Shih-Yi Kuan has been named as the EMTA Volunteer of the Month for April 2026! We offer our appreciation and congratulations to her and thank her for consenting to provide us with this interview. She will receive her certificate of Recognition of Extraordinary Volunteer Service at the April General Membership Meeting.

First, please share with our readers a bit about your teaching.
I started teaching at 18 years old and have been teaching piano for 42 years and singing for 32 years. Over those years my philosophy of teaching has changed to being more flexible with students, especially in selection of music. I used to insist on classical compositions only but now I welcome more music from jazz, pop, world, movie, and video genres.

Please tell us how you have volunteered service to EMTA and to our students.
I have chaired the Vocal Division of the MAP for all but one of the past 22 years with a lot of help from my husband. I have also for 7 years chaired the Voice component of the EMTA State Recital Competition which requires getting adjudicators, venues and arranging for registration procedures. I also play piano accompaniments for my own and some other teachers’ voice students for events.

How have you balanced your teaching load with all of the time that you have devoted
to EMTA volunteer work?
This is sometimes very tricky because I teach 40 hours per week! I am fortunate to have my husband help me with many of the details of EMTA work. Because most of my teaching is done in the afternoons I have to do EMTA work in the mornings.

Is there a special memory about your volunteer activities that you would like to share?
There have been too many events for me to recall any one special memory. What really impresses me is how much time some teachers devote to EMTA. My own volunteer work has helped me to become aware of the great deal of work that goes into producing EMTA events, and I love seeing students get great benefits from those events.

Besides benefiting EMTA members, please tell our readers about any benefits or personal rewards that you feel that you get from doing volunteer work for EMTA?
I have gained a great deal from networking with other teachers who have helped me learn how to organize events effectively. In organizing events for EMTA I have gotten to know our members much better. Also, I have loved meeting and working with guest adjudicators and visiting artists. The performances and presentations at our monthly meetings are also great learning experiences.

Is there anything else that you would like to say to our members about volunteering for EMTA?
Volunteer work can be stressful at times but in the end is it always worth it!

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Thank you to EMTA member, Rick Asher, for coordinating the EMTA Volunteer of the Month.