Conductor Jerome Shannon has lead orchestras around the country to wide acclaim in versatile repertoire including opera, operetta, musical theatre, ballet and symphonic programs. The New York Times praises his “skill and verve,” and Opera News says he “controlled his forces with assurance, propelling the music with subtle rhythmic pulse.” He served as the Mobile Opera’s General Director and Principal Conductor for over 10 years, and currently is the Music Director and Conductor of Pensacola Opera.

Most recent engagements from the past few seasons include H.M.S. Pinafore with Nashville Opera, Tosca with San Antonio Opera, Porgy and Bess with the Fresno Grand Opera, Street Scene with Chautauqua Opera, Aida and Cosi Fan Tutte with the Pensacola Opera, The Merry Widow at Northwestern University, and Mobile Opera’s productions of La Traviata, Andrea Chenier, and a Valentine’s Rodgers & Hammerstein Concert. Next, he conducts Andrea Chenier with the Nashville Opera.

Additional noted engagements include his Mobile Opera’s Gala Celebration with Denyce Graves, Marta Domingo’s production of Tales of Hoffman and Andrea Chenier (covering Maestro Placido Domingo) with the Washington National Opera, new production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers with Chautauqua Opera, a return to Lake George Opera for La Bohéme, Amahl and the Night Visitors and Handel’s Messiah for the Virginia Symphony, Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama Butterfly, Porgy and Bess, and Carmen for Pensacola Opera, a return to Chautauqua Opera for a new production of Robert Ward’s The Crucible, H.M.S. Pinafore and Mikado,and a return to Shreveport Opera for Rigoletto, Tosca, and La Boheme.

Mr. Shannon was the Associate Artistic Director and Associate Conductor for Virginia Opera from 1992-1996, conducting performances of Don Pasquale, Don Giovanni, West Side Story, La Bohème, Die Fledermaus, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Carousel, Die Zauberflöte and Oklahoma! From 1987-1992, he was the Musical Director and Principal Conductor of Opera NorthEast, conducting over 350 performances of this national touring company’s productions of H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Carousel, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Kismet, Kiss Me Kate, ShowBoat, The Merry Widow, Cosi Fan Tutte, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Lucia di Lammermoor and L'Elisir d'Amore.

Mr. Shannon is a frequent judge on panels for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, national opera competitions, and is an adjunct faculty member of the University of South Alabama. He is a graduate of the College of Creative Arts of West Virginia University, where he was a student of Metropolitan Opera soprano Frances Yeend and her husband, coach/pianist James Benner.