Alto Sax

Shannon Bates

Shannon Bates has played the saxophone for over 40 years, beginning in elementary school in Fair Oaks, California. She performed in concert, jazz, and marching bands throughout her young life in Northern California, then earned a Bachelor of Music (Composition) from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. She moved to San Diego following college, where she played in over 50 ensembles in styles including big band jazz, indie rock, funk, soul, afrobeat, bossa nova, concert band, ska, Latin jazz, cover bands, musical theater, Latin rock, and pop. Also in San Diego she contributed tracks on saxophones (alto, tenor, and soprano), flute, and vocals to several albums for multiple acts, and she worked for five years in the editorial department at the Neil A. Kjos Music Company. Shannon moved to Seatle in 2015 during her low residency studies toward a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Fiction), which she earned from the Rainier Writing Workshop in Pacific Luthern University in 2017. After four years in Seattle playing mostly big band jazz and musical theater, Shannon moved back to her hometown of Fair Oaks. She currently plays 1st Alto Saxophone in the Sacramento Concert Band and sits in as a sub for jazz groups and other ensembles. Her goals for the near future include finding more performance opportunities in a variety of genres, developing a solo show to include the looping of woodwinds and vocals, and recording an album of her own compositions.