Music Department Chair Dr. Yih-mei Hu
Long before becoming chair of the Music Department at Los Angeles Valley College, Dr. Yih-mei Hu was a young pianist and violinist competing and performing successfully at the national level. After completing her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) at the renowned Eastman School of Music, Dr. Hu began her professional career as a part-time faculty member at the University of Southern California, followed by a full-time teaching position at Scripps College, and ultimately a tenured position at LAVC.
Seventeen years later, she still remembers her first impressions of the college. At the time, the Music Department was larger, with nine full-time faculty members and approximately 15 to 20 adjunct instructors. It was also Dr. Hu’s first position at a community college. “I just felt like I had a lot to learn,” she remembered. But it did not take long for her to recognize something in Valley’s students that felt deeply familiar.
Music can be an expensive field to pursue seriously. “As a student, that was a struggle for me,” she said. “Private lessons cost money. So do quality instruments. For a young musician performing and competing at increasingly advanced levels, access to those resources can influence how far an opportunity can go. It’s very expensive to have lessons and have an instrument of a quality that you need,” Dr. Hu explained. That experience shaped the way she saw LAVC students.
At Valley College, she encountered students with passion and ability who could access opportunities that might have been financially out of reach elsewhere. “What I resonated with is the excitement of a student who had this opportunity at Valley where they wouldn’t necessarily have that opportunity at USC,” she said. “It felt like it was my experience, but I was just on the other side of it now.”
At LAVC, students can participate in a wind ensemble with approximately 50 musicians, as well as an orchestra and two choirs. The ensembles perform every semester, giving students regular opportunities to move from the classroom and rehearsal room onto a stage. The department also offers something particularly valuable for developing musicians: individualized instruction. “We have an applied lessons program which you can audition for and receive one-on-one instruction with a faculty member,” Dr. Hu explained.
Students can explore traditional music as well as commercial and popular music. Strong evening offerings also create options for students whose work, family responsibilities, or other commitments make daytime-only education difficult. The department’s DJ workshop, for example, has approximately 35 students. “We are one of the few music departments at any Southern California college to offer such a course,” Dr. Hu noted.
When asked what makes her proud of the Music Department, Dr. Hu’s answer quickly connected the department’s resources to philanthropy. “I’m proud of our instrument inventory, which has been made possible through generous donations in the past, and I’m proud of our faculty and staff who tirelessly dedicate their entire week to supporting students in the classroom and beyond.”