Concordia Shanghai Newsroom

Justus Hsu, Class of 2017

Written by Brandon Fisher | Apr 28, 2019 1:52:00 PM

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE AND IMPACTFUL MOMENTS AT CONCORDIA IN CHOIR/FINE ARTS?

All of the events we went on, whether APAC, NYC, or anything else made a tremendous impact on my development both as a more confident individual and a musically inspired student.  Whether it was the experiences we had singing at a church I really had the blessing (and honor) to truly see the beauty of music whether heard or even seen.

HOW DID YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN MUSIC/THE PERFORMING ARTS HELP YOU TO GET WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?

Well for one thing it was a major stress remover, I understand that music is hard to apply to my field but I do know that my academic life involves a lot of stress currently (more to come in the future), but music has been one of the major things keeping me “sane” so to speak.  Which is difficult for any university student to say these days.

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT YOUR TIME SPENT AT CONCORDIA HOW IMPORTANT WAS YOUR TIME SPENT IN CHOIR? AND HOW DO THESE MEMORIES COMPARE TO YOUR AP CLASSES?

Considering that I’ve never been an academics student my AP classes were just “there.”  Sure if I knew the academic impact of them then I would have tried harder but choir was never something I had to “worry” or “stress” about.  In fact, going back to my last point, music would help alleviate those times of stress.  Never have I ever experience “bad” stress from choir and I think that’s a wonderful discovery for me my senior year.

Are you involved in music now? Are you currently singing/performing? Are you receiving/teaching private lessons? Do you have plans for the future? Do you attend concerts or performances and shows? Do you donate funds to arts charity groups? Do you participate in the music program at your church?

I’m not as involved as I’d like to be but I do attend plays (done by my school) and have gone to several orchestra performances.  I’ve learned to appreciate the art of music more because I realize its significance lies within all of the effort placed on each component of the process.  Whether its composers, singers, or even the audience, this effort cannot go unappreciated in a world that places so much emphasis on innovation and excellence.

DID SINGING WITH CHAMBER SINGERS, CREATING MUSIC TOGETHER AS A GROUP, INSPIRE/INFLUENCE/DRIVE ANY GOALS….OR TEAMWORK…..OR HOBBIES THAT YOU ARE WORKING TOWARDS TODAY?  

I definitely love music despite not performing often anymore.  I found that there are no such things as musical genres for my personal preferences because to me there is grace in every form of music.  I also improved my teamwork (or collaboration) skills by a huge mark because choir required a lot of coordination and without that I don’t think I’d be able to be where I am today (whether in classes or serving on church).