Operatic roles include the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos, Countess in Marriage of Figaro, Nedda in I Pagliacci, Antonia in Tales of Hoffmann, Atalanta in Xerxes, Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, and Michaela in Carmen. Shawna has premiered roles in ten new operas, including Clara, Reunion, Wild Ride, A Night at the Opera, and The One. Shawna has appeared as a recitalist and soloist in Maryland, Washington D.C., New York, Santa Fe and Seattle. She has appeared in two operatic films as both an actor and vocalist that were shown in many film festivals, notably SIFF and SXSW (Hand of Bridge and Bachianas Brasilieras). Voiceover credits include TV pilots, feature films and assorted silly ventures.

A frequent soloist with The Esoterics, she is featured on 9 of their CDs and is their director of education. With the Fisher Ensemble, Ms. Avinger was featured on the recording of Psyche, Seattle version of Magda, the New York and Boston premiere of At The Hawk’s Well, and the Seattle and New York premieres of Kocho.

Ms. Avinger received her Bachelor's of Music from the University of Washington in vocal performance and her Master's degree in Opera Performance from the Maryland Opera Studio. She has been working with vocal students since 2000. She served on the voice faculty of Music Center of the N.W. for eight years and as the director of education for The Fisher Ensemble for four years. Her teachers have included Carmen Pelton, Linda Mabbs, Elizabeth Moore, Erich Parce, and Charlie Riecker.