His love of straightforward, approachable music for the recorder has garnered him several prizes in composition contests since 1997. With clear influences of Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi, and other masters of the Baroque and Classical periods, Shannon’s music is largely contrapuntal, with fugues featuring prominently in his collection. He publishes his music under his own name, and has also had works published by Moeck Verlag, PRB Productions, and the American Recorder Society. Most recently, In 2007 he was a prize winner in two composition contests — one sponsored by the Chicago Recorder Society, and the other jointly sponsored by the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet and the American Recorder Society.