About Miss Em

I started formal piano lessons in third grade and was playing the piano ‘by ear’ also around that time.  As I progressed, I played for various community, church, and school events, often accompanied by other musicians. When I was twelve years old, I won grand champion keyboard player at the Hubert Hayes Mountain Youth Jamboree Music Festival in Asheville, NC.  My middle sister, Kay, won Grand Champion Vocalist that same year.  As a young teen, I assisted my music teacher after school in teaching and working with other students to learn the piano in her school of music.  When I was a junior in high school, a local organization called Music In the Mountains awarded me a scholarship to participate in a summer music camp at Mars Hill College.  That was my first introduction to Classical Music!  I also had the great honor of studying classical piano briefly with the world-renowned Hungarian pianist Madame Lily Kraus.  She was known as one of the greatest pianists and teachers of the twentieth century.  She was widely regarded as the foremost living interpreter of the piano music of Haydn, Schubert, and mainly Mozart.  She and her family had a home in the rural area where I grew up.  We became friends, and she took me under her wing for a short time to help educate me about the beautiful music of some of her favorite composers.

After graduating from high school, I decided to attend Appalachian State University.  I majored in music education with a minor in voice and obtained a K-12 Bachelor of Music teaching certification.

After college, in 1979, I moved out of the mountains for the first time to live near Nashville, Tennessee, to be close to a serious music scene. I was interested in songwriting. There, I worked odd jobs and taught private piano lessons while trying to pursue a songwriting career. I wrote and co-wrote many songs, published some songs, and worked with various managers, singers, musicians, and professional songwriters. I have been a studio musician, played in many private clubs, including country clubs, and worked with a lounge band for three years at The Nashville City Club.  I have played and sung for many weddings and various events with many professional musicians over the years.

While pursuing a music career near Nashville, the first ten years I lived in TN, I met “Miss G!” She and I collaborated in the early stages of Little House of Music, which continued intermittently over many years.  In 2002, the original music from level one was nominated for a Grammy!

After ten years of being on my own in the 1980s and pursuing music, I met the man of my dreams, William (Bill) Shaw, who was also a musician, singer, and songwriter.  He majored in recording engineering, and we began writing and recording our own songs and eventually married.  He has also done some vocals and collaborated on some Little House of Music songs.  We have two children, Jacob and Abigail, and four precious grandchildren!  My husband and I still sing and perform in our church together and with a group of professional musicians who have performed together off and on for over thirty years.

When my children were born, I stayed home with them and focused on mothering. When they started elementary school, I decided to use the music degree I’d had for twenty years to teach as a general music teacher in public elementary schools.  I taught for twenty years before retiring.

I have spent most of my life in music, with fifty years of experience working with and teaching children. Using my talents and skills to help children develop and grow musically has been a gift. It is my passion to continue creating, teaching, and sharing music.  As my seven-year-old granddaughter, Adaline, says, “Music is Life!”  Isn’t she right?  Have fun, you all!