The Shannon Kelly Kane Scholarship was created by Shannon’s family and friends in coordination with the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) to honor her exemplary life and her love of teaching music.
Originally from Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, Shannon earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with performance honors from Syracuse University. She student taught at Westhill High School, where she conducted the wind ensemble and assisted with the percussion ensemble, brass ensemble, and jazz ensemble; and at Soule Road Middle School, where she conducted the seventh and eighth grade concert and jazz bands.
During her time at Syracuse, Shannon performed with several ensembles on flute, including the orchestra, wind ensemble, symphonic band, flute ensemble, marching band, Brazilian ensemble, and Syracuse University Woodwind Quintet. She also served as the Vice President of her college’s NAfME chapter. She was an accompanist for the Lutheran Campus Ministry, a student ambassador in University 100 to help with admissions recruitment, and a member of Sigma Alpha Iota and Pi Kappa Lambda.
In May of 2008, as a member of the Renee Crown Honors Program at Syracuse University, Shannon completed a senior thesis project entitled “Tradition and Innovation: The Lives and Music of Women Composers,” which won an Honorable Mention in Humanities. Shannon received numerous awards including 2007-2008 College of Visual and Performing Arts Scholar, Academic Music Award for outstanding work in research, and the Helen Falk-Julius Kahn Award to further music education. In Shannon’s commencement speech, she urged her classmates to not “forget about the ideals that keep us grounded.” She encouraged them to come up with a list of lessons they had learned and to reflect on these when faced with challenges. She reminded them that they should value those lessons to keep them grounded—that things that one holds as important should not be forgotten.
Shannon was working on her Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting at the University of Florida from August 2008 until her untimely passing in February 2009. During her time as a graduate teaching assistant, Shannon was a conducting mentor, director of the volleyball pep-band, and a member of the UF Wind Symphony. Shannon had a passion for music and taught her students with kindness and respect, but what most people remember about her was her smile and positive outlook on life.
Scholarship Information
The scholarship award is open to current members of NAfME Collegiate, who have been nominated for the NAfME Collegiate Professional Achievement Recognition. The award recipient will be chosen from this group of nominees.
To view all previous winners, click here.
Donations
To make a donation, make checks payable to the “NAfME/Shannon Kelly Kane Fund” and mail to NAfME, Attn: JJ Norman, 1806 Robert Fulton Drive, Reston, VA 20191. All contributions are tax deductible. Questions? Call 800-336-3768.
