[2] Her work is influenced by non-Western forms of music drama including Indian Bharata Natyam and Japanese Noh Theater, and has been performed by the New York City Opera VOX Festival of New American Operas, the Akademie der Künste and SAVVY-Contemporary in Berlin, the Venice Biennale, NYC-Electroacoustic Music Festival, American Chamber Opera Company, The Composers Chamber Theater, The American Virtuosi Baroque Opera Co., Association for the Promotion of New Music, New York Consort of Viols, American Composers Alliance, Ensemble Pi, Iktus Percussion, Dance Alloy (Pittsburgh), and the Arangham Dance Theater (India).
Shields earned three degrees from Columbia University including the Doctor of Musical Arts in music composition,[3] studying with Vladimir Ussachevsky, Jack Beeson, Otto Luening and Chou Wen-Chung.
She was one of the first recipients of the George London award supporting the development of young opera singers.
During the 1990s she intensively studied and performed South Indian Bharata Natyam dance-drama as a vocalist, performing nattuvangam, a form of South Indian rhythmic recitation with the Swati Bhise Bharata Natyam Dance Company, at venues including the United Nations, Asia Society and Wesleyan University.
All Shields' compositions since 2000 reflect her immersion in Indian classical music and drama.