Elementary and middle school students got to hear a world premiere by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on March 20, and the composer wasn’t much older than them.
The PSO had put out a call for compositions from people living in Pennsylvania. Out of more than 100 works submitted, 17-year-old Ethan Hsu’s piece was selected. Ethan is from Philadelphia.
He came to Pittsburgh to watch along with thousands of students from around our region.
“I first started composing when I was around 10 or 11 years old. So really, I was actually about your age when I started,” Hsu told the audience.
“There are a lot of musical inspirations for me, especially the work of J.S. Bach and Beethoven,” he explained. “I play piano and cello, so they are big musical voices in my life. I also watch a lot of YouTube, so I saw a lot of music videos that got me into composing.”
PSO conductor Jacob Joyce praised Hsu’s piece and was glad the young composer could enjoy it in Pittsburgh.
“This was a particularly technically tricky composition, which is good for Ethan to hear here. The PSO can play it at a level a lot of other orchestras couldn’t quite do,” Joyce said. “It’s an unbelievably strong piece, especially for someone at a high school level. It was a pleasure to conduct the piece as well. It’s a very exciting piece.”
Hsu says he wants to teach music someday. He currently plays with his high school orchestra, is a co-director of the Pitt Orchestra and is also in a pre-college program with the Juilliard School.