Eliana Yi, began her piano studies at the age of five and cello at age ten. Ever since she was in elementary, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. She was also dedicated to her piano studies, so she simply combined these two passions into a career! She has over eight years of experience in teaching and has been giving piano lessons in the Dallas area for the last six years.
Eliana graduated from her position as a teaching fellow at the Meadows School of the Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. During her position there, she studied Piano Pedagogy and Performance where she took private instruction with Dr. Carol Leone and teaching supervision with Dr. Cathy Lysinger. Eliana’s students have participated in festivals, recitals, and contests around the Dallas area.
Hailing from Austin, Texas, Eliana participated in various musical organizations such as Austin Youth Orchestra where she played the piano, cello and harpsichord. She has also been a part of TSIPF in San Marcos, ADMTA festivals and competitions, Regions Orchestra, All-City, AISD Solo and Ensemble, UIL Solo and Ensemble, State Solo and Ensemble, CHAMPS (Chamber Music for Public Schools), CMFW (Classical Music for the World) and an internship program under Graham Reynolds (composer/bandleader) through MINDPOP. In 2013, she participated in a music exchange program with Zwickau Conservatory in Germany. In 2019, she presented her research on alternatively sized keyboards at the MTNA Piano Pedagogy Collegiate Symposium at Ball State University. She has recently taught at the Institute for Young Pianists at SMU and exhibited at the 2021 NCKP Convention.
Eliana is a recipient for the Paul von Katwijk prize and Roy and Sue Johnson Award for Piano Pedagogy.
“Music has been my life-long teacher. It has built connections that will last for the rest of my life and has inspired me to be a better human being. It has taught me independency, creativity, humility, and of course, the meaning of pure joy. By teaching piano, I see myself not as a fountain of wisdom, but an empty vessel in which these life lessons could pass through and touch another soul.
My priorities:
1. Kindness and Respect
2. Communication
3. Clear, attainable goals
4. Positivity and inspiration!