From a land rich in musical and cultural diversity comes one of its most diverse Performers and Composers. Born in South Africa to a musical family, Shannon Mowday draws from many influences with seemingly
boundless energy and brings it together with purpose and style.
Acknowledged internationally as a gifted saxophone player,she is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, covering the range of the woodwind family as well as piano.She also an accomplished composer, arranger and lyricist as well as being an experienced and passionate educator.She is known as an extremely adept and versatile musician, having performed in a variety styles including performances as soloist with a symphonic orchestra, live recordings of classical saxophone quartet , Big Band leader and conductor, straight-ahead jazz,
African, klezmer ,traditional styles in both in a studio and live environment.
She has performed alongside South Africa’s best with artists including Winston Mankuku, Robbie Janssen,Jeduith Sephuma, Selaolo Selota Feya Faku, Concord Nkabinde, Gloria Bosman, Kevin Gibson as well as international musicians such as James Morrison, John Fedchock, Douglas Masek,Stefon Harris and members of the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra to name but a few
Shannon’s band ,‘Galumphing’ which features her compositions has appeared on festivals such as the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, Grahamstown National Arts Festival, Cape Town Festival , Cape Town
Jazzathon and is due to appear at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.The australian version African Eyes (Oz) has featured at the Darling Harbour Jazz Festival (Sydney,australia) and performed at The Basement (sydney).She also leads the Shannon Mowday Quartet also composes and leads all-female sax quartet Saxi Femme.
As a prolific composer, she has a style which blends jazz with an eclectic mix of African rhythms and folklore. Her music expresses the difficulties and growth of her homeland with a totally honest and fresh
approach which is difficult to put in any one genre.
As well as the United States, Shannon continues to draw international attention with continuing projects in Scandinavia, Europe and Australia where she recently recorded her original compositions with jazz virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist James Morrison along with some of the cream of Australian jazz artists on her recently recorded cd, African Eyes (Oz). She is has recently collaborated and performed with respected South African and French jazz artists, SAFRA with performances in France and South Africa. She has also performed and toured with Scandinavian-South African group all female group, Jazmyne. She has a collaboration with Swedish trombone player, Karin Hammar and Norwegian trumpet player, Hildegun Oiseth called BURN! She will be leader and arranger of a Norwegian-South African Big Band in an upcoming collaboration which will involve performances in both South Africa and Europe. She also led Scandinavian-South African female jazz collaboration Bitches Brew.
As a passionate educator, Shannon has been an instrumental lecturer at the University of Cape Town for a number of years as well as teacher and band leader at junior and high schools. She has performed and lectured at the University of California (UCLA) as well as educational institutions throughout Australia and parts of Europe. She has been involved in a number of community-based projects and in particular has been focussing on youth jazz development in South Africa
With invitations to perform at major jazz festivals on four continents, Shannon Mowday now explores the many possibilities of her music on the international stage. She remains in demand as a recording artist,
television personality and educator in South Africa, but continues to explore opportunities and collaborate with artists overseas with the intention of developing herself and her music to its maximum potential For a more detailed biography and recent festival and international appearance listings, click here.
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