Patricia Shih wrote her first song at age 12 and hasn’t stopped since.  At 15 she signed a recording and managerial contract with Unicorn Records of Washington, DC as part of a folk duo.  This marked the start of her professional career.  A 45 rpm record was released a year later, and numerous TV, radio, concert and club performances followed.  Included were an international radio broadcast on the Voice of America and appearances at the legendary Cellar Door, where the duo was runner-up to Emmylou Harris in the competitive “Best of the Hoots.”  Ms. Shih began her solo career in San Francisco, notably on her own PBS special “Patty Shih—Music from the Gallery.”  Six years later, she returned to the east coast and settled in Huntington, NY.  She began specializing in music for children and families in 1986 while continuing to perform for adult and senior audiences.

To date Ms. Shih has written over 250 songs, both alone and in collaboration with others.  She performs extensively, appearing on TV and radio, in clubs, concert halls, schools, libraries, major music festivals and so on, touring internationally.  She starred for a year a host on Cablevision’s “Tell Me A Story” on the Extra Help Channel seen twice daily, and also wrote and performed the show’s theme song.  She has appeared in concert with such luminaries as Pete Seeger, Bonnie Raitt, Richie Havens, David Bromberg, Tom Chapin, Livingston Taylor, Odetta, Billy Bragg, Janis Ian, Michelle Shocked, Melanie and Peter Yarrow, among others.  Her songs are recorded and performed by numerous other artists throughout the world, have been published internationally in magazines such as Sing Out! and Broadside and the Rise Up Singing Songbook, and have won awards and accolades in the American Songwriting Festival, the New York Songwriters Showcase, Parents Choice Awards, and the BACCA Songwriting Competition (First Place).  Featured articles on Ms. Shih have appeared in The New York Times, Oakland Tribune, Newsday, Acoustic Guitar Magazine and AsiAm Magazine.

She has nine albums to her credit: four for adults, “Appleseeds” (tribute to Pete Seeger), “Gold Covered” (tribute to five women folk artists), “Woman with One Closed Eye” (all on Glass Records) and “Leap of Faith” (Flying Fish/Rounder Records); and five family/children’s albums, “Big Ideas!” (Seal of Excellence Award), “Making Fun!” (Parents’ Choice Approval Award, Preferred Choice Award),  “The Power of One” (NAPPA Gold Award, Parents’ Choice Approved Award, Preferred Choice Award), "Your ImaginEngine!" (Seal of Excellence Award), and “Lovabyes” (2015 CD of the Year and Parents’ Choice Recommended Awards), all on Glass Records.  Her work is also included on three anthology albums: “Sharing Thoughts,” “Early Ears” (Zoom Express/BMG Records), and “Rainbow Sign” (Rounder Records), which was honored by the American Library Association Notable Children’s Recording Award, Parents’ Choice Award, Parents Prize, NAPPA Gold Medal, and the LA Times “Best of 1993” list.  

She was named a “Long Island Woman of Distinction” by Distinction Magazine, a “Fortune 52 Woman of Achievement” by the Long Island Press, and was awarded the “Social Justice Leadership Award” by the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island.  Her first book, Gigging: A Practical Guide for Musicians is published by Sky Horse Press, NY.  Her second book, Gigs from Hell--Funny, Sad, Unbelievably Bad; True Tales from the Music Trenches is published by Uncommon Publishing, NY.  She has served on the board of directors of the international Children’s Music Network, and presently is on the education advisory board of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.  Ms Shih is also an award-winning painter, glass artist and filmmaker.  Her first documentary “Undocumented” has won 16 awards and honors from 13 film festivals and competitions.