Associate Professor Katharine Boyes listens as members of a Wake Tech chorus practice a section of a song they plan to perform during a concert. (Matthew Burns/Wake Tech)

All eight singers in a Wake Tech a cappella group have their eyes glued to their song sheets as they practice the Stevie Nicks' classic "Landslide." But that doesn't stop Associate Professor Katharine Boyes from emphatically pumping her left arm to direct them while playing chord changes on the piano with her right hand.

After applauding the group when they successfully navigated a particularly difficult chord change, she tells one of the bass singers, "You are fundamentally important. You must sing that out so everybody hears it."

Boyes' combination of passion for music and compassion and support for students earned her a 2026 Excellence in Teaching Award and is a main reason students gravitate toward her and her courses.

Associate in Arts student Auriy Campbell credits Boyes for getting her back into chorus after a bad experience in high school.

"She pushes me," Campbell said. "She's made me more open and comfortable with my singing."

"If you're having trouble understanding [a concept], she finds ways to break it down so everyone gets it," said Elvis Mateo-Flores, a student in Boyes' music theory class.

Another thing Mateo-Flores appreciates, he says as Spanish guitar music plays softly in the classroom while students trickle in, is Boyes' eclectic musical tastes.

"She picks a lot of different genres for us to listen to," he said. "It's really cool."

Boyes says Wake Tech students have exposed her to so much music since she joined the college in 2010 that her tastes have broadened considerably.

"The diversity of students we have means there's a wide range of musical interests," she said. "I'm learning from them about different artists."

Trained as a classical pianist, with a minor in choral music, at London's Royal Academy of Music, she still counts Beethoven, Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel among her favorite composers. She says she tries to discuss their backgrounds whenever she performs their music.

"I want to touch people not just through their music but give them some insight into their life when they composed a particular piece," she said.

Boyes came to the U.S. to pursue master's and doctoral degrees at conservatories in San Francisco and Cincinnati, respectively. The latter included a requirement that she also teach at a local school.

"I discovered that I loved being in a classroom and working with groups of students," she said, noting her only previous teaching experience was one-on-one piano lessons.

She went on to teach music at Wake Forest University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and even started the music program at Saint Augustine's University before arriving at Wake Tech. Although Wake Tech doesn't have a music department or offer a degree in music, she says she prefers teaching at the community college level because it affords her more freedom.

"We operate as more of a liberal arts program and don't have required courses for music majors," she said. "I can give a better grounding in music theory. ... I like being creative in explaining concepts and thinking outside the box."

In addition to the a cappella group, Boyes conducts a 25-member chorus. The chorus is a class students can take for credit, while the smaller ensemble is an extracurricular for students who just enjoy singing.

"It's not just a means for students to express themselves; it builds a sense of community," she said of having choral groups on campus. "It's just a joy to see them grow beyond making music."