Taiwanese artistย Ti Wen Hsu (Stephanie Hsu)ย bridges the worlds of classical music, experimental sound, and multimedia performance. A violist, composer, and interdisciplinary artist based between Taipei and New York, her work transforms cultural memory into immersive sonic experiences.
Blending live instruments, electronics, and visual media, Hsu explores how sound can hold trauma, identity, and transformation. Her performances โ often raw, intimate, and conceptually charged โ invite https://youtu.be/s-8sqpG8AvQ to listen not just with their ears, but with their whole being.
Letโs start from the beginning โ how did your journey into music and sound art begin?
I started with the viola when I was very young, surrounded by classical music. But even then, I was more interested in the โspacesโ between sounds โ the noise, the breath, the texture. Later, while studying at Brooklyn College for my MFA in Sound Art, I found the tools to merge those instincts with technology. It became less about performing โpiecesโ and more about creating living systems of sound.
Your work often addresses history and collective memory. Can you tell us about your pieceย Sound of July?
Sound of Julyย was my response to Taiwanโs White Terror era โ a dark chapter when music was used for political propaganda. I paired my live viola with four patriotic songs and layers of archival footage. These songs, once meant to inspire loyalty, now evoke fear for those who lived through that time. The piece became a conversation between beauty and pain, remembrance and forgetting.
Youโve performed internationally, from New York to Taipei. How does your environment influence your sound?
Each city resonates differently. In Taipei, the sounds of scooters, temples, and street vendors sneak into my work. In New York, itโs more industrial โ sirens, subways, electricity. My process is like field recording meets memory mapping. Every environment has a rhythm, and I try to find the emotional truth in that noise.
One of your recent projects,ย Mc Ti, is a collaboration with composer Daniel McKemie. What makes that project special?
Daniel and I builtย Mc Tiย as a dialogue between human and machine. We used live percussion, handmade circuits, and analog synths interacting with viola and software. It was unpredictable โ sometimes the machine would โreplyโ in ways we didnโt expect. I love that tension between control and chaos, between programming and improvisation.
You also seem passionate about teaching and community work. How does that tie into your art?
I think sound art should be accessible. Iโve given lectures and workshops at Fu Jen Catholic University and often perform in rural areas. Those experiences remind me that art isnโt about prestige โ itโs about connection. Even if someone doesnโt understand electronic music, they can stillย feelย vibration, rhythm, and emotion.
What has been one of your most memorable performances?
Probablyย Chef Tiย at Scorpion Records in New York โ an interactive performance where I turned live cooking into music. I used sensors and microphones to transform the act of chopping vegetables and boiling water into rhythmic sound textures. It was playful but also a commentary on domestic labor and transformation.
Where do you see your work heading next?
Iโm continuing to explore how sound can exist in public spaces โ not just concert halls. I want to create works that live between documentary and performance, between digital and physical worlds. Collaboration is key for me โ with other artists, with the audience, even with the environment itself.
Finally, what do you hope audiences feel after experiencing your work?
That listening is a form of remembering. Every sound carries a trace of who we are โ our culture, our pain, our joy. If my work can make someone pause and reallyย listen, then I think thatโs enough.
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