Shannon Quinn

Where are you living?
I live in Toronto during the school year, and come home to the Maritimes during christmas, and summer break.

What have you been doing
since graduating / leaving KVA?
After graduating from school, I decided to take a year off, to perform - and to complete my first Album. It’s a duo celtic Guitar/Violin Album I completed in March 2008 with my father. During that year I applied to Humber college for their music program. I auditioned and was accepted, and I'm currently going into my 2nd year majoring in Violin performance and Composition.

What plans do you have for the near future? Distant future?
My plans for the near future are to continue towards earning my Bachelor of Music degree from Humber, as well as traveling to Europe to teach fiddle workshops, and hopefully completing my Royal Conservatory Grades for Piano/Violin at ARCT Level.

Have you received any awards?
I received the Maud Whitmore scholarship from the Charlettown Festival for instruction in Voice, and I was also awarded my RCM Grade 8 certificate for Piano, as well as my Grade 8 for Violin.

Any interesting experiences/vacations?
I spent last summer performing over 40 shows with my father on PEI, which was really stellar. I can't imagine a more beautiful place to spend a summer than the maritimes. Other than that, living in Toronto has been quite the experience on it's own. It’s quite the culture shock living in such a fast-paced environment having been brought up in small city Halifax your whole life. It will take a while to adjust!

What is your current motto/code/inspiring thought or quote?
Whenever I’m trying to make a decision, and I realize it’s being influenced by how I think others may react to it, I remind myself it’s very important to “Dare to Be Different”. This has been my quote since I was a little girl, and it’s still important to me now. Especially because the style of music I play is different than anybody else at school, it’s hard not to feel like an outcast, and that I should try to conform to another style. The most important aspect of KVA to me, was the fact that they allowed me in every way to be “different”. KVA valued that individuality, and never tried to sculpt it, but to allow it to mold itself.

Is there anything you are pondering, reflecting on, or questioning?
I’m pondering about life constantly! I’ve come to accept the fact that I have a very active mind, and I will always be looking for answers and trying out new things. At 19 years of age, I feel like I’m going through a transition period, and I'm finding out who I am, and figuring out what’s truly important to me.

I’m concerned that I’ve become too dependent on technology, and hope that my generation doesn’t lose the ability to hold an intelligent face-to-face conversation as well as they can through technology.

Did your experience of KVA have any particular effect regarding your attitude or life? Was there any lesson that was learned that you found helpful?
KVA was a huge part of why I decided to pursue music, because without it I’m sure I wouldn’t have had the confidence to go into something that challenging. It helped me to become a really independent individual. One of the real lessons I learned was to accept that everybody has unique little quirks, but without them, people wouldn’t have quite as much sparkle!