04/02/2026
Local composer Ethan Hsu is only 17 years old and already, his music is making waves and attracting national attention. In our spring concert, we will be performing his piece "Elegy." Come experience his distinctive sound on April 12th!
A recent article about Hsu: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pennsylvania-teenager-composition-pittsburgh-symphony-orchestra/
His bio:
The music of Ethan Hsu (b. 2008), described as having "palpable energy" and "adept orchestration" (Pittsburgh Symphony), inputs a wide variety of influences ranging from films and video games to nature and sociocultural issues through a distinctive style influenced by the mid-20th century. Ethan is a 2026 YoungArts Award Winner with Distinction, and is the winner of the 25/26 PSO Pennsylvania Schooltime Call for Scores. He is a Juilliard Pre-College student, studying composition under the tutelage of Dr. Manuel Sosa.
His piece, "Pandemonium," was performed at the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood-on-Parade, and his piece "Resonance" was read and recorded by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. He is an alumnus of the NowBeat Project, the American Composers Orchestra Summer Composition Intensive, Penn State Young Composers' Intensive, Jacobs Composition Academy, and Juilliard Summer Composition.
Ethan is the recipient of the 2025 Ruth Crawford Seeger Prize and is the third place winner of the 2025 American Prize. During the summer of 2026, Ethan will join the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America as one of two apprentice composers.
