piedmont Symphony.  She has performed as guest Principal Flute with the New World Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, American Singers Opera Project, Carolina Philharmonic, and the Symphony of the Mountains.  She also performed in the National Repertory Orchestra and the Sarasota Music Festival.  She has presented recitals at High Point University, Davidson College, Lenoir-Rhyne University, and St. Mary’s Music Academy in High Point and was a founding member of the Elektra Winds, an all-female woodwind quartet based in Winston-Salem.  Her concerto performances have been with the Asheville Symphony, Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony, the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra, and the High Point University Orchestra.  Other honors include First Prize in the 2003 Detroit Bohemian Concerto Competition and Third Prize in the 2011 Myrna Brown Artist Competition.

A native of Michigan, Ms. Shanahan resides in Winston-Salem with her husband, Peter Shanahan, who is also a flutist.  Together, they serve as the instructors of the Winston-Salem Flute Academy and the Winston-Salem Youth Flute Ensemble where they strive to create well-rounded musicians through extensive collaborative experience.  Their ensembles perform recitals and concerts in the local community and beyond throughout the year.  Ms. Shanahan is also the Instructor of Flute at High Point University, Director of the HPU Flute Ensemble, and serves as Principal Flutist in the HPU Orchestra where students and their teachers work side by side in weekly rehearsals and semester-end concerts.  She has also served as Adjunct Instructor of Flute at Lenoir-Rhyne University and as Guest Instructor at the Long Island Conservatory, The Juilliard School Pre-College, and The Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts.  She presented a piccolo masterclass at the UNC Greensboro Flute Fest as well as flute pedagogy workshops at Building Better Bands, a seminar for middle and high school music educators.  She also regularly leads masterclasses at local middle and high schools.  As a member of the Winston-Salem Symphony Woodwind Quintet, Ms. Shanahan performs educational concerts for thousands of students in Forsyth County elementary schools and community centers each year.

Ms. Shanahan received her Master of Music from The Juilliard School as a student of world-renowned flute soloist Carol Wincenc.  She also holds a Bachelor of Music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she studied with eminent orchestral flutist Thomas Robertello.