Citizen of the Year:A Culture Force in our Community

Well known as a music educator and performer, Dr. Lily Diehl has placed in several musical competitions, and was noted as being the "most versatile performer of the year" in Southern California for her outstanding achievement as a pianist, vocalist and lead role in "The Sound of Music." She has delighted audiences around the world with her art and charm. Her European performances (one audience exceeding 50,000) were unforgettably thrilling. She has recorded several albums; her CDs "Extravagant Love" and "Two Times Mmine" are fan favorites. Directing one of the largest private music studios in California and lecturing extensively on music potential, Dr. Diehl has influenced thousands of young lives. "Teacher Lily," as she is fondly called by her students, is goal-oriented and disciplined, totally professional, yet full of fun loving enthusiasm. These qualities have fostered excellence in musicianship, increased self understanding, and personal growth in her students, many of whom have been accepted at music schools such as the Oberlin and Peabody conservatories and the Eastman School of Music. Graduating with highest honors at the age of 18 from Santa Isabelle college in Manila, Dr. Diehl won the National Young Artist Competition of the Philippines that same year. This prestigious honor brought her invitations to perform as a piano soloist with various orchestras and stipends to study abroad. She left her country at the age of 19 to teach at Kingsway College in Canada and then at Andrews University in Michigan. On this journey she met her husband, Hans Diehl, and four years later, she settled with her husband in Loma Linda where they raised their family and have been ever since. Dr. Diehl earned her master's degree in music education from Andrews University (Summa Cum Laude) and in piano performance from the University of Michigan. She earned her doctorate of musical arts degree at the University of Southern California. Her dissertation was on the relative effectiveness of group and individual piano instruction on young beginners in an independent music studio using an electronic piano laboratory. Her findings became trendsetting in keyboard pedagogy. Her mentors include Hungarian pianist Gyorgy Sandor (student of Bela Bartok), Russian pianist Serge Tarnowsky (teacher of Vladimir Horowitz), Joanna Graudan (student of Arthur Schnabel) and Ruth Slencynska. Her beautiful hillside home includes a music studio which houses six pianos, where she instructs her students and continues to influence young lives here in Loma Linda. Dr. Diehl continues to be favored by the Lord, was able to balance her teaching career with that of being the wife of Hans Diehl, the founder of the CHIP program; and mother of two accomplished children, Dr. Byron Diehl, an orthodontist in Redlands, and Dr. Carmen Diehl-Thieszen, residing in Colorado.