At 5, David Michael Shannon would stand in front of the television to conduct music. He started taking piano lessons at 7, but several teachers quit on him because he refused to learn how to read music.
"They'd just throw their hands up," said his father, Billy Shannon of Smyrna.
Parents Billy and June Shannon eventually found a teacher who got the prodigy on the right track. By then, he was 10, already singing and traveling with the Atlanta Boy Choir. At 14, he was conducting concerts at East Marietta Christian Church.
As an adult, he was a conductor, composer, soloist, private vocal coach and teacher here and elsewhere. He appeared with the French Chamber Orchestra and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, among others.
"Everybody knew his talent, and it made us proud that he was our child," his father said.
In 1991, Mr. Shannon suffered a stroke during surgery for a brain tumor at Duke University. The stroke paralyzed the left side of his body. The artist returned to his parents' home in Smyrna, where he lived for years before he died Jan. 28 from complications of his condition. He was 48.
A memorial will be held 2 p.m. Sunday at Atlanta's Peachtree Christian Church. A reception will follow in the church's Stew Wood Hall.
Mr. Shannon was a graduate of Smyrna's Campbell High. He earned a bachelor's degree in music from Shorter College in Rome. After college, he took a job with Atlanta-based C&S Bank, where he had worked as a student.
After two weeks in corporate America, the artist returned to what his father said was his love, what he was married to. He worked three part-time jobs before he became an assistant to the assistant conductor of the Atlanta Boy Choir. Then he took a full-time gig as choir master and organist at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Durham, N.C.
Next stop was Texas Christian University, where he earned a master's degree in music and eventually became conductor of the Texas Boys Choir in Fort Worth. He was serving as choir conductor when the brain tumor was detected, which led to surgeries and a subsequent stroke. He returned home to live with his parents and receive rehabilitation at Emory University.
Despite his paralysis, the prodigy played organ and piano at Smyrna Christian Church. He and his father sang with a choir at Peachtree Christian. He also worked with the Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde, a choral group that won first place in a 1999 international competition with his composition "There Is Sweet Music."
"He was a brilliant musician and singer," said the Rev. Jim Bell, minister of music and special ministries at Peachtree Christian Church. "He gave me a picture of him that I will keep as a reminder that it doesn't matter who we are, our quality of life can be taken away from us at any time. He was a remarkable person."
Additional survivors include two sisters, Melanie Hinson of Smyrna and Melinda Turner of Charleston, S.C.
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