Her Story
About Shannon
Shannon Boutwell has been a performing musician for over a decade. She founded her private music studio, Shannon's Music Studio, and the nonprofit Hearts for the Arts (formally recognized by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2026), which aims to change lives through the arts and enable students from all backgrounds to experience the power of the arts. A recent graduate of Samford University in the class of 2026, she was the university-wide valedictorian and the first student to complete a double performance major in violin performance and piano performance with pedagogy, as well as the University Fellows Program. Honored to travel the US for solo and chamber performances, Shannon performs on the 1916 Carl Becker Sr. violin, on generous loan by Michael and Elizabeth Upton through the Becker Family Foundation. She works with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra, where she served as concertmaster since age fifteen. Boutwell has performed at Carnegie Hall three times and won numerous competitions, including the American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition with the Candy Crush Quartet. She attributes her success to her faith, family support, and the encouragement of supportive professors and mentors. Through her work, she seeks to address the lack of strings education in Alabama by developing pilot orchestra programs in schools statewide, and she has used the titles of Miss Jubilee and Miss Iron City through the Miss America Opportunity to promote arts education.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shannon
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute everything to the Lord. Faith is very important to me, and a huge aspect of Hearts for the Arts as well is a ministry focus. So, I give all glory to God in how I'm able to achieve these things, and I do my best to follow His will for my life, and it's His love and his light that pours out through me when I play, and I think that's a huge part of what helps me connect to people through my music. Of course, I also attribute a lot of my success to the support of my family. And despite pushback from a variety of angles, particularly regarding my goal of excellence in and passion for multiple areas (academics, piano, violin, teaching, ministry, dance, and community leadership), I've had even more mentors, teachers, and friends who have been very supportive.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When I was Miss Jubilee through Miss Alabama, my director, Larry, told me the people who love you will support you. I've been someone who is a huge perfectionist, and a bit of a workaholic at times... And when I was Miss Jubilee, for the first time, I had the chance to step out into my community and ask for sponsorships... I experienced that when people are passionate about something, or you build a relationship with them, they will come and support you. This unity and passion for supporting others is so powerful and absolutely vital for communities and organizations to thrive.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never give up! Pursue your passion, and always focus on your why. Why do you love music? Pour yourself into that, because that will never lead you wrong. Second, even if you feel like you're being pushed down, there will be people out there who support you, and the people who love you will support you. So look to those people, and let them lift you up. And third, just never let anything hold you back, because if you know you're meant to do something, then even if the path looks rocky, or hard, or you can't even see where it is, there is going to be a path to it. So never give up trying to find it. If you are called to something, you WILL be equipped to achieve it. Keep your eyes on the Lord at all times, lead with confidence, and show love to everyone around you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Funding, 100%. Arts funding is being cut everywhere you look... Alabama is really lacking in music education... We only have orchestra in one county, and I want to see it in every county throughout Alabama... As a strings player, one of the first ones that I've been really interested in working on is the lack of strings education.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Passion, purpose, performance are actually three words that make up my motto for Hearts for the Arts. So, those are some values that I would say are somehow interwoven into everything I do. Additionally, courage and compassion, always persevering, and just having your primary goal to be to love and serve other people well. Because if that's at the top of your list of priorities, then you're really never going to find yourself doing something wrong, because every great thing comes under the category of loving and serving people well.
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