Heidi Ching, the sophomore pianist who received the Hollander Prize at Opening Convocation on Tuesday, came to Union for the challenging eight-year Leadership in Medicine Program.
Somehow, she found time for a second major in her first love – music – and a demanding practice schedule of one to two hours per day.
Ching, who hails from Toronto, performed J.S. Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy in D Minor. The Hollander Convocation Musician Prize was established by Lawrence J. Hollander, dean of engineering emeritus, and awarded annually to a musician or ensemble.
Ching said she was first drawn to Union by the Leadership in Medicine program, a joint-degree program with Union Graduate College and Albany Medical College. “I liked everyone I met, and I liked the atmosphere,” she recalls. She said she got the same reception at the Music Department, where she is enamored with the new Taylor Music Center, an All-Steinway facility.
Ching is a member of the Union College Choir, Asian Student Union, and last year served as a volunteer with the Kenney Community Center’s afterschool program for local elementary students.
A 2006 graduate of the Havergel school in Toronto, she is the daughter of Alan and Carolina Ching.