We recently connected with Agnes Chu | Music Instructor For Young Musicians and have shared our conversation below.

Agnes Chu | Music Instructor for Young Musicians , appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I was about 8 or 9 years old when I auditioned for Taiwan’s BBC Radio Broadcast Choir 中廣兒童合唱團 and made it to their highest level of the performing touring ensemble. Singing with professional conductors, opera singers, being on TV and touring all throughout Taiwan, filled my heart — it was food for my soul. I knew then that this is what I wanted to do when I grew up.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into the industry when I started performing with the Taiwanese BBC Radio Broadcast Choir and after moving to the States with my parents.

I began private vocal lessons, while continuing private piano lessons. It was very difficult due to language barriers, and I struggled and struggled. But I worked very hard on details to tone, diction, and phrasing so I can sing, perform, and teach professionally.

In high school, I got to perform with the Madrigal singers, honors choir, and perform musicals at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

I even received a scholarship to the University of Redlands. I got a lot out of Redland’s summer program.

I eventually decided to go to California Institute of the Arts for my studies/degree. From CalArts, I met and studied music theory with Dr. Beverly Grigsby who brought me into the International Alliance for Women in Music. From the alliance, I was able to perform with Dr. Grigsby in London. CalArts is a great place for artists to go outside the box and collaborate with other interdisciplinary schoolmates. It allowed creativity. I was able to bring poetry, spoken words to music and collaborate with other artists, composers, film makers, dancers, lighting designer, stage manager and musicians. It also opened a whole new world for me. A world of world music from Northern/Southern Indian music, Indonesian music and dance including Javanese and Balinese to West African music and dance from Ghana.

CalArts opened many doors for me including singing for Danny Elfman and Tim Burton’s film, which was recorded at Warner Brother’s studio in Burbank, Ca and released worldwide. I also got to work for Walt Disney’s English and Print department in Burbank/Glendale, California as a music advisor, our group project won the most Innovative Award.

Now I teach voice and piano to young musicians. We focus on tone, phrasing, articulation, rhythm and music theory. Through music learning, they are able to build character, confidence and a strong sense of self.

Many of my students have been recognized for their outstanding work, receiving State Honor Awards, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes in competitions and festivals.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to perform or have your own composition being performed. I have created many opportunities for my students to perform, whether it’s hosting annual recitals for students or invite them to participate in festivals. The best way to grow as a musician is to deliver your craft in front of an audience. Simply studying music is really not enough to grow and develop to the next phase. It’s like a caterpillar shedding their skin and eating it to grow and get ready to transform into a butterfly. That’s when we are on stage expressing ourselves through music, dance, and any art form.

To keep up with my own growth as a performing artist, I compose music and I connect with musicians from Europe. My piece “One Voice” was premiered virtually by the CalArts Contemporary Vocal Ensemble. In person premiered at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, Italy. Then back to the States at University of California, Santa Barbara. Our performances are based on improvisation, new music and extended technique, not jazz improv, but from deep listening, such as Pauline Oliveros or intuitive music, process music by Stockhausen. It’s a performance art that can be by chance, like John Cage’s work — it could be from looking at paintings, playing with objects, or listening deeply with your partner(s) to deliver that magic in the moment. A form of meditation that transcends to something bigger than Self.

I would like to give a shoutout to some of the giants that have helped shaped me in opening my creativity to this art form.
Joelle Léandre, Camilla Hoitenga, Abby Conant, Jacqueline Bobak and Nicholas Isherwood.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

In my view, I wish our society can be more like Nordic countries that have a system that support and value artists and creatives with tax-free monthly stipends, grants and funds. They understand that all arts have a powerful expression of culture and as a public good. The system that’s in place has priority on artists’ wellbeing, so they can thrive in their craft.
Thank you for taking the time to interview me and I hope this can be an inspiration for young teachers and musicians who are just starting out. I believe in learning and keeping up with our craft. Keep studying, creating and performing your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.musiclessonswithagnes.com/
• Instagram: @MusiclessonswithAgnes
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZrD0TboB5uY?si=43s3-jqzh9qhZa0t
• Yelp: Check out Music Lessons With Agnes

Image Credits

Vinh Nguyen
Alessandro Ciccarelli
Mauro Sambo
Mia Paul
Torry Chu