Dr. Alison Shaw joined the music faculty in 2004. She currently teaches applied percussion and directs percussion ensemble activities. Prior to her appointment to The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2004, Dr. Shaw served on the music faculties of Michigan State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Eastern New Mexico University and The Interlochen Center for the Arts.

She received her DMA and master’s degrees from The University of Michigan, and her undergraduate degree from The University of Arizona. She won principal percussion positions in The Tucson Symphony Orchestra, The Flint Symphony Orchestra, The Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and has held principal timpani positions in The Brass Band of Battle Creek, The Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and the Oshkosh Symphony. She has performed with The Florida Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, The Fox Valley Symphony, and the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Shaw has embraced chamber music, orchestral performance, and solo artistry, and has distinguished herself as an award-winning soloist and an acclaimed interpreter of new music. She has premiered a combination of over 30 solo and chamber works throughout the United States and Europe, and her solo CD Signs of Intelligent Life is released on the Eroica Classics label.

An advocate of contemporary music, she served as Executive Director and Co-Founder of Quorum Chamber Arts Collective, a mixed-instrumentation chamber ensemble. During its 15 years of touring and performing contemporary chamber music, Quorum commissioned 18 new works for its instrumentation, and recorded an award-winning compact disc, Cold Water, Dry Stone-The works of Evan Chambers on the Albany label. Shaw also performs with the percussion/tuba duo, Balance, a collaboration that has produced several commissions for this unique combination in addition to transcriptions of popular and folk music. Her work as a recording artist can be heard on the Eroica Classics, Dorian, Albany, Equilibrium, Mark, BBC and FIM labels.

Having served as Music Department Chairperson from 2015-2022, Dr. Shaw served as Region IV Chair for the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and also served on the NASM Board of Directors. She has served on the International Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Board of Directors and has also served as the Chairperson of PAS College Pedagogy Committee. Prior to her appointment to the PAS board of directors, she served as an associate editor for Percussive Notes, the official journal of the Percussive Arts Society. Shaw is a performer/endorser for Encore Mallets, and is a clinician and endorser for Sabian Cymbals, Remo, and Black Swamp Percussion.

Her current research and performing projects include the Embaire xylophone music of Busoga, Uganda, and tuning systems for timpani pedagogy.