Pakk-Shing Hui, a senior biology major, never imagined himself a composer. But during his four years at Union, he's written two pieces for orchestra; a piece for a string trio, piano, and percussion; and arranged numerous tunes for the Dutch Pipers.
Hui says that he's not sure where his passion for music came from — no one in his family shares it — but it has always been innate. “I guess it's in my genes,” he says. “I started playing piano at the age of ten by ear, and began lessons in ninth grade. I love composing, just like authors love writing. I believe that I was born to enjoy music.” ”
When considering colleges, Hui didn't even look at music programs. Instead, he was focused on finding a college that would help him reach medical school. He didn't take his first music class at Union until his sophomore year, when he quickly chose it as his minor. During his first composition class, he arranged for orchestra a Schubert piece written for voice and piano. He also composed a piece for a string trio (violin, viola, and cello), piano, and percussion called The Passing.
“It is about how we pass by people everyday and don't realize their pasts or their life histories,” he explains. “When someone passes by me, they have no idea what I've been through (coming to America, the passing away of my dad, for example). The Passing is my way of telling my life story when someone passes me by.”
This spring, he is composing another piece for orchestra, which is based on the experience of his father's death during his freshman year. “It is an emotionally intense piece that has an oriental flavor,” explains Hui, who is originally from Hong Kong. He says that composing provides him with a way to express himself — and to “become a better musician and a better person.”
Hui's love of music naturally led him to the Dutch Pipers, the all-male a cappella group. A friend convinced him to audition in his freshman year, and Hui made the cut. “I had seen the Dutch Pipers perform and it looked like fun,” he says. “I had always sung in the shower and in the car, but never seriously, and I never performed.”
But Hui's background in piano made him an important member of the group; he was the only one who could read music, so he immediately became music director.
“It's one of those things that you do and then say, 'Wow! I did that!' It made me grow so much as a person because it gave me more confidence in myself and my ability to get up in front of a group and perform. I was so nervous for my first concert — I had no idea what to do — but now it's so easy. I just opened up.”
Hui says that he has loved both his science and his music experiences. He raves about his National Health Systems term abroad studying in Europe, and he says that organic chemistry has been his favorite class. A summer research fellowship in chemistry was equally fulfilling, and he talks enthusiastically about the time he spent at nearby Ellis Hospital, shadowing doctors and helping to deliver a baby.
While Hui has loved his experiences in music at Union, he plans to go to medical school within the next few years. “I just need to do something different before I settle down to medicine,” he says. “But I'll definitely continue with music wherever I go.”